Colleen McCullough: The Thorn Birds author 'not coerced' over will Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Colleen McCullough was one of Australia's best-selling novelists The widower of Australian author Colleen McCullough has been granted control of her multi-million dollar estate after a bitter court dispute. McCullough, who died in 2015, was best known for her 1977 international best-selling novel The Thorn Birds. On Friday, a court in Sydney ruled that she had intended to leave her estate to her husband, Ric Robinson, and not a US university. The dispute had centred on two competing wills. In its ruling, the Supreme Court of New South Wales found that Mr Robinson had not coerced his wife into signing a new will in the last months of her life. What was the case about?McCullough's friend and will executor, Selwa Anthony, had argued that the author's true intentions were contained in a will signed in July 2014. In that document, the author bequeathed her..

Durham rugby players in Sri Lanka had 'taken heroin' before death Image copyright DCRFC Image caption Thomas Baty (left) and Thomas Howard complained of breathing difficulties after going to a nightclub Two County Durham amateur rugby players who died while on a club tour had taken heroin, a court in Sri Lanka has heard. Thomas Howard, 25, and Thomas Baty, 26, died after visiting a nightclub in Colombo in May. The magistrates' court in Columbo heard that there was evidence to suggest the men had been sold the drug. Lanka Jayaratna, magistrate for Colombo Fort, ordered police to further investigate and report back to her on 3 August. The men had been touring the country with Durham-based Clems Pirates RFC and had played a game against Ceylonese Rugby and Football Club (CRFC) in Colombo. At the time Sri Lankan police said some British players went to Colombo's Cleopatra nightclub after the match on May 13 and returned to their hotel. Mr Howard and Mr Baty complained..

India lynchings: WhatsApp sets new rules after mob killings Image copyright AFP Image caption Many Indians are first exposed to the internet through low-cost smartphones WhatsApp has said it will limit how many times messages can be forwarded in India to curb the spread of false information on its platform. The announcement comes after a spate of mob lynchings were linked to messages that circulated on WhatsApp groups. The government on Thursday reissued a warning to the company that it could face legal consequences if it remained a "mute spectator". With more than 200 million users, India is WhatsApp's biggest market. WhatsApp said its users in India "forward more messages, photos, and videos, than any other country in the world". Groups on WhatsApp can have a maximum of 256 people. Many of the messages that are believed to have triggered violence were forwarded to multiple groups which had more than 100 members each. In a blog published on its website, the company announced t..

Singapore medical records hack hits 1.5m Major medical records hack uncovered in Singapore, affecting 1.5m people (a third of the population) - government This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts.

Former Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang jailed again for misconduct Image copyright AFP Image caption Donald Tsang's downfall shocked Hong Kong The former leader of Hong Kong, Donald Tsang, has lost his appeal against a misconduct conviction and will be sent back to prison. Tsang, who led the city from 2005 to 2012, was on bail pending the appeal. The judge reduced his sentence for misconduct in public office from 20 months to 12 months. Tsang is the most senior Hong Kong official to stand trial for corruption in a city known for its clean reputation. The case relates to his failure to disclose plans to lease a luxury flat in China. "It defies belief that someone with the applicant's long experience and background in government service could have overlooked the need to make a declaration of interest in these circumstances," the court judgement said on Friday. It also said Tsang's misconduct was "particularly serious, given his pre-eminent position in the community and ..

Vietnam to deport US student Will Nguyen for 'public disorder' Image copyright AFP Image caption William Nguyen's family fled to the US in 1975 A court in Vietnam has ordered the deportation of a US student arrested at a recent demonstration that turned violent. William Nguyen was found guilty of "causing public disorder". He was detained in June at a protest in Ho Chi Minh City against new economic zones that some fear will be dominated by Chinese investors. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had raised Mr Nguyen's case with Vietnamese officials. Authorities detained more than 100 people as the demonstrations turned violent with rocks and petrol bombs. Six Vietnamese nationals have been jailed. Mr Nguyen was to be deported immediately after the one-day trial on Friday. The US embassy in Hanoi has said it is pleased with the outcome. "We understand from the court's decision that he will be deported after paying a fine," spokesman James Thrower told the Reuters..

Park Geun-hye: More jail time for South Korea ex-leader Image copyright Reuters Image caption Park pictured at a court hearing last August Disgraced former South Korean President Park Geun-hye has been jailed for a further eight years for corruption, on top of the 24 she is already serving. A court in Seoul sentenced Park to six years for illegally accepting funds from the country's spy agency, and two years for interfering in elections. She received her earlier sentence in April for abuse of power and coercion. Park, the country's first female president, has boycotted court hearings, maintaining her innocence. She says her trials have been politically motivated and that the judiciary and prosecution are biased against her. South Korea's first female president South Korea's presidential scandal Country profile The prosecutions brought to light the longstanding close ties between South Korea's political elite and the chaebols, or family-run conglomerates, which..

Neil Prakash: Turkey rejects extradition of Australian jihadist Image caption Neil Prakash appeared in IS propaganda videos A Turkish court has ruled against extraditing Australia's most wanted jihadist, Neil Prakash, to face terrorism charges in his home country. Prakash was arrested in Turkey in 2016 after crossing from Syria. He later admitted partial blame for Islamic State group terror plots in Australia. In May last year, Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull said he expected Prakash to be extradited "within months". He is now likely to face charges in Turkey, reported News Corp Australia. The Australian government has said it is disappointed by the Turkish judge's decision in the Kilis Criminal Court. What is Prakash accused of?Australian authorities have said that Melbourne-born Prakash is linked to failed terror plots in Australia and calls for lone-wolf attacks against the US. In 2016, the government described him as "the principal Australian reaching back from the Middl..

UK criticises security of Huawei products Image copyright Reuters A UK government report into Huawei's broadband and mobile infrastructure equipment has concluded that it has "only limited assurance" that the kit poses no threat to national security The investigation revealed shortcomings in the Chinese firm's engineering processes, which it said "have exposed new risks in UK telecoms networks". It added that "significant work" was required to tackle the issues. In response, Huawei acknowledged there were "some areas for improvement". A spokesman for the firm added: "We are grateful for this feedback and are committed to addressing these issues. "Cyber-security remains Huawei's top priority, and we will continue to actively improve our engineering processes and risk management systems." Image copyright PA Image caption Officials from GCHQ were involved in the report Huawei is the world's biggest producer of telecoms equipment and is a major supplier of broadband a..