news

Friday's news in under 5 minutes.

1. Watch: Terrifying moment a baby’s pram rolls away

It is a moment difficult to watch as an 18-month old toddler strapped to a pram rolls onto the train tracks at a suburban Melbourne train station. It happened Wednesday morning at Diamond Creek.

The little girl was travelling with her mother, siblings and grandfather when her pram rolled onto the tracks.

She landed face first off the ledge.

The footage shows her grandfather then run to rescue his granddaughter.

It is understood that she was taken to the Royal Children’s Hospital with facial injuries but has since been released reports Nine News.

 

 

2. Jessica Silva guilty of manslaughter

A woman accused of murdering her estranged partner following years of abuse has been found guilty of manslaughter by a Sydney court.

Jessica Silva lay down in the dock and began screaming and crying when the verdict was read.

The court head that Silva’s ex James Polkinghorne had turned up to her Sydney home on Mother’s Day in 2012 in an ice-fuelled rage.

Silva told police Polkinghorne had called her that night from a park across the road.

“I’m 30 f***in’ seconds away,” Polkinghorne said.

“If you don’t come out I’m going to kill you.

“In 30 seconds I’m going to come and rip the door down if you don’t come out.” reports the ABC.

Silva’s brother and father went to Polkinghorne and tried to calm him down as they struggled she ran inside and got a knife.

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He died on the street with five stab wounds to the back and shoulder.

Silva and Mr Polkinghorne had split after a four-year, extremely abusive, relationship two months earlier.

Her bail has been continued; she will be sentenced at a later date.

 3. Daycare loses toddler who nearly gets hit by a car

A childcare centre has lost a toddler.

A West Australian daycare centre has lost an 18-month old boy who was then nearly hit by a car as he wandered in a nearby car park.

WA today reports that a couple, Leeanne and Mark Anderson were leaving the centre about 11am on Wednesday when a young boy stepped in front of their vehicle and they slammed on the brakes.

When they brought the child back inside the centre and asked the crèche staff members if they knew where his parents were, he was identified as a child under their care.

Mrs Anderson said it seemed that the carers were not aware the child had been missing.

“I’m absolutely horrified – my three-month-old baby was in their care yesterday but I will never use the crèche again,” she said.

“What if someone had just walked up and taken my baby’s pram out the door and they didn’t even know about it?

“I can’t believe they have let this happen – the standard of supervision is obviously not good enough.”

City of Bunbury chief executive officer Andrew Brien said the crèche coordinator reported the event immediately to management.

Mr Brien said there were two pool-gate style doors to enter the crèche and although signage is posted reminding everyone to look under their feet and ensure gates are closed, at times both gates are held open as prams enter.

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He said the boy escaped while both gates were open.

“All incidents at the centre with the potential to cause injury are treated seriously and steps taken to remove and reduce hazards leading to the event,” Mr Brien said.

4. Migration Law bill

The Prime Minister has to wait one more day…

The House of Representatives will sit today to debate the federal government’s changes to Australia’s migration law which will increase refugee intake by 7,500 places.

The bill which reintroduces Temporary Protection Visas (TPV) was passed last night 34 votes to 32 by the Senate.

The deal was secured after the Government agreed to several conditions from the Palmer United Party, including that children be released from detention on Christmas Island.

It means the House of Representatives will have to wait one final day before setting off for their two-month holiday.

5. Cabinet reshuffle likely before next election

By Eliza Borrello

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has entertained the idea of a Cabinet reshuffle, in an interview with the ABC’s 7.30 program.

It comes as Labor applies more pressure on Mr Abbott to sack his Defence Minister David Johnston following allegations the minister and his chief of staff spent thousands of dollars on meals and wine for industry players, who were seeking government contracts.

An investigation is now underway by the Defence Department into the leaking of Senator Johnston’s hospitality receipts.

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Asked in the interview whether it was time to change his frontbench line-up Mr Abbott said, “At some stage between now and the next election, quite probably, but this is a good frontbench”.

Earlier on Thursday during Question Time Mr Abbott refused to confirm whether Senator Johnston would still be the Defence Minister next year.

“He [Senator Johnston] has my full confidence, he deserves the full confidence of this Parliament,” Mr Abbott said.

During his 7.30 interview Mr Abbott went on to sing the praises of other Cabinet ministers including Julie Bishop, Scott Morrison and Mathias Cormann.

“Scott Morrison has stopped the boats, everyone thought that couldn’t be done,” he said.

