Three women dead after police car chase.

1. Three women dead after Sydney car chase.

Three women are dead after their car struck a power pole during a high-speed police chase.

Police began pursuing the car along Railway Road just after 1 am this morning, when the car failed to stop for a random breath test. The car crashed just moments after.

Two women died at the scene, and the third later in hospital. All three women are believed to be in their 20s. Another two people, a man and a woman aged 33 and 43, were also seriously injured. They remain in hospital in stable conditions.

A critical investigation has been launched.

2. Fiji braces for Tropical Cyclone Winston. 

Warnings have been posted across Fiji, as powerful Category Five Cyclone Winston begins to bear down on its islands, with winds of up to 220km/hr.

The cyclone is expected to make direct landfall sometime this afternoon.

Hundreds of evacuation centres have been activated, while flights have been cancelled for holidayers heading to or from Fiji.

The Fiji meteorological service has also warned residents of flooding from heavy rains and storms.

“Expect very destructive hurricane-force winds” they said.

Monday’s flights are currently also under review.

3. George Pell rejects abuse allegations.

Cardinal George Pell has rejected claims he abused minors amid claims by The Herald Sun that he is under investigation for allegedly molesting five to ten boys.

The Herald Sun claims Victoria Police possess documents alleging multiple offences spanning around 40 years, during the Cardinal’s time as a priest in Ballarat and also a the Archbishop of Melbourne.

Cardinal Pell has come under increased scrutiny recently, especially after it was revealed he would appear at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Chid Sex Abuse via video link.

Cardinal Pell has denied all claims.

4. AFL promises women’s competition. 

The AFL has announced it will bring a women’s competition in 2017, following the success of a Round 20 exhibition match last year.

The match, between two teams affiliated with the Western Bulldogs and the Melbourne Demons, was broadcast on free-to-air TV, and out-rated the previous day’s men’s match between Adelaide and Essendon.

Details about the competition are still unclear, with some work still need to be done internally before the case is put to the AFL Commissioners.

5. North Korea artillery shot heard from South Korean island. 

The North Korean military has fired one artillery round into the sea near a disputed maritime border this morning, causing alarm among residents on a nearby island.

An official has said that the shell did not fly across the border.

The two Koreas have remained in a tense political standoff following the North’s nuclear test in January, and a long-range rocket launch in early February.

These shots come amid a South Korean spy agency’s claims that North Korea is planning a series of terror attacks on a range of targets, including South Korea.

A senior South Korean official claimed in televised remarks, that North Korea’s spy agency has began work to implement Kim Jong Un’s order to “muster anti-South terror capabilities that can pose a direct threat to our lives and security”.

6. Colonial inquest hears a policewoman killed herself after an affair. 

An inquest as heard that a NSW policewoman took her own life following an affair with a senior officer.

The married mother of two committed suicide in July 2013. She was suffering from PTSD and depression at the time.

Her affair with the senior officer was only became known during a coronial investigation into her death.

In his findings, Deputy State Coroner Hugh Dillon said the policewoman also had relationships with two other senior officers who were her direct supervisors.

“Affairs can be deleterious to the organisation” he said.

“In my view, the police force may need to consider its own culture to ensure that officers are not placed in positions of conflict, are not psychologically harmed and that professional relationships are properly maintained for the good of the organisation and the community more generally.”