The jury in the Parliament House rape trial was sensationally discharged after one of its members disobeyed a judge's directions and took a research paper into the jury room.
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A sheriff's officer inadvertently made the discovery during "routine tidying" when he accidentally knocked over one of the jurors' folders and saw the document's title.
Chief Justice Lucy McCallum said the academic paper was about sexual assault, and in particular the reasons behind false complaints and scepticism in the face of true complaints.
After questioning the juror responsible, the ACT Supreme Court judge discharged the jury.
In a separate court matter, a teenager from New South Wales who was accused of trying to blackmail Optus customers affected by its September data breach was set to plead guilty.
Police said that Dennis Su texted 93 Optus customers, demanding that they transfer $2000 to a CBA bank account "or face their personal information being used for financial crimes".
Away from court, aged care homes will need to staff a registered nurse 24-7 after legislation passed both houses of Parliament.
And millions of Australian workers will soon be eligible for 10 days paid domestic violence leave each year. The changes cleared federal Parliament today with support from all sides of both chambers.
Most employees will get access to the entitlements from February, but small businesses will have an extra six months to adjust.
And abroad, Ukraine welcomed an extra 30 Australian Bushmaster armoured vehicles to carry soldiers.
Australia is also sending up to 70 military trainers to the United Kingdom to help train Ukrainian troops. The government says they will not go inside Ukraine.
And, finally, out there somewhere in the universe: fans of Doctor Who will one day have to pay to watch Doctor Who, the cult series previously offered free on the ABC.
The BBC has sold the streaming rights outside the UK to Disney.
Some aren't upset. "For us, we lost Doctor Who when it was rebooted in the mid-noughties, coincidentally about the same time social media began its charge for our egos.
"Twitter killed the time lord, not Mickey Mouse."
THE NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- Workplace laws to get flexibility overhaul
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- Aged care homes to provide 24/7 nurses
- Snowy River floods, long wait for clean-up
- Optus scammer ready to plead guilty
- Ukraine welcomes Australian military aid
- Workers get paid domestic violence leave
- Worried about the ABC losing Dr Who? You shouldn't be, we lost them ages ago
Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
