1. More girls kidnapped in Nigeria
Armed men thought to be Boko Haram militants have kidnapped eight girls, aged 12 to 15, from a village near one of their strongholds in northeast Nigeria.
This follows the kidnapping of more than 200 other schoolgirls by the Islamist militant group last month; read more about the mass abduction here.
The BBC reports that a spokesman for UN rights chief Navi Pillay has warned the girls’ kidnapping could, under certain circumstances, constitute crimes against humanity.
“We are deeply concerned about the outrageous claims made in a video believed to be by the leader of Boko Haram in Nigeria yesterday, in which he brazenly says he will sell the abducted schoolgirls ‘in the market’ and ‘marry them off’, referring to them as ‘slaves,'” he said.
“We warn the perpetrators that there is an absolute prohibition against slavery and sexual slavery in international law.”
Meanwhile the FBI will send a team to Nigeria to help the search for the girls.
2. Gyngell takes the blame for brawl
The boss of the Nine Network David Gyngell has fallen on his sword and taken the blame for the public fist fight he had with James Packer on Sunday.
Mr Gyngell yesterday publicly apologised, releasing a statement to Nine Network News that said he “respects the job police do and will co-operate fully with their investigation”.
Reports today suggest the police have begun door knocking investigating the incident.
News Limited report that Mr Packer had considered taking legal action over the fight but ultimately decided against it.
3. Oscar Pistorius trial
The jury in Oscar Pistorius’ trial has heard a neighbor feared Pistorius might take his own life immediately after she went to his aid on the night Reeva Steenkamp was shot.
Meanwhile, Oscar Pistorius has been accused of attempting to intimidate a friend of Reeva Steenkamp’s, Kim Myers, by turning to her in court and asking: “How can you sleep at night?”
Ms Myers has previously given interviews to media expressing concern about Pistorius and Steenkamp’s relationship.
The South African Paralympian flatly denied speaking to Kim Myers in what has been described as a “sinister tone” — but witnesses, including a police officer, claimed they heard Pistorius as he left the dock during an adjournment.
A complaint was lodged with South Africa’s national prosecuting authority over the alleged incident.
4. Blogger suspected of killing her son
A blogger who chronicled the health battles of her son is now suspected of killing him by salt poisoning.
Lacey Spears detailed five-year-old Garnett’s health battles since his birth with a huge online following.
The child’s death, however, has been ruled a homicide and his mother will reportedly be charged.
For more read this post here: ”Blogger suspected of poisoning her sick son”
5. Monica Lewinsky talks of her famous affair
Monica Lewinsky has detailed her famous affair with former US president Bill Clinton in an essay published in Vanity Fair Magazine.
In the article, which will run in full on May 13, Lewinsky admits her article could prove awkward for the Clintons, given speculation Hillary Clinton could make a run for the 2016 presidential race.
Lewinsky said she’d remained silent during previous Clinton campaigns and decided now was the time to speak out.
“I remained virtually reclusive, despite being inundated with press requests. I put off announcing several media projects in 2012 until after the election.”
“And recently I’ve found myself gun-shy yet again, fearful of ‘becoming an issue’ should she decide to ramp up her campaign. But should I put my life on hold for another 8 to 10 years?”
6. Woman gang-raped and set to be flogged
A 25-year-old widow has been gang-raped as punishment for having an affair with a married man in the Indonesian province of Aceh.
Under Sharia law she will now be will publicly flogged.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports the woman and her alleged partner, a married 40-year-old man, were caught inside her home last Thursday by a group of eight who were intent on enforcing the sharia prohibition on sex outside marriage.
The eight, who included a 13-year-old boy, tied up and beat the man and repeatedly raped the woman before dousing both in raw sewage.
Under sharia law, which in Indonesia is peculiar to Aceh, each of the couple faces nine strokes of the cane in a public place.
Three of the alleged rapists including the boy are in police custody, and police have appealed for the families of the other five to give them up.
7. Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris is in a UK court today to face charges of indecent assault against four girls.
