Thursday's news in under 5 minutes.

Update:

NSW Treasurer Mike Baird has been elected the new NSW Liberal leader.

He was elected unopposed as the new NSW Premier.

His nearest contender for the job, Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian, decided not to challenge in the leadership ballot.

Supporters of each minister were running the numbers overnight in anticipation of a ballot, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

While there were suggestions Ms Berejiklian had a slight edge, the prospect of a split partyroom vote prompted her to reconsider whether she will run, SMH reports.

1. Barry O’Farrell resigns as NSW premier.

NSW premier Barry O’Farrell has resigned over evidence he gave to the Independent Commission Against Corruption over an expensive bottle of wine.

Mr O’Farrell announced the resignation yesterday after a handwritten note was tendered as evidence at ICAC hearing yesterday. In the note, he

thanked an executive from a water company, Nick Di Girolamo, for the gift of a $3,000 bottle of Grange wine.

Mr O’Farrell, who was recalled to ICAC yesterday afternoon, told the inquiry that he could not recall receiving the bottle. He told the inquiry on Tuesday, “I’m not a wine connoisseur.”

Liberal MPs will meet this afternoon to accept Barry O’Farrell’s resignation and elect his successor. Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian and NSW Treasurer Mike Baird have emerged as potential successors, the ABC reports.

2. More than 270 missing as ferry sinks.

A South Korean ferry has sunk off the country’s south-west coast yesterday, leaving more than 270 people unaccounted for.

The ship’s 476 passengers included more than 325 school children and their teachers.

A major rescue operation involving more than 30 coast guard, military ships and navy divers as well as about a dozen helicopters continues.

Six people have been confirmed dead so far but rescued passengers told news outlets that they believe many more are trapped below deck.

3. Girl becomes a mother at 12.

A schoolgirl and her 13-year-old boyfriend have become the youngest parents in the UK.

The girl gave birth to a newborn girl weighing 3.1 kilograms after falling pregnant at 11, News.com.au reports.

The Year 7 girl and her Year 9 boyfriend, who lives near her in north London, have the lowest combined age of any parents in the UK’s history.

News.com.au reports that a source said the young parents were “totally in love” and planned to get married and raise their daughter together.

“Both sets of grandparents are incredibly supportive. It’s a very difficult situation because the parents are both so young — but their families are right behind them,” a source told The Sun.

“They’re very into each other, totally in love. She is obsessed with him. She sees this as true love.”

4. Woman stabbed to death on a busy Melbourne strip.

A mother of four has been murdered on a busy shopping strip in Melbourne’s Sunshine yesterday afternoon.

The 33-year-old mother of four from West Melton was shockingly stabbed with a fishing knife in front of her son and horrified onlookers in broad daylight.

The police say they are searching for her abusive de facto partner of 18 years, a North Sunshine man, who they suspect is responsible. The pair had attended Sunshine Magistrates’ Court earlier in the day “over a dispute” and investigators say the man was known to the police and had a history of domestic violence.

Several onlookers tried frantically to revive the victim at the scene but she was pronounced dead shortly before 12:30pm.

The man remains on the run. He is described as 175 centimetres tall and slim with short-cropped hair and a goatee. He was wearing a black hoodie, black jeans and blue runners. Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Researchers at the University of Adelaide have made a breakthrough in the fight against SIDS, Adelaide Now reports.