news

Friday's news in only two minutes.

 

 

1. Rolf Harris has been arrested in the UK over sex abuse claims.

Harris has not been charged, and has denied the allegations.

The Sun named Harris in an exclusive report, although police have yet to confirm that the entertainer is a suspect in an ongoing investigation.

The 83-year-old Australian entertainer, musician, composer and television personality was reportedly under suspicion for more than a year before his arrest.

According to an exclusive report in the UK’s The Sun, Harris “was held over historic sex abuse allegations by police from the inquiry set up following the Jimmy Savile scandal.”

Rolf Harris is the man behind the song, “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport.” He is credited with the invention of the wobble board.

Earlier this month, News Ltd reported that:

A prominent Australian entertainer has been arrested by Scotland Yard detectives in London on suspicion of sexual offences.

The high-profile 82-year-old Australian man from Berkshire in south east England was interviewed for several hours by police before being released on bail about 11.30pm local time.

It is understood his lawyer was present.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is the 11th suspect but the biggest star so far arrested by officers from Operation Yewtree set up last year to probe hundreds of claims of sexual assault and paedophilia against British entertainer Jimmy Savile.”

He was the 11th person to be arrested as a result of Operation Yewtree.

Harris was first interviewed in late November, five days after a search warrant allowed police to investigate his home.

After Harris’ arrest, a close friend of the entertainer told The Sunday Mirror:

“It appears there’s a witch-hunt going on looking at the number of high-profile celebrities arrested. Even if those arrested are never charged, their lives will still have been ruined and that’s unfair. It’s easy making historic allegations against showbiz names.”

According to The Daily Telegraph, Harris was left “almost suicidal” by the claims.

He has denied the allegations.

2. There have been reports that Swedish modelling scouts have been approaching anorexic patients at an eating disorder clinic. A doctor at the clinic claimed the scouts would stand outside the clinic and wait for the patients to go on breaks. Dr Anna-Maria of Sandeberg told a Swedish newspaper: “We think this is repugnant… People have stood outside our clinic and tried to pick up our girls because they know they are very thin.”

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3. NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell has declared his support for same sex marriage. Speaking to Fairfax, Mr O’Farrell said: ‘My view – a view that I’ve come to in recent years – is that as a Liberal who believes that commitment and family units are one of the best ways in which society is organised, I support the concept of same-sex marriage… We should, as governments, be encouraging commitment. As societies we should be encouraging commitment. Because, ultimately, people caring for each other works side by side with governments to create better communities.”

Earlier this week, New Zealand became the 13th country in the world to legalise gay marriage.

4. The FBI have released images and video footage of two suspects they believe to be responsible for the Boston bombings. The man in the black hat is referred to as ‘Suspect 1.’ The man in the white hat is referred to as ‘Suspect 2.’

5. Rescuers have spent the evening looking for survivors after a huge explosion at a fertiliser plant in Texas. Up to 15 people are believed to be dead and 160 injured. Investigators are still looking into the reason why the explosion occurred.

6. Two baby boys have drowned in separate accidents in NSW. One of the boys was just 10 month’s old and was found with his head in a mop bucket which was filled with 10 centimeters of water. The other, an 18-month-old, was found in a backyard pool.

7. Malala Yousafzai – the 15-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban for her work to promote education for women – has featured on the cover of TIME magazine’s most influential people issue. Also on the list – Jennifer Lawrence, Gina Rinehart, Stephen Spielberg and Kate Middleton. US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were also on the list.