news

Saturday'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. Four tourists are to be deported from Malaysia over nude photo scandal.

Four Western tourists will be deported from Malaysia after pleading guiltily to charges of obscenity for taking nude photographs on on Mount Kinabalu.

The four were charged with committing an “obscene act in a public place,” and sentenced three days jail time starting from when they were arrested on Tuesday, meaning their term had been served.

The photo in question on Mount Kinabalu.

The defendants, Dutch national Dylan Snel, 23, Canadian siblings Lindsey Petersen, 23, and Danielle Petersen, 22 and Eleanor Hawkins of Britain, 24 were also fined 5,000 Malaysian ringgit ($1,700).

According to the ABC, Masidi Manjun, the state’s tourism minister said, “It is a wake-up call to tourists not to ignore local traditions and culture.”

“Since they pleaded guilty and showed remorse, it is only fair that they are let off with a fine by the court.”

The popular climbing peak and World Heritage Site is considered as sacred to tribal groups of Borneo. Some have suggested that the offensive act may have caused the 6.0-magnitude earthquake on June 5 that resulted in 18 deaths.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Sabah’s Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan said, “This is very offensive behaviour and showed disrespect to the sacred mountain … This will certainly bring misfortune.”

He added, “We can’t play with the spirit of the sacred mountain.”

ADVERTISEMENT

2. A tourist has been rescued from Uluru after 24 hours wedged in a crevice. 

A tourist has been winched to safety after having been wedged in a crevice on Uluru for over 24 hours.

News.com reports that as a result of the freak accident, the Taiwanese national has suffered hypothermia, a head injury and fractures to his pelvis and limbs.

Police officers, national park staff and his two companions stayed in contact with the male overnight.

It is believed the 27-year-old man fell into the crevice on Thursday afternoon after becoming separated from two female companions.

The tourist was then spotted from the air at around 6pm at which point it was too dark to attempt a rescue operation.

After a night in five degrees Celsius weather, the man was airlifted to Yulara Clinic with plans to transfer him to Alice Springs Hospital.

3. Police have charged a second man in connection to an attack on a transgender woman earlier this week.

Police have reportedly charged a second man in connection to the attack of a transgender woman at a Newtown Hotel in Sydney’s inner west – earlier this week.

According to News.com, the 43-year-old woman was preparing to perform with her band at a venue early last Saturday morning before being approached by two men.

It is believed the pair pulled the woman’s hair before punching her in the face.

The home of a 22-year-old man has since been raided leading to an arrest and a seizure of clothing and cannabis.

ADVERTISEMENT

News.com reports that the Balmain local has been charged with recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, affray and possessing a prohibited drug.

A 23-year-old man has also been charged over the attack.

The men will appear in court on July 9.

4. Police have started one of Tasmania’s largest search operations for missing man Ben Plowright.

The ABC reports that Ben Plowright has now been missing for two weeks after he was last seen leaving a party in the Northern Tasmanian town of Perth on Saturday, May 30.

Now, over 100 police officers and State Emergency Service workers will search each backyard of the town.

Speaking with the ABC, Police Inspector Darren Hopkins said, “It has been a long time since we’ve had a search of this scale. It’s unusual that we’re searching backyards and sheds but the circumstances are unusual.”

“We don’t know what’s happened to Ben and this is a very strong line of enquiry that we want to follow through to provide some answers for the family.”

The search, which will include horses and sniffer dogs, is one of Tasmania’s largest search operations.

5. In a scene from your worst nightmares, blood-sucking fish have fallen from the skies in Alaska.

Terrifying eel-like fish, equipped with teeth for latching onto to other animals, have reportedly been falling from the skies of Fairbanks, Alaska.

ADVERTISEMENT

The first sighting was outside of a supermarket parking lot, where the fish, an Arctic lamprey to be exact, was found alive. Store employees grabbed the jawless fish and left the wriggling creature in a bucket of water before calling the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to report it.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the department has since received three other reports of – live – falling Arctic lampreys.

Nancy Sisinyak, sport fish information officer with the department said, “They are parasites on other fish and sometimes other marine animals.”

She added, “They latch on with those rasping teeth and they live off of the nutrients of that host animal.”

The department believes that the fish are most likely falling from the mouths of seagulls as they fly above to the town. However, this many reports within a short time frame is unusual.

“Some people think they’re really ugly,” Sisinyak said. “I don’t think that.”

Watch today’s news headlines:

Video via ABC News

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