"The sisters were inseparable." Perth mother charged with the murder of her two young daughters, & more in News in 5.

-With AAP.

1. “The sisters were inseparable.” Perth mother charged with the murder of her two young daughters.

A Perth mother has been charged with the murder of her two young daughters who were found dead at their Madeley home on Bogdanich Way.

The bodies of six-year-old Tiana Djurasovic and her 10-year-old sister Mia were found on Friday night by police.

The 38-year-old mother, Milka Djurasovic, was found more than two hours later at the Whitfords beach car park with self-inflicted, non-life-threatening injuries.

She was arrested by police and taken to hospital, and was on Sunday charged with two counts of murder by police.

The mother will face Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court on Monday.

Neighbour Gordana Sousak said she heard screaming at about 6pm on Friday, when the children’s father came home from work, WA Today reports.

“When he called police they told him not to touch her, but by that time he’d found the other little girl in the laundry,” she said.

Tiana Djurasovic and her older sister Mia should be going to school on Monday. Instead their classmates at Ashdale Primary School will receive counselling in the aftermath of the siblings’ deaths. ???? https://t.co/wmCdCnEpW4 #wanews pic.twitter.com/HxdFrTvmi4

— The West Australian (@westaustralian) October 26, 2019

Ms Djurasovic was working as a nurse and the family were part of the close-knit Bosnian community in Perth, Ms Sousak told WA Today.

Philip Couper, who is an adviser to the One Nation WA state leader Colin Tincknell, said his daughter, also called Mia, was school friends with Mia Djurasovic.

“The sisters were inseparable and only a few months ago, Mia (Djurasovic) attended our Mia’s 10th birthday party, and the photos are a surreal moment in time as all the kids were so happy…” he wrote in an emotional post on social media.

Mr Couper also said his daughter was “distraught and upset” that she would not get her daily hug at school from Mia Djurasovic.

WA Assistant Commissioner Paul Steel said on Saturday homicide detectives and forensic police would work at the crime scene in coming weeks to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

“The WA police are doing all that they can to investigate this matter and try and identify what it is that led to these tragic events,” Mr Steel said.

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2. The leader of Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, died ‘crying’, says Trump.

The leader of so-called Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has died after running into a dead-end tunnel and igniting an explosive vest, killing himself and three of his young children, US President Donald Trump says.

Trump described the US raid in Syria that killed perhaps the world’s most wanted man during remarks at the White House’s Diplomatic Room.

The president said al-Baghdadi spent his last moments in utter fear and claimed that the IS leader was “whimpering and crying” and died as “a coward, running and crying”.

He added that al-Baghdadi’s identity was positively confirmed by a DNA test conducted on site.

Trump said the US received immediate and positive identification on the body and that the world is now a much safer place.

Trump watched much of the mission unfold from the White House Situation Room on Saturday night. He said watching the raid that killed al-Baghdadi in Syria as it was under way felt “as though you were watching a movie”.

Trump also suggested the footage of the raid may be released publicly so that the world knows al-Baghdadi spent his final moments “crying”, “whimpering” and “screaming”.

REPORTER: You mentioned that al-Baghdadi was ‘whimpering.’ Could you hear that on your video hookup?

TRUMP: I don’t want to talk about it, but he was screaming, crying, & whimpering. And he was scared out of his mind. Think of James Foley, think of Kayla… he didn’t want to die pic.twitter.com/yAUAMjPgPZ

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 27, 2019

The president said at the White House on Sunday that the US had al-Baghdadi under surveillance for several weeks.

He said during the raid, US forces flew low and fast, and were met with gunfire at points.

A US official said late on Saturday that al-Baghdadi was targeted in Syria’s north-western Idlib province.

No US forces were killed or injured in the raid, Trump said.

The president thanked Russia, Turkey, Syria and Iraq, as well as Kurdish fighters in Syria for their support.

Planning for the operation began two weeks ago, Trump said, after the US gained unspecified intelligence on al-Baghdadi’s whereabouts.

Eight military helicopters landed at the compound and were met by gunfire, Trump said.

The president vividly described the raid and took extensive questions from reporters.

He said US forces breached the walls of the building because the doors were booby-trapped and chased al-Baghdadi into the tunnel, which partially collapsed after al-Baghdadi detonated the suicide vest.

The president said a military dog was injured by the explosive blast.

