Tuesday's news in under 5 minutes.

1. Adelaide Bushfires

With temperatures expected to hit 38 degrees again today in Adelaide firefighters are desperately trying to contain the fires in the Adelaide Hills.

Bushfires have destroyed or badly damaged 26 homes and burnt over 12,500 hectares.

CFS assistant chief officer Malim Watts told the ABC that they were chiefly concerned with a wind change that was forecast for tomorrow which was when “the most dangerous fire conditions could occur”.

For up to date fire information go to the CFS website.
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2. Koala seeks out water

A video of a parched koala seeking out a drink amidst the devastation of the Adelaide Hills bush fires has gone viral.

For more read this post here.

 3. Mamamia calls on the Immigration Minister to refuse a visa to anti-vaccination campaigner.

There are calls for the Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton, as well as state and federal health ministers to step in and stop a US osteopath from coming to Australia.

Sherri Tenpenny is an American osteopath described as “one of the most successful anti-vaccinationists in the world”. Her tour set to hit Australia in March has been called extremist and dangerous.

Tenpenny runs an “alternative medicines clinic” in the US state of Ohio. She is the author of a book called Saying No To Vaccines and regularly lectures on the dangers of immunisation.

Mamamia is calling on the Immigration Minister to refuse Tenpenny’s visa.

For more read this post here.

4. Boston bomber trial

5. Cubby house ordered to be dismantled as the noise of children’s fun is “too much.”

Sprout Wholefood Café in Naremburn have posted on their Facebook page “It is with much regret that due to neighbouring complaints about “children’s noise (laughter/fun!!!)”

The post created much anger within the local community with many calling out the fun police for ruining what they say is simply children having a good time.

“What has our world become when children having fun outside instead of sitting with their heads shoved in an iPad is considered noise pollution?” wrote one.

“Hmm, kids will probably make more noise now… Will they ban the kids next?!?” said another.

 6. Queensland state election announced for later this month.

By ABC

An LNP source has revealed the Queensland state election will be held on the 31st of January– almost two months earlier than expected.

A formal press conference with further details is expected later today. 

The Liberal National Party (LNP) will be trying to win a second term in office, after a tumultuous three years in power.

The LNP swept to power with a landslide victory in March 2012, winning 78 out of 89 seats.

The party has since lost five MPs, with three defecting to minor parties and two quitting parliament.

Recent polls show a significant slump in support for the LNP, as Mr Newman also faces a stiff challenge in his own seat of Ashgrove.

Labor candidate Kate Jones, who held Ashgrove from 2006 to 2012, announced in September she planned to recontest the seat.

A Newspoll published in The Australian over the weekend found support was evenly split between the LNP and Labor on a two-party preferred basis.

It also found 44 per cent of those surveyed said Mr Newman would make the better premier compared to Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk, on 35 per cent.

The Premier has improved his satisfaction rating which now sits at 38 per cent, up three points since September, but still just over half of those surveyed are dissatisfied with the Premier’s performance.

Ms Palazczuk’s satisfaction rating has climbed two points to 38 per cent in the poll, which surveyed more than 1,100 people and has a 3 per cent margin of error.

Katter’s Australian Party holds three seats but has languished in recent opinion polls.

A version of this story was originally published on ABC and has been republished with full permission.

 7. Cairns funeral

The Courier Mail reports that the Prime Minister Tony Abbott will attend the funeral for the eight children found dead in their Cairns home last month.

The service at the Cairns Convention Centre on Saturday is expected to be attended by more than 3000 people.

The woman accused of murdering the children, Raina Mersane Ina Thaiday, the mother of seven of them, will appear in Cairns Magistrates Court on January 30.

8. Rapist wins right to be put to death by lethal injection

A rapist and murderer has won the right to be put to death by lethal injection in Belgium after  convincing a court that his “psychological suffering” is unbearable and that he would prefer to die than spend more of his life behind bars.

Frank Van Den Bleeken, 52, raped and killed a 19-year old girl in 1989, strangling her with one of her own stockings.

He was deemed insane and spent seven years on a prison psychiatric ward. Upon his release he attacked three more victims within weeks including one aged just 11-years old.

Belgium legalised euthanasia in 2002 and extended the practice beyond terminally ill adults. It can now be used in cases of intense pain and psychological distress.