The 84-year-old Australian entertainer faces 12 charges of indecent assault against four female victims aged 15, 14, and 7 or 8, alleged to have taken place between 1968 and 1986.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
8. Channel Nine Crew caught up in unrest
A Channel Nine journalist and his crew have been held by armed pro-Russians after being caught up in the Ukraine crisis.
Channel Nine reporter Peter Stefanovic, brother of television personality Karl Stefanovic, said the situation was “very tense” after he and his crew were held by armed men on the outskirts of rebel-held town of Slovyansk, Ukraine.
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9. Bank removes gender from resumes
The Bank of Queensland has removed all identifying factors name, age, gender, address from resumes submitted for senior roles.
The HR General Manager Ian Doyle told The Courier Mail: “Our objective is to get people making decisions on the basis of competency – not based on other factors – and we’re hoping we will get a stronger pool of females coming through.’’
10. Uniform complaints
The flight attendants of one of the world’s major airlines have complained that their uniforms are too tight — and that 27% of them have suffered sexual harassment as a result.
Cathay Pacific flight attendants want the Hong Kong airline to redesign their uniforms, saying the current uniform’s white blouses are too short and the red skirts too tight.
11. Australian man calls for people not to take health for granted
A 23-year-old from Port Melbourne who has been diagnosed with cancer has started a blog expressing his anger at how people take their health for granted.
Bartholomew Walsh has written:
” I’m 23, can run a marathon and squat almost twice my body weight. Yet I am surrounded by a flock of overweight smokers that demand to be pushed in a wheelchair to get to the bathroom.”
12. Prince William flies economy
Prince William has been photographed flying economy on his way home from a wedding in the US.
The Duke of Cambridge, who was in the US with Prince Harry, took the American Airlines flight from Memphis to Dallas on Sunday.
He was snapped sitting in a window seat by US reporter Eli Ross who posted the image on Twitter.
13. The search for Madeleine McCann
Police will today start digging up land in Praia da Luz – the holiday resort where British girl Madeleine McCann went missing in 2007.
One of the key areas is a wasteland just opposite the Ocean Club apartment complex where Madeleine was staying at with her parents. Another is an area of beach.
It’s been reported that Madeleine’s parents – Gerry and Kate – won’t travel to Portugal for the search.
What news are you talking about today?
Top Comments
Please everyone, read this important article: ‘Nigeria abductions: 6 reasons why the world should demand action’ http://edition.cnn.com/2014...
Here’s a little of it:
Rights groups have said Boko Haram has kidnapped girls as young as 12. In November, the militant group abducted dozens of Christian girls and women, most of whom were later rescued by the military deep in a forest in Maiduguri. At the time of their rescue, some were pregnant or had children, and others had been forcibly converted to Islam and married off to their kidnappers.
Families of some of the kidnapped girls are petrified of speaking to the media for fear of retribution against their daughters. "Many of the parents feel if there is even (any) kind of movement from their end, they could see the children killed," CNN's Nigeria-based correspondent Vladimir Duthiers said.
The group's name, Boko Harem, itself means "Western education is sinful" in the local Hausa language. Its aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law. The group especially opposes the education of women. Under its version of Sharia law, women should be at home raising children and looking after their husbands, not at school learning to read and write.
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I feel beyond angry sitting on my sofa drinking tea and seeing the news with mothers’ pained faces in agony and shock, driving my car and hearing terrible details on the radio, riding on the train to my job reading my phone while I watch other commuters play violent kickboxing and war games on their phones. I dread to consider what’s happening to these very young girls this very moment. It is horrifying.
I can’t set these girls free, however I can't *not* do something.
The only way I've come up with that I might contribute to change at all is to donate and ask others to donate towards the education of girls in troubled countries.
That, at least, is the opposite of what that group stands for.
Let’s piss them off from the comfort of our desks, our kitchens, our lecture halls, school gates and our pubs. Whether you have just $2, or $2,000 to spare – please give whatever you can to one of these two causes:
https://www.care.org.au/edu... AND http://www.becauseiamagirl.....
There are 66.3 million girls across the world who don't go to school. Missing out on an education means more than losing a childhood, it means sacrificing a future too. CARE is working to send more girls to school alongside their brothers, so they can grow up to have healthier families, send their own children to school and earn a greater income.
Good call. Done.