Cardinal George Pell has taken his legal fight to overturn his child sex abuse convictions to the High Court of Australia. A 12-page application seeking leave to appeal has been lodged, following the Victorian Court of Appeal’s dismissal of Pell’s appeal in August. The 78-year-old former adviser to the Pope is currently serving a maximum six-year prison sentence for the sexual …

Detectives initially charged 17 people in May over their alleged links to a fake business called Red Roses Family Day Care. It was alleged the illegitimate company accumulated the sum in rebates in ten months alone by exploiting the federal government’s childcare subsidy scheme. Police have claimed the alleged scam could be as many as 100 childcare fraud syndicates operating …

Worksafe are investigating the tragic death of a 22-year-old apprentice jockey after she died in a fall during pre-dawn training at a racecourse in Melbourne, police have confirmed. The female apprentice rider from Clyde fell while training at Cranbourne Racecourse in Melbourne’s south-east about 4.35am on Friday morning. Her death is not being treated as suspicious and no other riders were …

The man accused of going on a deadly stabbing rampage in central Sydney on Tuesday will defend the charges laid against him on the grounds of mental illness, his lawyer says. Mert Ney, 20, appeared briefly at Parramatta Bail Court via video link from Surry Hills Police Station where he was charged last night. His lawyer Zemarai Khatiz told the …

The sixth wife of the ruler of Dubai has emerged at a London court after weeks of hiding to ask for a forced marriage protection order, claiming she fears for her life. Princess Haya Bint al-Hussein, 45, is the third woman to try to escape the court of her 70-year-old billionaire husband Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum. The sheikh owns Godolphin …

Three convicted terrorists will spend more than a decade each behind bars for firebombing a Melbourne mosque in an attack motivated by hate, intolerance and malevolence. Ahmed Mohamed and Abdullah Chaarani attempted once to burn the Imam Ali Islamic Centre at Fawkner in November 2016, before succeeding in a second attempt a month later, helped by Hatim Moukhaiber. Mohamed and …

Chinese swimmer Sun Yang has reacted angrily after another professional swimmer – Britain’s Duncan Scott – refused to shake hands amid allegations of doping against the Chinese athlete. Footage has emerged of Yang smirking and calling Scott a “loser” after the Briton, who won bronze on Tuesday night, ignored the Chinese champion’s offer to shake hands on the podium. “”You loser,” Sun …

A woman who threw an egg at the Prime Minister’s head during an election campaign event has been sentenced to an 18-month community corrections order and will have to complete 150 hours of community service. Amber Holt, 25, was sentenced at the Albury Local Court on Tuesday. Magistrate Rodney Brender said it was unacceptable for citizens to be subject to …

Reports that many foreign fighters have returned to Australia emphasises the need for parliament to pass legislation to prevent such dual-citizens temporarily heading home from war zones, a federal cabinet minister says. News Corp newspapers reported 40 Australians who joined Islamic State and other extremist military groups fighting in Syria and Iraq are now back home. It says federal government …

A man charged with terror offences planned to create an Islamic State (IS) base in the Blue Mountains and encourage fighters to launch “guerilla-stye” attacks in Sydney, court documents allege. Isaak el Matari, 20, had his matter heard in Parramatta Local Court this Thursday charged with three offences including being a member of IS and preparing a terrorist act. He …