A screenshot from footage apparently showing the abuse of sheep in Turkey, featured below.

Morning all. Sad news this morning as we find out an ABC helicopter carrying veteran journalist Paul Lockyer, cameraman John Bean and pilot Gary Ticehurst crashed in Lake Eyre, South Australia, killing all on board. For all the other news, we’ve got a summary here, brought to you by Rick today:

1. Disturbing new footage released of Aussie sheep with ‘knives sticking in them’ in Turkey.

The same animal rights group which helped break the story of the mistreatment of Australian live cattle in Indonesia has released new footage of Aussie sheep suffering before eventual slaughter in Turkey. The footage showed animals being tethered by their legs, strung up alive and simply stabbed in the neck (not cut) and slowly bleeding to death. Lyn White from Animals Australia said the country was breaking international standards ‘regularly’. The group had warned that it was not just the Indonesian live animal export trade that warranted scrutiny when the Four Corners story about cattle abuse first aired.

2. Hundreds turn out to angry meeting after toxic chemical leak

Mining explosives maker Orica experienced a toxic chemical leak at its Kooragang Island plant (Newcastle area) more than a week ago but local residents weren’t told for days. Now, as investigations continue into what happened and why Environment Minister Robyn Parker failed to act, the company has told residents not to drink the bore water until further public health advice. The leaked chemical hexavalent chromium posed no health risk, the Government said, despite warnings. It is the same chemical which polluted water in the Southern California town of Hinkley last century and the case which infamous legal campaigner Erin Brockovich helped prosecute in the 1990s.

3. Queensland to monitor sex offenders with GPS trackers

A dozen of the state’s released sex offenders, already on sex offender registers and with strict reporting arrangements after release from jail, will be strapped to Global Positioning Systems to ensure they stay away from children’s areas like schools and parks. The bracelets were able to monitor them around the clock and have been tested on 20 Government staff members.

4. Till 8.7 years do us part … the average length of a marriage.

That’s something we’ve spoken about before on Mamamia, but the new Australia Institute of Family Studies report shows we’re at least a little better off than in 1980 when the average length of a marriage from wedding to separation was 7.5 years. Until divorce it’s slightly longer with the current average of 12.3 years, up from 10.2 years in 1980.

5. Fascinating reminder of what the Net was like in 1995

For no reason except it’s interesting! Take it away:

6. Kate Winslet forms the ‘British Anti-Cosmetic Surgery League’

Kate Winslet

Tired of her fellow colleagues being pressured by Hollywood to look a certain way, Kate Winslet joined forces with friends Emma Thompson and Rachel Weisz to make a stand. She said: “I’m an actress, I don’t want to freeze my face.” She also remarked that extreme surgery for beauty went against her morals and what her parents taught her about natural beauty.

7. Kylie Minogue is an Aussie sound … what’s yours?

The Aussie pop princess and former soap star had her song ‘I should be so lucky’ added to the National Film and Sound Archive’s list of ‘Aussie Sounds’ this month and some of the news sites were casting around for other suggestions to join her. For better or worse, John Howard’s ‘we decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come’ springs to mind as a phrase that sticks. Have any to add?

Take a look at the pictures that got us talking this week:

Vogue publishes an intimate mother-daughter portrait of Kate Moss in the September issue - can you spot the photoshop fail? (Moss' daughter, Lila is missing a few fingers).

Schapelle Corby and Renae Lawrence have their sentences reduced by five and six months respectively. Both are serving time in Kerobokan Prison in Bali on drug smuggling charges.

Kate Hudson's fiancee Matt Bellamy tweets this first baby photo of Kate with son, Bingham.

Frances Bean Cobain, daughter of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, appears all grown up and is been lauded as fashion's new face in photographs by designer Hedi Slimane.

French brand Jours Après Lunes’ launches a line of lingerie for girls age four through to 12. While the bra and undie sets are similar to what you would see on young girls at the beach, the controversy lies in the way the children have been photographed emulating poses more suited to adult models.

French brand Jours Après Lunes’ launches a line of lingerie for girls age four through to 12. While the bra and undie sets are similar to what you would see on young girls at the beach, the controversy lies in the way the children have been photographed emulating poses more suited to adult models.

Glee star Lea Michele and Jon Bon Jovi perform a song together on stage in a new comedy film, New Year's Eve.

The Advertising Standards Bureau bans this Roger David ad of an 18-year-old girl who appears 'gagged' with a Union Jack in her mouth and bar coded with the word 'slave' on her shoulder.

A strong Antarctic front continued to dump record amounts of snow across New Zealand this week.

A wind gust toppled a stage at the Indiana State Fair in the U.S on Saturday night killing five and injuring dozens of fans waiting for the country band Sugarland.

A U.S artist Jason Mecier creates a portrait of Amy Winehouse made of painkiller pills to honour the singer's short life.

Prince Charles and his wife Camila visit residents and businesses affected by the riots last week. Here he gets a hug at a leisure centre in Tottenham.

Lindsay Lohan appears in a bra brandishing a knife in front of 'blood' spattered walls in a striking new photograph by her friend Tyler Shields.

Zoo Keeper Brad McKenzie feeds a rar