“Julie Bishop has had a stellar year as Foreign Minister.

“Mathias Cormann has been an outstanding Finance Minister, done magnificent work, unsung work negotiating with the crossbench in the Senate.”

Mr Abbott also praised his Treasurer Joe Hockey.

“Joe Hockey has been criticised lately, but I tell you what, I think Joe is going to be one of the great treasurers because he’s someone who bounces back and that’s what he’s doing now,” he said.

A version of this story was originally published on ABC and has been republished with full permission.

6. Mother and baby found dead

Charlotte Bevan went missing from a UK maternity ward.

A tragic turn of events after a mother and four-day old baby went missing from a maternity ward in the UK promoting a wide scale search.

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Overnight the body of the baby and mother have been found.

For more read this post here.

 7. Peter Greste wins journalism award while in jail

Peter Greste has won Australia’s Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism award at the Walkleys last night.

Greste is currently in jail in Egypt after being jailed for between seven and 10 years after being convicted of supporting the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood group and spreading false news.

8. Python kills puppy North Queensland

Her desperate Facebook plea.

Sky News reports that a massive python has killed a fox terrier puppy at Speewah Nth Queensland.

Joelle Verfurth says a 4.2-metre-long snake wrapped itself around her sister’s puppy but the dog died.

Joelle posted an image on Facebook saying

“Kate, I am so sorry I couldn’t save you.”

9. Mother’s breastfeeding pic goes viral after being asked to cover up

A breastfeeding mother has been asked to cover up at the exclusive London hotel Claridges.

35-year old Louise Burns says she was humiliated when asked by a waiter to cover up while she breastfed her 12-week old baby when she had tea at the famous hotel.

“My initial reaction was to burst into tears,” Burns told the UK’s Evening Standard. “This was my third baby. I had trouble breastfeeding the first two but this was going well. I didn’t expect to be admonished in a central London hotel.”

She initially tweeted this image showing the “shroud” she was asked to wear.

 

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She then tweeted this image showing what she was doing when she was asked to cover up.

 

Claridges has since apologized saying that they “embrace breastfeeding and are looking into better ways of communicating this moving forward.”

10. American teacher stabbed to death in Abu Dhabi

The accused enters the mall.

An American school teacher has been stabbed to death in a public restroom in Abu Dhabi by a suspect wearing the traditional black robe, full-face veil and gloves commonly worn by local women throughout the Arab Gulf region.

A statement posted on the Abu Dhabi Interior Ministry’s website said the victim was stabbed with a sharp tool that has been confiscated by police. The statement said the American woman was 37 years old.

Media have named her as Ibolya Ryan a Romania who trained as a teacher in the US.

Ms Ryan had 11-year-old twins who are now in the custody of police until their father, who is the victim’s ex-husband, arrives from overseas.

A dramatic arrest of the attacker took place overnight – with a six minutes video of the Abu Dhabi police making the arrest appearing online.

Local police tweeted ”With God’s grace & exceptional follow-up by UAE leaders, our security forces have detained the face-covered criminal

11. Police officer apologises to Rosie Batty

A high-ranking Victorian police officer has apologised to Rosie Batty at an inquest into her son’s death.

Eleven-year-old Luke Batty was killed by his father, Greg Anderson, after cricket training in Tyabb earlier this year.

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The ABC reported Assistant Commissioner for Melbourne’s South Metro Region Luke Cornelius at the hearing told Ms Batty Chief Commissioner Ken Lay had told him to convey “our deepest condolences and our sorrow at your tragic loss”.

Assistant Commissioner Cornelius said a new approach was needed to tackle the state’s high rate of family violence.

Ms Batty gave an emotional closing speech, in which she criticised the mental health system and intervention.

The hearing continues.

12. Male birth control?

Scientists from Indonesia claim to have invented a male birth control pill which they say is 99% effective.

The Global Post reports that the pill, which is derived from an Indonesian shrub, allows men to produce sperm that cannot get women pregnant.

They say this shrub has been used by tribesmen for years.

But would you trust your partner to remember to take it?

The Daily Mail reports that a study in 2011 found that half of women would not rely on a male pill as contraception because they did not trust their partners to remember to take it.

 13. Work in the nude day

‘Cause they can.

It is work in the nude day.

(Are you doing it?)

The organization “Flying Solo” are having their third annual Work in the Nude Day. Workers who work from home are uploading their working nude pics using the hashtag #WorkintheNudeDay #WITND.

And the reason? Well. ‘Cause they can.