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Tuesday'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. Teenage gunman linked to UK Jihadist.

Police think teenage gunman who shot and killed Sydney police IT specialist Curtis Cheng was not a lone gunman.

Police are investigating the theory that the teenage gunman who shot and killed Sydney police IT specialist Curtis Cheng at Parramatta police headquarters on Friday afternoon was not a lone gunman.

The Australian reports that 15-year old Farhad Khalil Mohammad Jabar has been communicating online with a British radical associated with the terrorist group Islamic State.

The online connection is similar to that between a British teenager and Sevdet Besim, a Melbourne man arrested earlier this year for allegedly planning an Anzac Day terrorist attack.

The British teenager who is also 15 and cannot be named, was sentenced to life in prison just hours before Jabar shot and killed Curtis Cheng.

It is not known if Jabar was communicating with the same British teen.

The family of Jaber are co-operating with police in the investigation, though it has been reported his elder sister left Australia for Turkey the day before the shooting took place.

She has not been in contact with authorities since. The Australian reports there are fears she may have travelled to either Syria or Iraq.

2. Inquest opens into death of farmer Geoff Hunt, his wife and three children.

Geoff Hunt his wife Kim Hunt, 41, and their three children, Fletcher, 10, Mia, 8 and Phoebe, 6.

An inquest will open today in the NSW town of Wagga Wagga that will examine the motivations behind the Hunt family deaths.

Last September, farmer Geoff Hunt killed his wife Kim Hunt, 41, and their three children, Fletcher, 10, Mia, 8 and Phoebe, 6, at the family home near Lockhart.

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At the inquest state coroner Michael Barnes will examine how the deaths occurred and what the motivation for the murders could have been.

Mrs Hunt’s sister Jenny Geppert released a statement yesterday thanking the local community for their support.

“The love and care from our friends and extended family will also be forever remembered,’’ she said.

“This week will be difficult for our families, another arduous formality to endure.

“We hope that this tragedy may remind all of what really matters in this world and to act with humility and empathy towards others at all times. Thank you in advance.”

For help: Lifeline 13 11 14. Kid’s Helpline: 1800 55 1800.

3. Hottest October weather for 73 years.

Did you cope yesterday? Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra and Brisbane all experienced the hottest early October day ever – and more is yet to come.

In Sydney it was 37 degrees yesterday, the second-hottest maximum on record for this early in the spring and just shy of the 37.4-degree mark set on October 4, 1942,

Canberra yesterday posted 31.7 degrees the hottest on record this early in the season and Melbourne, too broke records with its 34.4-degree maximum.

In Adelaide it was 35.6 degrees Celsius the hottest day Adelaide had recorded so early in spring – and Brisbane reached hit 33.8 degrees on Monday, well above the monthly average of 27.

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In Sydney today will be a hot one again with temperatures expected to be around 33 degrees in the city and 38 degrees in Penrith and Richmond tipped for the west.

Melbourne is looking to be 34 degrees,  Canberra, 31 degrees, Brisbane 33 degrees, while Adelaide is looking to have a change this morning.

 

 

4. Baby hit by car at campsite.

A one-year old has been airlifted to hospital after being hit by a car reversing at a campsite in QLD.

A police spokesman said emergency services were called about 1.10pm after the car, believed to be driven by a family member, struck the baby just north of Noosa Heads.

“The one-year-old was in the vicinity of a vehicle at the campsite and the vehicle’s been moved and the child’s been struck,” the spokesman said.

5. Sydney CBD expecting traffic chaos.

Commuters in Sydney  have been warned to expect “chaos” this morning with one hundred and eighty-four bus routes routed away from George St to enable construction of the $2 billion new light rail system.

Passengers travelling into Sydney’s CBD are being advised to plan multiple routes into the city centre to avoid peak hour pandemonium.

NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance said yesterday it would take at least a month to bed down the changes because such a large number of commuters needed to adjust their behaviour.

“It’s not going to happen overnight, and there are serious challenges as a result of people having to change. We are going to see traffic problems – we are not hiding from that.”