The Independent reports that he will be euthanised on Sunday.

9. Serena Williams on-court request

In yesterday’s Hopman Cup the world number one called on a ball girl to get her a coffee.

A quick espresso sure did the trick with the tennis great taking the match three sets, 0-6 6-3 6-0 over Italian Flavia Pennetta.

 10. Man Haron Monis refugee status was based on deception

News Limited reports that Man Haron Monis’s refugee status granted to him in 1997 was based on deception after he fooled Amnesty International into believing he was a dissident poet, a senior cleric and an Iranian intelligence officer. The organization then allegedly lobbied on his behalf.

Amnesty International has released a statement regarding the report, which confirms that while they did write a letter on behalf of Mr Monis in 1997, it was merely to provide background information for the Department of Immigration.

The organisation’s Refugee Co-ordinator Dr Graham Thom said he believed that Mr Monis’ was actually granted refugee status in 2001 and that when they were again contacted by Mr Monis in 2010, they refused to assist him at the time.

The statement is below.

“The articles refer to a letter for consideration written to the Department of Immigration to be taken into account in their determination of his refugee application. The letter reviews Iran’s political context against the claims he made.

Amnesty International highlighted the political nature of Mr Manteghi’s poetry published in Iran, after reviewing copies of the work, published by well known Iranian anti-regime outlet Payam-e Daneshju.

As detailed in this letter, we confirmed that the Iranian authorities had arrested the publisher of this poetry  in July 1996 for “publishing lies and causing public confusion”. The editor of this publication continues to be in and out of jail in Iran for his writing.

The letter for consideration was written in 1997. This was before he was reportedly granted refugee status in 2001.

Mr Manteghi later approached Amnesty International in August 2010 as Sheikh Haron , visiting our Sydney office, without notice, requesting support.

Amnesty International declined to provide him with assistance, as his case did not meet the organisation’s human rights criteria.

After declining this request for support, Amnesty International had no further involvement in his case and advised him to contact Police.”

 11. Perth heat

Many iiNet customers across Australia found themselves offline after the company shut down some of its systems at its Perth data centre.

“Due to record breaking temperatures, iiNet Toolbox, Email and our corporate websites are unavailable. Apologies for any inconvenience caused,” iiNet tweeted.

Yesterday was the sixth hottest day on record for Perth, and the hottest January day in 24 years.

The temperature for the city reached 44.4C at 1.51pm on Monday.

12. Earthquakes hit New Zealand’s South Island

By ABC

A series of earthquakes has struck New Zealand’s South Island, according to reports.

New Zealand’s GeoNet advisory service reports the largest quake was a magnitude 6.4 and hit north of the town of Methven at 6.48am (local time).

The United States Geological Survey reported a 5.6 magnitude quake in the area at a similar time.

There have not yet been any reports of damage.

The epicentre of the quake was near the centre of the South Island, about 100 kilometres west of Christchurch.

GeoNet, New Zealand’s official source of geological hazard information, said 13 earthquakes struck within an hour of each other.

Four of them measured higher than magnitude 4.

Earthquake-prone New Zealand sits on the edge of the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire” where continental plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

In 2011, 185 people were killed when a devastating magnitude 6.3 quake hit Christchurch in one of the nation’s deadliest disasters of the modern era.

A version of this story was originally published on ABC and has been republished with full permission.

13. Toddler trapped in washing machine

A two-year old girl has been rescued from a washing machine after being trapped for nearly an hour.

The young girl from northern China crawled into the machine and was found by her frantic mother.

15. Top baby names

While parents mainly stuck to names we know last year there were a few more unusual ones that made the top 100 baby names.

For girls Arya and Aria jumped 18 spots on the list. If you are a Game of Thrones fan they will sound familiar.

For boys the number one name was Oliver according to the Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

For girls the number one name was Olivia.

For the top ten girls:

1. Olivia

2. Charlotte

3. Mia

4. Ava

5. Chloe

6. Amelia

7. Sophie

8. Emily

9. Ruby

10. Ella

For the top ten boys:

1. Oliver

2. Jack

3. William

4. Noah

5. Thomas

6. James

7. Lucas

8. Ethan

9. Mason

10. Lachlan

Source: Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.