Man charged with child abuse after marrying 12-year-old girl
A Lebanese university student has been charged with child abuse after having intercourse with a 12-year-old girl he had married. The 26-year-old University of Newcastle student is accused of having sex with the girl 25 times during the month of January after they were married in an Islamic ceremony.
The pair then moved to Sydney’s south-west, where they were discovered by authorities.
Schapelle Corby to be released early next week.
It is expected that Australian convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby will be released from prison on Monday, after Indonesia’s Justice Minister confirmed that he had signed her parole papers in a press conference yesterday. Officials from Indonesia’s Jail and Justice Ministry have told the media that, as Corby’s parole application was signed so late on a Friday afternoon, her release is most likely to happen early next week.
Abbott warns of serious budget cuts
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has warned the Australian people to expect serious cuts when the Federal Budget is released in May. Mr Abbott told Fairfax, “I don’t want people to think that it’s all doom and gloom because there’s a purpose to all of this, and the purpose is to strengthen our economy over the medium and the long term, but inevitably in this budget there will be things that people won’t like much.” Australians have been told to expect cuts in addition to those that have already been foreshadowed, such as the baby bonus.