TRANSCRIPT:
- A toddler hit by a train in western New South Wales;
- Denmark to ban social media for under 15s amid concern for youth mental health;
- The A-T-P tennis finals set to get underway in Turin from tomorrow.
A toddler has died after being struck by a freight train in western New South Wales.
The one year old girl was treated by paramedics at the scene - in the village of Baan Baa, near Narrabri - before being taken to hospital, where she later died.
Police have been told the child was walking along the road just before being clipped by the engine.
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A police officer is in a serious but stable condition after being stabbed during a domestic violence call in Sydney's south-west.
New South Wales Police say the officer was one of those responding to a home in Grasmere, following reports a person had allegedly breached an apprehended violence order.
A man has been charged over the alleged attack .
New South Wales Police Superintendent Paul Condon says the responding officers were forced to taser the 20 year old suspect before taking him into custody.
"I've watched the body-worn video. It's extremely confronting, but their action and bravery are encouraged, and the maturity these people have shown as junior police officers is amazing to arrest the alleged offender and contain him while giving crucial first aid to their colleague that potentially saved his life."
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Vaccine advocates say hospitals are missing an opportunity to help rein in a dangerous outbreak of whooping cough.
Australia is in the grips of an unprecedented outbreak, with authorities recording an all time high of 80,000 cases in the past two years.
Raina MacIntyre from the Univerity of New South Wales Kirby Institute says vaccinating adults is key to managing the outbreak, but Immunisation Foundation of Australia founder Catherine Hughes says an opportunity to boost vaccination rates is being missed.
The Foundation has just concluded a probe that found few hospitals are stocking a whooping cough-containing booster to jab patients with tetanus-prone wounds - despite health guidelines recommending emergency departments use the combined vaccine in routine wound management.
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Denmark has announced plans to ban the use of social media for children under the age of 15.
It's a move that had been widely expected after Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen used her opening speech to parliament last month to call for social media restrictions for children due to concerns over youth mental health.
A majority of parties in parliament have indicated they will back the plan, ahead of a formal vote.
Digitalisation Minister Caroline Olsen says it's part of a 14-point plan to protect minors better online.
"We are not regulating based on specific companies or specific platforms. We are regulating based on some objective criteria. But what we're trying to make sure is that the tech platforms that create most harm are the ones that are kept away from the children.”
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Former Labor senator Graham Richardson has died at the age of 76.
His passing was confirmed on Sydney talkback station 2GB by broadcaster Ben Fordham, who says the family gave him the news.
"Darcy and Amanda have asked me to share the news with everyone that sadly Richo has passed away in the early hours of the morning."
The former senator was widely feared as a number-cruncher, fixer and kingmaker of the New South Wales Right, becoming known not just for being a member of Labor's most successful federal government, but also dogged by allegations of sleaze and sharp practice.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles however says he will remember Richardson as a Labor giant and hero.
"Graham spent his entire life serving our movement. In a party organisation, in the parliament as the Minister in the Hawke and Keating government, but to me, he was a great mentor, and a very close friend as he was to so many."
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To sport and in tennis news,
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz and Italy's Jannik Sinner are set to headline the ATP Finals in Turin, beginning tomorrow.
The ATP Finals feature the top eight players from the season, competing in two round-robin groups.
Both players are vying for the number one men's spot, and want to cap their seasons with the prestigious year-ending title.
Former ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev, says everyone is aware of their dominance this season, and are expecting intense competition.
"To be honest, I think everybody's quite far from Jannik and Carlos at the moment. It's not perception; it's the truth."
