Pope Francis has removed two cardinals hit by sexual abuse scandals from his circle of close advisers, including his economy minister George Pell.

Pell has taken an indefinite leave of absence from his high-power job as head of the Secretariat for the Economy to defend himself from prosecution for historical child sexual offences in Australia.

Vatican spokesperson, Greg Burke, responded to questions over whether Pell was still economy minister, with Burke suggesting Pell was and there had been no announcement to the contrary.

A Stasi ID card used by President Vladimir Putin when he was a Soviet spy in former East Germany has been found in the Stasi secret police archive in Dresden.

Putin’s stasi card was found during research into the close cooperation between the KGB and Stasi.

Quarterly stamps on the card show it remained in use to the final quarter of 1989 when the Berlin Wall collapsed.

Organisers of Victoria’s Falls Festival have admitted their conduct was at fault for a crush that injured more than 70 people in 2016.

Ash Sounds, which runs the Lorne based festival each summer, is facing a class action for damages over the December 2016 incident, when a stampede of people tried to leave the grand theatre between acts.

The court is yet to rule on what, if any, damages will be paid to those injured.

An independent inquiry investigating Australia's national broadcasters has found the SBS and ABC are meeting their stipulated competitive neutrality requirements, but there are further measures to improve and be more open regarding competitive activities within the public eye.

Communications minister Mitch Fifield released the report on whether both national broadcasters have an unfair advantage against rival media outlets, which found they indeed are meeting their obligations but could improve reporting to increase transparency and reporting.

A woman was hospitalised in remote Queensland on Monday after being impaled by a catfish - an apparently common situation.

James Cook University Associate Professor Jamie Seymour says there was probably thousands of cases of catfish stings every year with the sting being venomous but not deadly and a catfish’s reaction to feeling threatened.

Queensland Detectives has answered questions regarding the delay of information released regarding the abduction of a girl from a North Lakes shopping centre on Saturday, claiming the delay did not put the community at risk.

The three day delay allowed police to speak to the suspect and gather enough evidence to lay charges as well as the release of information would not be in the best interests of the investigation according to Detective Superintendent Tony Fleming.