news

Friday's news in under 2 minutes.

1. Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard has taken to Twitter for the first time since losing the leadership of the ALP two weeks ago, thanking her supporters and saying she will be spending time with family in the future. Gillard tweeted:

The last time Gillard tweeted was June 26 – the same day she lost the leadership to Kevin Rudd.

Ashton Agar

2. Thousands of Australians lost sleep last night watching 19-year-old cricketer Ashton Agar make history during his first Ashes test. The number 11 batsman scored 98 runs from 101 balls at Trent Bridge in the UK, which is a record for the last batsman.

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3. AFL club St Kilda have come under fire for selecting Stephen Milne to play in this week’s team, despite the fact he is fighting charges of rape. You can read more about the charges he is facing here. Activists have also called for the AFL to reform the sport and develop stricter rules regarding how clubs handle payers charged with sexual assault.

4. The Advertising Standards Bureau has allowed billboards promoting gay marriage to remain in Brisbane, despite receiving a series of complaints suggesting they sexualise children. The ads show a pregnant woman and read “Congratulations, you’re having a lesbian,” were created by the group, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

5. A father with Asperger’s syndrome has lost virtually all contact with his children, after a judge on the Federal Circuit Court ruled that his time should be reduced from 30 hours per fortnight to only four because of his behavior. The kids’ mother sought orders requesting sole parental responsibility because there was  “no fun, joy or humour” in the relationship between the father and his children.

6. A former staffer for Kevin Rudd has started a petition on Change.org entitled Gen Y: Please Stop Wearing OnesiesLachlan Harris writes: “One of the least talked about, but most important, elements of adulthood is the responsibility to stop wearing clothes designed for small humans in nappies…. I know the future is a scary place, filled with responsibility, work, and worst of all onesieless independence, but if you embrace it, you never know, you might just enjoy it.” So far the petition has just 166 signatures, sorry Lockie.

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7. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia’s unemployment rate rose to 5.7 per cent in June. Another 23,700 have started receiving the dole.

Nelson Mandela

8. Former South African President Nelson Mandela remains in a critical condition at a Pretoria hospital; although new reports suggest he’s doing better. The current South African President Jacob Zuma made a statement after visiting the 94-year-old, saying: “Former president Nelson Mandela continues to respond to treatment, and is still in a critical but stable condition.” According to the ABC, doctors will only switch off Mandela’s life support system if he goes into organ failure.

9. A 42-year-old Saudi princess has been arrested in the United States for human trafficking. Meshael Alayban reportedly kept a 30-year-old Kenyan woman against her will and forced to work excessive hours. The victim told authorities that she was brought to the United States from Kenya and that her passport had been taken so she couldn’t leave.