Police have deployed divers and a blood detection dog as the search continues for a mother and her newborn baby after what police believe was a placenta and umbilical cord were found near the Cooks River in Sydney’s south-west on Monday afternoon.
Police said there was no evidence of harm to the baby at this stage. The placenta and umbilical cord were sent for testing on Tuesday morning to determine the length of pregnancy, the gender of the child and how long the placenta and umbilical cord had been in the river.
New South Wales Health Minister Ryan Park said his “heart goes out absolutely” to the mother and child and repeated police advice for the woman to go to hospital.
“You’re not in trouble, you don’t need to talk to the police,” Park said. “All I ask is that you go to one of our hospitals so we can take care of you and your baby as soon as possible.”
top news
-
Satellite images reveal extent of PNG disaster | Images show extensive damage to a village in remote Enga province, where PNG’s National Disaster Center said a landslide buried nearly 2,000 people. Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt confirmed the arrival of a team of Australian technical experts.
-
Victoria appoints parliamentary secretary responsible for ‘men’s behavior change’ | Victorian premier Jacinta Allan has announced changes to the foreign ministry, including the appointment of Mordialloc MP Tim Richardson as parliamentary secretary responsible for “men’s behavior change”; Allan described it as “the first position of its kind in Australia”.
-
Distraught mother denied allegations that she shot and killed her daughter | Kallista Mutten broke down in tears when faced with accusations that she killed her own daughter and told the court she didn’t even know exactly where the nine-year-old was shot. Justin Stein, 33, who is on trial for the murder of schoolgirl Charlise Mutten, claimed he witnessed Mutten shoot the girl. Mutten denied the allegation in court Tuesday.
-
Pro-Palestinian protesters at ANU move camp to new location | Student protesters in Canberra moved their pro-Palestinian camp to a new location 50 meters away after police demanded they gather by noon on Tuesday. ANU dramatically escalated its response to the on-campus occupation on Monday, demanding protesters vacate their premises at Kambri in the campus centre.
-
Pope allegedly used offensive insult | The 87-year-old pope allegedly made this statement during a closed-door meeting with bishops in Rome last week, where they discussed whether gay men would be admitted to Catholic theological schools.
-
North Korean spy satellite exploded during flight | North Korea’s latest attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit ended in a mid-air explosion, Pyongyang said late Monday. Japanese broadcaster NHK released footage of what appeared to be a burning bullet in the night sky, which then exploded into a fireball.
-
Australia’s sadness continues at the French Open | Max Purcell missed six match points before losing his first round match. The Sydney athlete’s departure from German grand slam player Henri Squire on Monday left the green-and-gold at 0-6 after two days – five defeats and an injury withdrawal – and the women’s campaign saw Daria Saville’s previous 6-3 then it’s already over. She lost 6-4 to Jasmine Paolini.
-
The ‘serial slinger’ suspect who terrorized a California neighborhood was arrested | An 81-year-old man who investigators say terrorized a Southern California neighborhood with a slingshot for years has been arrested, police said. The statement said the man was suspected of breaking windows and car windshields and narrowly missing people whose balls had been shot with a slingshot. No injuries were reported.
-
Allegation of running naked on Virgin flight leads to arrest | A Virgin Australia flight from Perth to Melbourne was forced to turn around and land shortly after takeoff after a male passenger allegedly ran naked through the cabin, knocking a crew member to the ground. Australian federal police officers met the plane and arrested the man when it returned to Perth airport on Monday evening.
In pictures
There is more than one way to think about Gaza
It helps to read the signs, writes cartoonist Fiona Katauskas.
What did they say…
***
“Women should not be responsible for ending violence against women.” – Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese.
The federal government has convened an expert panel on violence against women, which will recommend new approaches to preventing gender-based violence.
By numbers
Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt touched on the number of incidents of national significance affecting councils across the country during Senate estimates on Tuesday.
Read before bed
Stocking up: How to style colorful tights – winter’s hottest fashion trend
Socks are taking on a fun look this season with opaque tights and high socks that add color and texture to any outfit.
Daily word game
Today’s starting quote: EXCHANGE RATE. You have five chances to get the longest word, including the starting word. Play Wordiply.
Become a member
If you’d like to receive this Afternoon Update in your email inbox every weekday, sign up here. And start your day with a curated breakdown of the important stories you need to know. Sign up for our Morning Mail newsletter here.