Fire crews are still battling a large bushfire, threatening properties northeast of Perth. An emergency warning remains in place near Shady Hills and Bullsbrook. Residents in the path of the fire have been evacuated. The blaze has grown in size overnight to around 1,200 hectares.

 

A new survey to be released today reveals a growing number of children are being removed from their homes because of abuse and neglect. It found many of those surveyed had no say in key decisions about their lives. Half of the children said they didn't even know why they were in care.

 

There are allegations that civilians have been hurt during an Australian military operation in Afghanistan. The Australian Defense Force says its troops were involved in an operational incident in northwest  Uruzgan Province. It says there were no Australian casualties, but has provided no other details. A NATO spokesman in Kabul says the incident involved allegations of civilian casualties. 

 

The US soldier accused of leaking secret data to Wikileaks has pleaded guilty to ten lesser charges. Bradley Manning has told a military court he leaked the documents to spark a debate on military and foreign policy.