Crime

The South Australian government will introduce legislation to remove the rights of perpetrators of serious crimes to decide what happens with the remains of their victims.

The Victorian government is raising the maximum penalty for recruiting children to commit crimes as it seeks to shut down organised crime syndicates driving the state's crime wave.

Strike Force Chabot apprehends and transports a 19-year-old man in Shalvey during their investigation into the alleged kidnapping murder of Chris Baghsarian.

Robbery and Serious Crime Squad detectives have charged another two men following an investigation into the alleged kidnapping and murder of Chris Baghsarian earlier this year in Sydney's north.

Police are investigating the second suspicious fire at a South Melbourne gym in as many days.

The Alice Springs branch of Victims of Crime NT will be closed by the end of the week, with the organisation's chief executive citing funding insecurity. The closure will mean victims in the region will only be able to access services remotely.

Police executed seven warrants at properties across Victoria and New South Wales this morning.

The court hears William Gilfillan, more commonly known as Rob, will be 92 years old when he becomes eligible for parole, and he will likely die in jail.

Former Brisbane GP Stellios Theodoros is facing 148 counts of rape and sexual assault relating to an alleged excessive number of pelvic examinations, pap smears and breast checks.

Chris Minns commits funding for a legacy project in memory of slain Central Coast woman Audrey Griffin.

A Russian-speaking figure who went by the name "El Money" offered one of the men money to torch the properties and record video that could be posted online to draw attention to the attack.

Mental health nurse Derek George Jackson, 58, has been remanded in custody to face court again over alleged stalking and abuse of teenage girls on the Gold Coast.

South Australian police have separately arrested two men for the alleged possession of a handgun disguised as a mobile phone, and a homemade "pen gun".

An ex-footballer has been locked up after a jury found him guilty of defrauding multiple families with his regional pool business.

A nine-year-old girl fatally shot by police who were pursuing armed robbers in Pakistan is remembered as happy and bubbly by the principal of her Perth school, as her family tries to deal with their "tragic loss".

Investigators are trying to determine what led to a suspected murder-suicide on Saturday, after the bodies of a father and young child were recovered from a bay off Concord.

Parents are working to petition a west Victorian council to install CCTV cameras at a skate park that police are calling a crime "hotspot". The council says taking on a public safety role is "unreasonable". 

A nine-year-old Perth girl has been fatally shot by police in Pakistan after officers mistook her family's car for that of suspected criminals. 

Superintendent Christine McDonald said police received a call from a friend expressing concern an hour after the man was found dead.

Bevan Watson, 38, faced the Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court on Monday, charged with murdering the 35-year-old woman whose body was found on the side of Goldfields Highway.