Wednesday's news in under 5 minutes: 21st January 2015.

A round-up of the latest news from Australia and around the world.

1. William Tyrell “abduction” investigation

After reports last night that police had raided properties on the mid-north coast in the search for missing toddler William Tyrell Fairfax Media and the ABC report that detectives now say they are “almost certain” the three-year-old was abducted.

Computer equipment and a single mattress was seized from a unit in Laurieton, south of Port Macquarie as officers from the Sex  Crimes Quad and local police searched the home for hours.

There are reports that a second home was also searched.

News Limited reports that two people were questioned by police yesterday but were later released without charge.

Police have said it is part of an ongoing investigation  and that they are speaking to a number of people as part of their enquiries.

2. Japanese hostages in IS ransom demand

A video has been released online appears to show the Islamic State group threatening to kill two Japanese hostages unless they receive a $200 million ransom within the next 72 hours.

The militant speaking in the video resembled and sounded like a British man involved in other execution videos by the Islamic State group, known as Jihadi John.

The Japanese nationals have been named as Kenji Goto Jogo and Haruna Yukawa.

The video comes two days after Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged the same amount in non-military support for countries fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

The Japanese Prime Minister has responded to the threat saying “Making threats by taking people hostage is an unforgivable terrorist act about which I feel strong anger.” “I strongly demand that they not be harmed and that they be immediately released,” he said.

“The international community will not give in to any form of terrorism and we have to make sure that we work together.”

3. 5-year old shoots brother

A five-year old boy in the US has accidentally shot and killed his brother who was playing in his playpen at the time.

For more read this post here.

4. AirAsia QZ8501: Plane climbed at ‘beyond normal’ speed then stalled, Indonesian transport minister says

By ABC

An AirAsia plane that crashed into the Java Sea last month with 162 people on board had climbed at a speed that was higher than normal and then stalled, Indonesia’s transport minister says.

Flight QZ8501 went down on December 28 in stormy weather, during what was supposed to be a short trip from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.

Indonesia’s meteorological agency has said bad weather may have caused the crash, and investigators are analyzing the data from the jet’s black boxes before releasing a preliminary report.

Just moments before the plane disappeared off the radar, the pilot had asked to climb to avoid the storm. He was not immediately granted permission due to heavy air traffic.

“In the final minutes, the plane climbed at a speed which was beyond normal,” transport minister Ignasius Jonan told reporters, citing radar data.

“The plane suddenly went up at a speed above the normal limit that it was able to climb to. Then it stalled.”

Earlier at a parliamentary hearing, he said radar data showed the Airbus A320-200 appeared at one point to be climbing at a rate of 6,000 feet (1,800 metres) a minute before the crash.

There were several other planes in the area at the time.

“I think it is rare even for a fighter jet to be able to climb 6,000 feet per minute,” Mr Jonan said.

“For a commercial flight, climbing around 1,000 to 2,000 (feet) is maybe already considered extraordinary, because it is not meant to climb that fast.”

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

5. Bali 9 executions.

AAP reports that Indonesian lawyers for Bali 9 member Myuran Sukumaran hope to file a judicial review of his case, potentially stalling his execution, by the end of this week.

 6. Manus Island hunger strike to continue

Asylum seekers involved in the hunger strike at Manus Island detention centre have said they will continue their hunger strike despite the temporary jailing of more than 40 men.

The ABC reports that the jailed asylum seekers have not been charged but have been “isolated” while local police search the compound for weapons, mobile phones and other contraband.

7. Terrorism threat level raised

The national terrorism threat level for all police has been raised to high.

Australia’s national alert level was raised to high in September last year, classifying a terrorist attack as “likely but not imminent.”

Yesterday the Australian Federal Police issued a statement saying “The factors that lead to the elevated terrorism threat level for Australia to high in September 2014 persist and the security environment remains increasingly complex and challenging”

“Recent events in France, Canada and Australia serve as a sobering reminder of the risks associated with policing.”

8. US State of the Union

The US President Barack Obama is preparing to give his State of the Union address, televised to millions of Americans.

He is expected to highlight a plan to increase cybersecurity and invest in infrastructure.

President Obama will update Americans on the struggle against Islamic extremists and defend his descision normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba.

 9. Pope says Catholics don’t have to breed “like rabbits”.

After a successful trip to the Philippines the Pope addressed journalists on his return flight saying that Catholics should practice “responsible parenting”.

The Pope said there are plenty of church-approved ways to regulate births, and that no outside institution should impose its views on regulating family size.

At the same time, however, he said it’s not true that to be a good Catholic “you have to be like rabbits”.

He spoke of a woman he recently met who already had seven children by caesarean sections and put her life at risk by becoming pregnant again.

He said he chided her for “tempting God” and added: “That was an irresponsibility.”

The Pope told the journalists that there were “many ways that are allowed” to practise natural family planning.

 10. UK Paper drops page 3 girls

The Murdoch owned newspaper The Sun has dropped its traditional of printing photos of topless women on page 3.

The 44-year long tradition has been quietly moved from The Sun’s print edition to online.

Actress Lucy-Anne Holmes told the BBC “The Sun hasn’t suddenly decided that women say, think and do interesting and incredible things”

“It’s still basically saying women are here for decoration but it’s a step in the right direction.”

The newspaper will instead print women in bikinis on Page 3.

 11. Fred Nile offends mothers (again)

NSW MP Fred Nile has once again tweeted the inane with comments yesterday likening childcare centres to “day orphanages”.

The controversial MP who last week said that the only man in the Lindt cafe siege was the gunman tweeted “Stay-at-home parenting is superior to ‘day orphanages’ (childcare). We need to reform our tax/welfare system to support parenting.”

“It’s offensive to early educators, it’s offensive to families who make the decision to have children in childcare, and it’s offensive to women who make a decision to have a career,”

12. TV presenter’s video of British Airways first class goes viral

A British TV presenter’s video of British Airways first class has gone viral after he posted a video of what he said were shocking conditions on the airline.

Owen Thomas was headed off on what he said was a trip of a lifetime, but instead was disgusted at what he found.

 13. Top ten most complained about kid’s shows

A list of the top ten most complained about children’s TV shows has been compiled by the UK Office of Communications.

And at the top is the beloved, Tom and Jerry. With so much fodder for complaints (er, mouse violence anyone? ) the main feature which caused the British public to spill their tea was two episodes which seemed to glamourise smoking cigars and cigarettes.

And the majority of complaints weren’t actually about the cartoon itself but in protest at Ofcom’s decision to investigate the show.

Other TV shows in the top 10 are Tweenies, Blue Peter and Bratz.

What news are you talking about today?