Trump said he teased the announcement as soon as American forces landed safely in a third country.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Syria war monitor, reported an attack carried out by a squadron of eight helicopters accompanied by a warplane belonging to the international coalition on positions of the Hurras al-Deen, an al-Qaeda-linked group, in the Barisha area north of Idlib city, after midnight on Saturday.

Al-Baghdadi’s presence in the village, a few kilometres from the Turkish border, would come as a surprise, even if some IS leaders are believed to have fled to Idlib after losing their last sliver of territory in Syria to US-allied Kurdish forces in March.

Trump said the death of al-Baghdadi shows the US will continue pursuing other terrorist leaders and that none should rest easy.

“These savage monsters will not escape their fate,” he said, and that the “losers” who worked for al-Baghdadi had “no idea what they were getting into”.

Al-Baghdadi had led IS for the last five years, presiding over its ascendancy as it cultivated a reputation for beheadings and attracted tens of thousands of followers to a sprawling and self-styled caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

He remained among the few IS commanders still at large despite multiple claims in recent years about his death and even as his so-called caliphate dramatically shrank, with many supporters who joined the cause either imprisoned or jailed.

His exhortations were instrumental in inspiring terrorist attacks in the heart of Europe and in the US.

Shifting away from the airline hijackings and other mass casualty attacks that came to define al-Qaeda, al-Baghdadi and other IS leaders supported smaller-scale acts of violence that would be harder for law enforcement to prepare for and prevent.

3. Farmers await national drought policy.

Labor is calling on the government to convene a ‘drought cabinet’ and asking for the release of Major General Stephen Day’s drought report. “It’s time for the Prime Minister to concede that he’s lost all credibility on drought policy – @fitzhunter. https://t.co/OF81oZFF1j #auspol pic.twitter.com/yI7MxdDndn

— 7NEWS Sydney (@7NewsSydney) October 26, 2019

The Morrison government is continuing to weigh up drought relief proposals ahead of announcing its much-anticipated national strategy.

The Nationals have already proposed their own relief plan, a $1.3 billion package which includes $10 million in cash grants for every council in drought.

Resources Minister Matt Canavan has played down suggestions of infighting in the coalition, saying he expects the government to soon do more to help struggling farmers.

But the Queensland LNP senator was mum on whether his colleagues had weighed up possible tax relief for struggling farmers.

The income tax proposal will be canvassed by the government’s expenditure review committee this week.

Despite the Nationals’ plan, Senator Canavan insists the party’s discussions around drought aren’t focused on a dollar figure.

“It was centred around what we could do and at the heart of proposals put forward by Barnaby (Joyce) and others, is about providing broader assistance for our community,” he told ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.

Senator Canavan is hesitant about exit packages for drought-affected farmers wanting to leave the land, saying it’s not an option that should be rushed into.

“I’m much more interested in finding ways to keep Australians on the land because I believe in our future as a farming community, farming economy, so I don’t want to rush to have people go to the exit,” he said.

“I’m not trying to claim that every farmer in every place, every family, stays there forever. Things obviously do shift and change.”

The idea has been touted by the National Farmers’ Federation as one of six measures the federal government could put on the table to help stem growing desperation in some rural areas.

That’s in addition to the NFF’s drought policy, which president Fiona Simson says does more than just acknowledge there is a drought.

“It sets out roles and responsibilities going forward, and it also talks about a framework where we currently absolutely think about drought and review and assess the measures in drought,” she told ABC News.

“Not just when we’re in drought, which is what happens now – but when we’re outside of drought as well.”

The NFF’s plan also includes relief from council rates and pasture lease charges.

The farm lobby wants the Commonwealth to look at payroll subsidies for farming businesses in line with Newstart.

Labor has also called on the government to convene a bipartisan drought cabinet and release the drought coordinator’s report.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese says the government’s plan shouldn’t just deal with immediate measures, but include a long-term strategy incorporating climate change.

4. Calls for detail on government’s first home buyer plan.

It’s hoped more first home buyers on low and middle incomes will be able to enter the property market under a new federal government plan. https://t.co/i9KakPPNd3

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) October 26, 2019

Australians trying to buy their first home are gaining a clearer picture of the federal government’s deposit scheme, but the opposition wants all the details known.

From January, up to 10,000 eligible first home buyers each year will only need to save five per cent of a deposit.

