We’ve rounded up the headlines from across the world — so it’ll only take you a couple of minutes to catch up on the most important news around at the moment.
1. Sydney siege gunman let hostages make desperate final calls to family.
Man Haron Monis, the gunman who held 18 people hostage in the Lindt Café last month, permitted some of the hostages to make heart-wrenching phone calls to their families. Under constant threat from the gunman, the hostages expected that they would not survive the siege.
Siege hostage, Marcia Mikhael who was shot during the final police raid, has spoken to the Seven Network about her ordeal. New details about her experience and those of other hostages have been revealed in the Weekend Australian today by Sharri Markson.
Channel 7 executive producer, Mark Llewellyn, told Ms Markson about Marcia Mikhael’s interview, saying it was “one of the most powerful interviews [he’d] ever seen”.
In the interview, Ms Mikhael reveals that she made a desperate phone call to her home and finally spoke to her children – for what she thought would be the last time.
Ms Mikhael had been one of the hostages who was forced to hold up the flag in the window of the Lindt Café. Standing for hours, Llewellyn said that, “her arms and muscles were burning so badly, she feared she would collapse”.
As police raided the café after hostage Tori Johnson was executed, Ms Mikhael dropped to the ground beside fellow hostage, Katrina Dawson.
Llewellyn said. “They were petrified. The shooting starts. Mikhael is hit in her leg. All she can hear is screaming. The only person she can’t hear is Katrina.”
2. Australian newspaper tightens security after Jihadist threat.
Police are investigating a specific threat made against an Australian newspaper by a Melbourne man believed to be fighting with terrorists in Syria.
Suhan Rahman, 23, is thought to have been in the war-torn nation for five months, according to media reports.
It is not clear if he joined Islamic State fighters but photos on social media under the account Suhan Abdul Rahman appeared to show him in Syria.
His Facebook account contains messages of support for the Charlie Hebdo gunmen and threats to “spill blood” in Australia.
Victoria Police are investigating the threats, with a particular focus on this post: “theres no good left in u if none of u do something about the australian newspaper mocking our prophet peace be upon him. Dont be cowards (sic).”
The posting makes explicit, graphic suggestions which the ABC has decided not to publish.
Victoria Police said it was working closely with the company named in the threats.
Additional security measures have been put in place at News Corporation in Melbourne.
No activity has been registered on the Facebook account since late yesterday morning.
In a statement, Victoria Police said it was concerned about the small number of Australians who had travelled to Syria and become embroiled in extremist ideologies.
It said it was continuing to monitor the situation closely.
3. Search ramps up for mother of baby girl abandoned on Maroubra Beach.
New South Wales Police will interview hundreds of women who were pregnant late last year to find the mother a of a baby girl whose body was buried in sand of Maroubra Beach.