WA teacher accused of having student’s baby hit with more sexual abuse charges

Good morning and welcome to our first local news blog for 2026.

Making headlines today, a Perth man has been charged with intent to harm and making an explosive under suspicious circumstances after allegedly throwing a bomb into an Invasion Day protest crowd yesterday.

Police had to evacuate Forrest Place after a man was allegedly seen throwing a device towards the stage around 12.30pm. The object did not detonate, but Police Minister Reece Whitby said it had the potential to be a mass casualty event.

Meanwhile, today marks 30 years since Sarah Spiers went missing after a night out in Claremont in 1996.

It’s suspected the 18-year-old was the first victim of Claremont serial killer Bradley Robert Edwards, but her body has never been found, and the killer was found not guilty of her murder in 2020.

WA Police have vowed to continue to search for Spiers’ body.

And international students are paying upwards of $850,000 for a degree, with more than 583 courses costing more than $250,000, a situation the peak body has slammed as an existential threat to higher education.

The most expensive degree in Western Australia was a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery at Curtin University, which will set a student back $444,756.

Stay with us as we bring you the news of the day, as it happens.