Under the scheme, the federal government will guarantee the difference of a standard down-payment and remove the costs of lenders mortgage insurance.

Housing Minister Michael Sukkar on Sunday announced price caps for the scheme, based on median house prices per state as well as existing stamp duty exemptions.

The caps differ per state, and whether people are buying in a capital city or regional area.

The price cap for Sydney has been set at $700,000, compared to $600,000 in Melbourne and $475,000 in Brisbane.

Price caps for large regional centres are the same as those for the capital city in their state.

Capital cities are coupled with large regional centres for the price caps, and are defined as areas with a population of more than 250,000.

Areas with populations under 250,000 have a lower price cap.

There’s a flat limit for the ACT ($500,000) and the Northern Territory ($375,000).

Housing Minister Michael Sukkar says while there’s no set number of deposit guarantees per state, the government will keep a close eye on demand to further shape the scheme.

It will initially work on a “first in best dressed” basis, he said.

Applicants must have earned less than $125,000 in the previous financial year as a single or $200,000 as a couple.

Although the minister announced the price caps and initial framework on Sunday, the relevant documents were not yet available on the Treasury website.

The documents are expected to be uploaded on Monday.

Labor supports the scheme and succeeded in changing its legal framework so it’s reviewed once a year rather than every three.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said first home buyers deserved to know the full details of the scheme now.

For instance, the government is yet to announce which banks will be involved.

Property Council of Australia chief executive Ken Morrison says it’s important the settings are right for off-the-plan apartments or house-and-land packages.

“The scheme comes at a time of declining construction levels for new housing which has an impact on jobs, housing affordability and supply,” he said in a statement.

Mr Sukkar said the government didn’t want to add another layer of bureaucracy for the buying process.

“The banks will undertake the same credit checks, the same lending criteria that they would otherwise.”

Stakeholders can provide feedback on the draft framework until November 4.

PROPERTY PRICE CAPS

NSW

* City or large regional centre: $700,000

* Other areas: $450,000

VIC

* City or large regional centre: $600,000

* Other areas: $375,000

QLD

* City or large regional centre: $475,000

* Other areas: $400,000

WA

* City or large regional centre: $400,000

* Other areas: $300,000

SA

* City or large regional centre: $400,000

* Other areas: $250,000

TAS

* City or large regional centre: $400,000

* Other areas: $300,000

ACT

* $500,000

NT

* $375,000

5. What we know so far about the UK truck deaths.

Essex lorry deaths: most victims likely to be from Vietnam, say reports https://t.co/9Np9rlhMPD

— The Guardian (@guardian) October 26, 2019

The lorry was found at Waterglade Industrial Park on Eastern Avenue in Grays, Essex, early on Wednesday. All 39 victims (eight women and 31 men) were found dead inside the container.

Five people have been arrested, all with links to Northern Ireland. Police initially believed all the victims were Chinese nationals but it’s now believed some may have been Vietnamese.

Police have yet to identify any of the dead, saying the coroner must first establish each person’s cause of death before officers move on to attempt to identify individuals.

Driver of the Scania truck, 25-year-old Maurice Robinson, from Northern Ireland, has been charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffick people, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and money laundering, and will appear in court on Monday.

There has been little documentation on the victims, meaning that police are relying on DNA, fingerprints and other information to identify them; more than 500 items found within the truck including bags, clothing and mobile phones, are being assessed.

Police have appealed to the Vietnamese community to come forward with information to help the identification process.

The tractor unit or front section of the lorry, which police said is believed to have originated in Northern Ireland, entered the country via Holyhead, north Wales, on October 20, having travelled over from Dublin.

Global Trailer Rentals confirmed it owned the refrigerated back section of the lorry where the bodies were found; the trailer had been leased on October 15.

The lorry trailer, where the bodies were found, travelled on a ship from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet, Essex, arriving around 12.30am on Wednesday.

Police believe the tractor unit and trailer left the port in Purfleet shortly after 1.05am.

The Bulgarian ministry of foreign affairs says the lorry was registered in Varna, a city on the east coast of the country, under the name of a company owned by an Irish citizen.

Authorities at the Zeebrugge port say refrigerated trailers are “completely sealed” in the port so it was unlikely the victims were loaded into the container there, adding that the container may not have been checked before leaving Belgium.