Wednesday's news in under 2 minutes.

1. A woman in New Zealand who was raped after police confiscated her car keys, has spoken about the harrowing event during the opening hours of her alleged rapist’s trial. A mother of two, the woman had dropped her children off at a relative’s house and went to a pub, where she was playing pokies until 4am.

When she was leaving the premises a stranger handed her a bottle of bourbon. Two police officers then stopped her, and took her licence because her resticted licence had specific driving hours. She said, “They assumed I was drunk… I was angry because they didn’t breath test me.” The woman then accepted a lift from a man who said he could hot-wire her car from his house.

2. Syria has admitted to having a stockpile of chemical weapons, as the world continues to weigh up its options in taking action against the country. The Russians are speaking with Syria and negotiating for them to sign a UN Treaty that would prevent them from possessing or using chemical weapons. The United States and its allies remain cautious and are insisting that the UN reserves the right to use force against Syria if required.

3. Bill Shorten, the former Minister for Education in Labor’s Government and a key figure behind the late night removal of Kevin Rudd in 2010, is expected to announce he is standing for Labor’s leadership later today. Shorten is the Member for Maribrynong in Victoria but is known best within the community as one of Labor’s ‘faceless men’. There is speculation that Member for Grayndler in NSW and former Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will also stand for the leadership.

4. Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard has accepted an honourary professorship at her alma mater, the University of Adelaide. She will teach in the Politics and History Department. Tickets to a series of public conversations with feminist Anne Summers and the former Prime Minister reportedly sold out yesterday within hours of their release.

5. More than 63 fires swept through the Blue Mountains and Sydney’s west yesterday. One home has been destroyed and seven firefighters were injured in the blaze. Thousands of residents have been evacuated, with many taking shelter in nearby Penrith, which was unaffected. Thankfully, no lives were lost.

6. Researchers in Melbourne have discovered a new way to treat ectopic pregnancies – a life threatening condition in which an embryo attaches itself to the inside of the fallopian tube instead of the uterus. Usually ectopic pregnancies must be treated with surgery, which can affect fertility in the future. But the new treatment involved using a drug used to kill lung cancer cells. The University of Melbourne’s Stephen Tong told ABC, “By having a treatment which works faster it could make medical treatments the preferred way to treat ectopic pregnancies over surgery, and it may be much more cost effective.”

7. Apple have released their next iteration of the iPhone. The iPhone 5C is a cheaper plastic version, allowing Apple’s plans of world domination to extend to those of us whose bank balance won’t support the real deal. The iPhone 5S is the next development of the standard iPhone. It comes in several different colours and includes fingerprint scanning technology.

8. Gary Ablett, captain of the AFL‘s fledgling Gold Coast team has been voted the league’s most valuable player. This is the fifth time that Ablett has won the award, which is voted by players in the league. He was more than 1000 votes ahead of his competition for the coveted Leigh Matthews Trophy.

9. A feral pig has caused a scene at an Australian campsite in Port Hedland, after the animal stole and drank three six-packs of beer that had been left out by campers. The pig then went on to pilfer through rubbish bins in the area, and then started a fight with a nearby cow. Typically boarish behaviour. After such pig-like behaviour, the animal went for a swim, before collapsing and falling asleep in the shade of a tree.