UPDATE: Thomas Kelly’s killer sentenced.
The man responsible for the manslaughter of Sydney teenager Thomas Kelly has been sentenced to just four years in jail.
Eighteen-year-old Kelly died in 2012 when he was king hit by Kieran Loveridge on the streets of Kings Cross.
Speaking to media outside the court, Kelly’s mother Kathy said: “[The sentence is] a joke, an absolute joke. And we’re horrified.”
“How many of our children have to die before somebody does something to change these laws, to make people accountable for what they do?”
More to come.
1. Mystery Aussie
Mystery Australian woman Samantha Azzopardi is free to leave the Irish hospital where she has been detained for three weeks and is returning to Australia with Ireland’s High Court last night ruling she is mentally fit. It was revealed yesterday that Ms Azzopardi had eaten so little during her three weeks in the care of Irish health workers they had started legal proceedings to attempt to force-feed her, but she has since started eating.
2. Climate report
A major report has shown that atmospheric volumes of greenhouse gases hit a new record in 2012. “For all these major greenhouse gases the concentrations are reaching once again record levels.
Meanwhile, in a move branded “highly unusual” it has been announced that Australia will not be represented by a senior elected member of the Abbott government at next week’s major round of international climate change negotiations starting Monday in Warsaw. It is understood the Australian climate change ambassador Dr Justin Lee will lead the delegation.
Still on climate change, National Geographic have released maps showing catastrophic damage the Earth’s ice could cause if it melted and flowed into the oceans and seas. Five major cities would be wiped out and Australia will be inundated by an inland sea.
3. Balcony Death trial
Accused murderer Simon Gittany asked his brother to remove a hard drive from his ceiling so he could make sure there were no “damaging” or “incriminating” contents, it was alleged in court yesterday.
Gittany is accused of murdering his fiancé Lisa Harnum by pushing her off a balcony. His current girlfriend, actress Rachelle Louise, is due to give evidence today
4. Navy hazing scandal
The ADF is being engulfed by another scandal with a former navy member who alleges younger male sailors were set upon and sexually assaulted by their crewmates.
“People were set upon by other members, stripped off and had things essentially put in their bums.”
5. Man kills one child, spares another
A UK member of the far-right British National Party, slaughtered his partner and their eight-year-old daughter to death but spared his four-year-old daughter because she was a “true Aryan with blonde hair and blue eyes.”
6. The gentle Pope
A touching image of Pope Francis tenderly embracing a severely disfigured man in St Peter’s Square has gone viral.
7. Five teens & a circus animal
Five French teenagers have kidnapped a llama from a circus, ridden a tram with him, been caught, arrested, petitioned for freedom on Facebook and released. (Yes you did just read that right and no it’s not the new plot of a movie.. But maybe it will be).
And FYI his name was Serge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow2eFiR3vD0
8. Boys ask “Am I ugly?”
Fresh from the furor over teenage girls posting “Am I pretty or ugly?” videos on YouTube comes reports that teenage boys are also questioning their looks on the Reddit forum asking “Am I ugly?” According to a recent analysis 79 percent of posters asking for feedback on their appearance are men.
9. Retailer blames women’s large thighs
High end workout gear retailer Lululemon is under fire for blaming the size of women’s bodies for some issues it had with it’s clothes. Founder Chip Wilson said on TV, “Frankly, some women’s bodies just don’t actually work for it,” Wilson said. “It’s really about the rubbing through the thighs, how much pressure is there over a period of time.”
MSN states that rather than making realistic apparel that fits the average woman, Lululemon limits “itself to yogis with skeletal thigh gaps.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBBByDuPFaw
10. Driving Selfies
Criticism today of young people putting lives at risk by taking selfies while driving. More and more of these dangerous pictures have been appearing on social media as of late, accompanied by the hashtags #drivingselfie or #drivinghome or #drivingtowork. In the US the trend is catching on so fast that Toyota was prompted to release a “Don’t Shoot and Drive” ad.
In Brief:
A ruling in the Dutch Supreme Court overnight means that gay refugees may have sufficient grounds to be granted asylum in the European Union.
The Victorian government is not ruling out changes to Victoria’s abortion laws.
Twitter shares have jumped upon their debut.
A Mother in the US is preparing to sue her blind daughters bullies and their parents.
A super typhoon is headed towards the Philippines putting 12 million people at risk.
Top Comments
The physical resemblance between Simon Gittany's current girlfriend and murdered fiance is truly disturbing.
I agree Lisa! It reminds me of serial killers that have a certain 'type'. Creepy!
I read the reason our Environment Minister is staying away from the International climate change negotiations is so he can stay in Australia and concentrate on repealing the carbon tax. Shameful.