Singer Chris Brown has been arrested in Paris on allegations of rape, & more in News in 5.

-With AAP.

1. Chris Brown released after Paris rape claim.

US singer Chris Brown, who was arrested in Paris with two other people on suspicion of rape, has been released from police custody, the French prosecutor’s office says.

The police are still investigating the case, the French prosecutor’s office added on Tuesday.

The arrests were first reported by Closer magazine, which said Brown, his bodyguard and a friend were detained after a 24-year-old woman alleged she was raped at the singer’s suite at the Mandarin Oriental hotel on the night of January 15.

The woman said she had met the men at a Paris nightclub earlier in the evening, according to the magazine.

Neither Brown nor his agents responded to requests for comment.

Brown, 29, whose previous legal troubles include assaulting singer Rihanna in 2009, had remained in custody on Tuesday, a judicial source said.

Brown pleaded guilty to assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna in an incident that made headlines around the world when a photo of her bruised face was released.

In 2016, Brown was arrested in Los Angeles after a woman said he had pointed a gun at her. Brown denied any wrongdoing.

A rape conviction in France can carry a sentence of 15 years.

2. The tragic moment Aya Maasarwe’s father knew he’d lost his daughter.

Last week, 21-year-old visiting student Aiia Masarwa was murdered on her way home. Much has been said about her death, so before they left the country, Aiia’s father Saaed and her cousin Sharef agreed to speak to @JamilaRizvi about her life and legacy. #TheProjectTV pic.twitter.com/ev6gle422f

— The Project (@theprojecttv) January 22, 2019

The father of murdered exchange student Aya Maasarwe has described the horrible moment he was told his daughter had been killed.

“I pray it’s not true, I pray it’s dream, I pray it’s not Aya,” Saeed Maasarwe said through tears in an interview with The Project.

He described his daughter as an “angel” who was full of life.

“Her smile makes you smile. Her laugh makes you laugh. She was so positive all of the time.”

Saeed acknowledged the unbelievable amount of support his family had been shown in Australia, saying the supporters could never know how helpful they were.

He hoped Aya would leave a lasting legacy.

“I wish from our tragedy that people can change here a little, if our tragedy can change a little, can make the world, make Australia also, more better and more beautiful and can save the life of more people, this is the message that we want to send,” he said.

Saeed’s interview came as he and his family boarded a flight out of Melbourne on Tuesday, saying they left Australia with more than just bad memories.

A companion of her father Saeed Maasarwe told reporters that a selection of items left in tribute to Aya will be taken to the family’s home at Baka al-Gharbiyye, an hour north of Tel Aviv, with plans to use them as part of a shrine.

He told reporters up to 20,000 people were expected to gather in her home town upon her arrival.

The body of Aya, a Palestinian Arab of Israeli citizenship, will be buried in line with her Muslim faith after a funeral in Israel on Wednesday.

Saeed visited the spot at the northern suburb of Bundoora where his daughter was found last Wednesday morning.

The night before Aya had alighted a tram and was walking home after visiting a city comedy club.

Codey Herrmann, 20, has been charged with her’s rape and murder.

As she made her final journey, a small vigil was held on Tuesday night near where she was murdered, with plans to plant a memorial tree and unveil a plaque at the site.

3. Australian Oscar nominees ‘laughing and crying’.

The complete list of the 2019 #Oscar Nominees. What do you think of this year’s #OscarNoms? https://t.co/HjOaHNUlC1

— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) January 22, 2019

Nicole Kidman, Toni Collette, Margot Robbie and Troye Sivan have missed out on Oscar nominations, but it was not all bad news for Australia.

Australian production designer Fiona Crombie and screenwriter Tony McNamara were nominated for their work on The Favourite, an English drama-comedy set in the early 18th century around Queen Anne.

The Favourite will be a force at the February 24 Academy Awards after picking up 10 nominations, including best picture.

Sydney-born, Adelaide-raised Crombie, who lives in London, was at home with her production design co-nominee, set decorator Alice Felton, watching the nomination ceremony on TV when their names were announced.

