1. There’s been a breakthrough in the Croatian investigation into backpacker Britt Lapthorne’s death. Five years to the day Brit disappeared, Croation police have ruled out the possibility that Brit committed suicide or that she went swimming on the night she died.
The 21-year-old went missing from a nightclub where she was partying with other backpackers on 18 September, 2008. Her body was found floating in the nearby ocean less than three weeks later.
2. Toy retailer Toys R Us have said that they’re going to stop marketing their products to specifically girls or specifically boys. The decision comes after lobbying from groups that say segregating ‘boys’ toys and ‘girls’ toys is sexist. From now on Toys R Us say their advertisements will feature boys AND girls playing with each toy.
3. After a 19-hour salvage operation, the Costa Concordia has been re-floated. Workers used jacks and cables to bring the 114,000 tonne ton ship upright, 18 months after it capsized off the coast of Italy and killed 32 people. The salvage operation reportedly cost $859 million, which makes it the most expensive of its kind. This is a time-lapse video of the salvage operation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_1185236777&feature=iv&src_vid=2P-yhRaf_AA&v=vNUZHEQnkYc
4. Victorian Independent MP Geoff Shaw has been charged with misusing a government car for his own business purposes. He’s been accused of using the taxpayer-funded car (and letting others use the car) to run a hardware business. 45-year-old Shaw, who holds the balance of power in the Victorian Parliament, will face court in October. A guilty verdict could trigger a by-election. Shaw says that he’ll fight the 24 charges which he has labelled as “incorrect”.