Your afternoon Briefing

Good afternoon, readers. In news today, PNG police remove the last of the Manus Island asylum seekers from the detention centre.

Good afternoon, readers. As the week draws to a close, the last of the Manus Island asylum-seekers have been removed from the beleaguered PNG detention centre. In other news, a Labor stalwart has died, Jack the Insider explores whether men like Charles Manson deserve sympathy, China’s diplomatic dance with the Vatican gets trickier and the real reason behind the laptop ban on flights is revealed.

This image provided by Refugee Action Coalition shows the ransacked immigration camp on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017. Papua New Guinea authorities on Thursday ratcheted up pressure on more than 300 asylum seekers to abandon a decommissioned immigration camp, where refugees reported their shelters, beds and other belongings have been destroyed. (Refugee Action Coalition via AP)

Last of Manus men removed

PNG police say they have removed all the men from the Manus Island regional processing centre who were refusing to leave, with more than 300 forcibly relocated to new facilities.

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Trade unionist Steve Hutchins, NSW Australian Labor Party president at ALP headquarters in Sydney, 02 Jul 1998.

Labor stalwart Hutchins dies

Former NSW Labor senator Steve Hutchins has died, aged 61, after a long battle with cancer. Mr Hutchins played a key role in unseating Kevin Rudd as prime minister and promoting Julia Gillard to replace him.

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FILE - In this June 10, 1981 file photo, convicted murderer Charles Manson is photographed during an interview with television talk show host Tom Snyder in a medical facility in Vacaville, Calif. Authorities say Manson, cult leader and mastermind behind 1969 deaths of actress Sharon Tate and several others, died on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017. He was 83. (AP Photo, File)

What makes a violent man?

Should we feel sorry for Charles Manson? Absolutely not, writes Jack the Insider.

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(FILES) This file photo taken on June 04, 2017 in Vatican shows St Peter's basilica during a mass led by Pope Francis. The World Medical Association organized a meeting today on November 17, 2017 in Vatican on the theme of euthanasia, with specialists from all over Europe and some religious representatives. / AFP PHOTO / Andreas SOLARO

China’s Vatican dance gets trickier

China has banned tour groups from the Vatican, in the latest step in an intricate diplomatic dance between the Chinese Communist Party and the Roman Catholic Church.

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Israeli /PM Benjamin Netanyahu (C) looks at wreckage of military helicopter crash in Shaar Yshuv, during his visit to site in Northern Israel where 73 soldiers & officers were killed when two Sikorsky CH-53 helicopters collided mid-air. 05/02/97.Israel / Armed Forces / Army / Helicopter / Accident

Secret reason for laptop ban

A secret Israeli operation in the Syrian desert is behind the ban on laptops being carried in passenger plane cabins.

Wayne Smith is reporting live from the Gabba, so take a peek at our Ashes live blog.