“We were shrieking,” Crombie told AAP. “We were laughing and crying.”

Crombie is an NIDA graduate and Sydney Theatre Company resident designer who moved to London with husband Peter Knowles and children Ooma, 12, and Orlando, 8.

Ooma and Orlando were at school but a big celebration is planned.

“I’m going to wait for my kids to get home, but they will have no idea what any of this means,” Crombie said.

“I’ll have to tell them this is a really big deal and then I’ll go and meet up with my husband and have a celebratory dinner.”

McNamara, who co-wrote The Favourite script with Deborah Davis, was also over the moon with his nod.

“It’s a pretty amazing moment that’s for sure,” McNamara told the BBC.

Kidman was a chance for double nominations, but missed out on both.

She was overlooked in the best actress category for Destroyer.

Glenn Close (The Wife), Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born), Olivia Colman (The Favourite), Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) and Yalitza Apariciao (Roma) filled the nominations.

Collette, for Hereditary, was an outside best actress chance but her name was also not called.

Kidman was also in the running for a supporting nod for Boy Erased and Robbie for Mary Queen of Scots, however, they were both overlooked.

The supporting actress nominees were also dominated by The Favourite with cast members Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz receiving nods.

Amy Adams (Vice), Marina de Tavira (Roma), and frontrunner Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk) were the other supporting actress nominees.

The lead actor nominations were: Christian Bale (Vice); Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born); Willem Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate); Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody); and Viggo Mortensen (Green Book).

Black Panther was a best picture nominee, a rare achievement for a superhero film.

The other best picture nominees are: BlacKkKlansman; The Favourite; Green Book; Roma; A Star Is Born; and Vice.

Perth pop star Sivan received a Golden Globe nomination in the original song category for Revelation from Boy Erased earlier this month, but Oscar voters were not so kind.

The Melbourne team behind the animated short film Lost & Found, Andrew Goldsmith, Bradley Slabe and Lucy Hayes, were also not nominated.

4. Russian plane in suspected hijacking.

A commercial flight bound for Moscow made an emergency landing in western Siberia after a drunk passenger tried to hijack the aircraft, Russian media reported https://t.co/0KsQHpKQ68

— CNN (@CNN) January 22, 2019

Russian authorities say a plane bound for Moscow was forced to land shortly after take-off in a suspected hijacking.

The National Anti-Terrorism Committee said on Tuesday that an unnamed man on the Aeroflot flight, bound from the Siberian city of Surgut to Moscow, ordered the crew to divert the plane to Afghanistan.

The plane landed in the city of Khanty-Mansiysk about 230 kilometres to the west.

It was not immediately clear if the passenger was armed and what his demands were.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said the man was “in a state of inebriation”.

“Threatening that he had a weapon, he tried to break into the cockpit during the flight and demanded to change the course of the aircraft,” investigators said in a statement.

“The aircraft commander made the decision to make a forced landing in Khanty-Mansiysk.”

Aeroflot, Russia’s national carrier, said the incident did not affect other flights, but said the airline’s “security and technical services are in a state of heightened vigilance.”

5. Cristiano Ronaldo gets suspended jail term.

Cristiano Ronaldo fined $21.6m in tax fraud case, but avoids jail. pic.twitter.com/OCBWhpkPvI

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) January 22, 2019

Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has pleaded guilty to tax fraud and received a two-year suspended jail sentence.

The Juventus forward, who was facing charges stemming from his days at Real Madrid, was in court for about 45 minutes and signed an agreement which will cost him nearly 19 million euro ($A30.3 million) in fines.

Ronaldo arrived at court in a black van and was wearing a black sports coat and black trousers.

He walked up some stairs leading to the court house and even stopped to sign an autograph.

Ronaldo made the deal to plead guilty with Spain’s state prosecutor and tax authorities last year.

In Spain, a judge can suspend sentences for two years or less for first-time offenders.

In 2017, a state prosecutor accused Ronaldo of four counts of tax fraud from 2011-14 worth 14.7 million euro ($A23.4 million).

The Portuguese superstar was accused of having used shell companies outside Spain to hide income made from image rights.

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