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120 pink-clad staff would be on hand to help commuters get to work with 50 police on standby to provide “operational assistance”.

CBD commuters should plan their journey at www.transportnsw.info as their route and stop will likely have changed.

6. “What does it take to make society appreciate that mental illness can be as debilitating as physical illness?”

Last night’s Q&A was a special episode devoted to mental health as a part of Mental health Month.

The panel, including former AFL star and founder of the Sunrise Foundation, Wayne Schwass, Co-director of health and policy at the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre, Ian Hickie and Chief executive of Richmond Psychiatric Rehabilitation Australia and long term mental illness sufferer, Fay Jackson were asked by Sydney student Xavier Eales “What does it take to make society appreciate that mental illness can be as debilitating as physical illness?”

Xavier Eales, a Captain at a prominent Sydney school recently gave a speech about his own personal battle with depression at a school assembly that went viral.

“The community in this great country of ours needs to stop labelling mental illness, because it is not fair, not right”  Wayne Schwass told him. “I will continue to push that envelope as much as I can.”

Faye Jackson told the panel that “moderate depression is akin to having asthma or chronic hepatitis or something like that. Having severe post-traumatic stress disorder has the same disability as paraplegia, and schizophrenia has the same level of disability as quadriplegia.”

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7. Islamic State militants destroy the Arch of Triumph.

The Arch of Triumph has been destroyed.

Islamic State militants have blown up the Arch of Triumph, a major monument in the 2000-year-old Roman city of Palmyra.

The Arch of Triumph was “pulverised” by the militants who control the city, a Palmyra activist told AFP news agency.

IS fighters have already destroyed two ancient temples at the site, described by Unesco as one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world.

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Syria’s chief of antiquities, Maamoun Abdulkarim told The Guardian “It’s a crime in every sense of the word,”

“All we can do is share the sadness.”

Abdulkarim said the arch carried no religious significance and its destruction appeared to be fuelled entirely by spite.

8. Attempted abduction in Tasmania.

Tasmanian police have issued a public alert after an attempted abduction of a teenage girl in broad daylight.

The girl was walking on Goulburn Street in George Town about 1:00pm on Saturday when she was approached by a white coloured mid-90’s 4 door Hyundai Excel.

The car was being driven by a man and had a female passenger.

Police said the female passenger got out and attempted to grab at the teenager’s clothing and pull her into the vehicle

The girl managed to break free and run to safety, they said.

“This is a disturbing incident which we are treating very seriously,” said Inspector John King

Anyone who believes they have information relating to the vehicle or the vehicle occupants, is encouraged to contact police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

9. Royal Queensland Golf Club blocks proposal to allow women to play on Saturdays.

Women are categorised as “associate members”

Didn’t you know that on Saturdays women should be cleaning the house and caring for the kids? They certainly shouldn’t be playing golf.

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And Royal Queensland Golf Club has ensured that that outrageous proposal won’t happen after members voted to block a proposal to allow women to tee-up on Saturdays.

The Golf Club in Eagle Farm ensures that women are categorised as “associate members” meaning they are not allowed to make decisions about the club or to hold office.

According to The Courier Mail the woman has never been accepted as a full member, who gets to play on Saturdays, in its 95-year history.

Club president Andrew Corrigan told The Courier-Mail that about 200 all male “full members” who voted at the extraordinary general meeting rejected a bid to allow “six-day members to vote and hold office”.

 

10. Kate Ceberano “evicted from Qantas Club for wearing thongs.”

The 48-year old was flying to Brisbane for the Caloundra Music Festival and was wearing a pair of open toe mules.

But she was told they violated the dress code.

“Disappointed to be evicted from the Qantas Lounge after being a member since 1990 for wearing ‘inappropriate footwear’? hahaha (new rules),” she said on her Facebook page.

In April the Qantas Club changed their rules meaning no thongs, gym wear, boardshorts, Ugg boots, revealing, unclean and torn clothing are permitted.

Do you have a story to share with Mamamia? Email us news@mamamia.com.au
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