News for Thursday

24 Jan 2013

Two Australians have been arrested in Phuket after accidentally shooting two German men. Meanwhile, Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua have become the first all-Aussie duo to reach the Australian Open women’s doubles final since 1977.

Australians arrested in Phuket

Two Australian men have been arrested in Phuket after accidentally shooting two German men. One of the Australians was aiming a gun at a Danish man after an altercation over a motorbike. ABC has more.

Victoria under threat from extreme conditions

Victoria is facing extreme conditions for the second time in a week, with vicious winds expected to fuel the Gippsland fire. Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley has warned that the worst of the conditions is yet to come with February historically known as the most severe month for bushfires. Read more.

Pilbara feels the force

The Pilbara coast has felt the full force of category one Tropical Cyclone Peta with major export operations closed when the cylcone was due to hit. Conditions are expected to improve, and export operations are set to resume, however communities are still on high alert. Perthnow.com.au has more.

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The dangers of social media when it comes to law

A South Australian judge has slammed Facebook as an easy way for the public to prejudice witness accounts, spawning “a new generation of private investigators”. Justice David Peek claims that social media has the potential to contaminate evidence during the legal process. Read more.

Illegal gun trade ripe

More needs to be done to combat the online trade of firearms, a former senior Australian Federal Police officer says. With 25 separate shootings in Sydney over the past three months, it is believed the problem is fuelled by the ease of access to firearms online. Yahoo News has more.

Barty and Dellacqua on top

Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua are through to the Australian Open women’s doubles final. They are the first all-Australian duo through since 1977, after defeating American Varvara Lepchenko and China's Zheng Saisai. See what the Ashleigh and Casey had to say on the ABC.