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Thursday afternoon'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. Shaun McNeil found guilty of manslaughter over one-punch attack.

The man who fatally punched Sydney teen, Daniel Christie, has been acquitted of his murder, but found guilty of manslaughter.

A “large swining punch” by 27-year-old Shaun McNeil caused Christie to fall backwards, hitting his head on the ground.

He later died in hospital.

One-punch victim Daniel Christie. Image: Facebook.

McNeil attacked the 18-year-old and his brother in Sydney’s nightclub district, Kings Cross, on New Year’s Eve 2013.

The court heard that McNeil mistook Christie as a member of a group who supposedly called his girlfriend “hot”, the Daily Telegraph reports.

McNeil also claimed to be angry with the Christie brothers for trying to sell him drugs on the street.

The court heard McNeil boasted of his martial arts skills before approaching Daniel Christie, who repeatedly said “no” and backed away before the attack.

McNeil will be sentenced on August 21.

2. Police hold serious concerns for missing teenage girl in Ballina.

Police are searching for a NSW teen who went missing in Ballina yesterday.

Clancy Ellis, 15, left school yesterday morning, and was last seen walking along Maple Drive at 10.30am.

Her parents reported her missing after being notified she left school.

missing girl ballina
Missing: Clancy Ellis, 15. Image: NSW Police.
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Police hold serious concerns for her welfare as Clancy requires medication which she left at home. She reportedly has no money and limited clothing.

Clancy is of Caucasian appearance, approximately 165cm, with blue eyes and long, dyed red hair.

She was last seen wearing a school uniform described as a maroon zip-up hooded jumper, grey chequered shirt, and wearing black leather shoes with red ribbons as laces.

Police are urging anyone with information in relation to this incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au/.

3. Tourists arrested in Malaysia for posing naked on mountaintop.

Malaysian police have arrested four tourists for posing naked on a mountaintop — an act they believed caused the deadly earthquake last week.

The incriminating image. Image: Emil Kaminski Facebook.

According to ABC News, locals say the nudity offended the Gods, who then caused the earthquake which killed 18 people.

Four people, including two Canadians, a Dutch and a British national, have been detained, while six others are being pursued by police.

Mount Kinabalu is considered a sacred site in Malaysia, and is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.

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A “cleansing ritual” is set to take place on the mountain, including members of the local Sabah tribe, as well as Christian and Muslim spiritual leaders.

4. WA has highest rates of Indigenous youths in prison.

While a mere six per cent of children aged between 10 and 17 in Western Australia are Indigenous, they comprise a whopping 79 per cent of this age group in prison.

This figure has earned WA the “shameful” lead in national rates of Indigenous youth incarceration.

aboriginal australian
Young Aboriginal Australians are over represented in prions. Image: Getty.

A report released today by Amnesty International found that in WA Indigenous Australians are 52 times more likely to be detained than their non-Indigenous peers. This compares to 24 times more likely, nationally.

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“The over-representation of Indigenous children in detention around Australia is already a national crisis – it’s shameful that this is twice as bad here in WA,” the National Director of Amnesty International Australia, Claire Mallinson, said via a media statement.

“WA has a long and tragic history of removing Aboriginal children from their families and communities, a history that is sadly repeating. We will see another generation lost to failed Government policies unless this government gets smarter about this, and fast,” she said.

“We all want to make WA communities safer. We all want to keep children safe. Locking them up has been shown not to be the solution and must truly be a last resort.”

The report recommends Australia consider initiatives that keep young people in their communities — where they are proven to thrive with family love and support.

5. Californian schools to teach “yes means yes” consent message in sex education.

A new law in California requires schools to teach a lesson of “affirmative consent” in the US state’s schools.

Last year, the state passed the “yes means yes” law — officially known as SB 695 — on college campuses.

The regulation obliges the institutions to teach and investigate rape cases in accordance with the definition of consent as the “affirmative, conscious and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity”.

This measure has now stretched to Californian schools in which health education is taught, The Guardian reports.

Well done, California.

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