Wednesday's news in under 5 minutes

UPDATE: It has been discovered that hundreds of people have potentially been exposed to HIV after receiving treatment for hair replacement at a Sydney clinic.

The clinic (which can be found at Suite 23, 193 Macquarie Street) is run by Dr Angela Katarina Campbell, whose medical registration was cancelled in February this year. Since then, an investigation has found that the clinic has poor infection control practises – including problems with the cleaning of surgical instruments and equipment. Apparently, neighbours in the building reported concerns about the storage of medical waste.

However, Professor Ferson, the director of the public health unit at the district, has said that the overall risk to individual patients is low. That said –  it’s unclear as to just how many have been exposed, considering the hair procedures undertaken in the clinic.

As a result – if you were treated at the clinic between December 2010 and February 2013, please consult your GP for screening for hepatitis C, hepatitis B and HIV infection.

1. Nelson Mandela Memorial

In a rain soaked stadium in Soweto 95,000 South Africans have gathered alongside close to 100 world leaders at a memorial service for Nelson Mandela.

Despite the profound sense of national sorrow triggered by Mandela’s death last Thursday, the mood was upbeat, with mourners singing and playing music before the ceremony began and during some of the speeches.

Several world leaders addressed the crowd, including US president Barack Obama, who said, “I will always fall short… but [Mandela] makes me want to be a better man.”

For a full transcript of the US Presidents speech read this post here.

2. Childcare

The Abbott government has thrown the childcare sector into disarray by asking providers to “do the right thing” and hand back $62.5 million given to them by the former Labor government for wage increases.

The Assistant Minister for Education, Sussan Ley, said the government would instead use the $300 million allocated for professional training and development for childcare workers.

Labor’s $300 million was to boost the wages of 30,000 childcare workers in 1100 childcare centres, bolstering the $19-an-hour wages of certificate III childcare workers by $3 an hour, and the pay of early-childhood teachers by $6 an hour. Ms Ley said under Labor’s plan only 30 per cent of childcare workers would receive a pay rise, while 70 per cent would receive nothing.

For more on this read this post here.

3. Barrier Reef Projects

Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt has given approval to four big industrial projects bordering the Great Barrier Reef. The move has been welcomed by communities and the state government, who say they will create thousands of jobs.

However, it was condemned by environmentalists, who warn it will put the World Heritage listing of the reef at risk.

4. Arrest of Bung’s disappearance

Police have arrested and questioned a man over the disappearance of Melbourne schoolgirl Siriyakorn ‘Bung’ Siriboon more than two years ago.

The 24-year-old was arrested in August this year over the disappearance of Bung, who was aged 13 when she vanished on June 2, 2011, on her way to school in Boronia.

The ABC have reported that the 24-year-old local man has claimed he hit and killed the Boronia Heights College student while driving in his car on the morning she disappeared, then panicked and disposed of her body at a local reserve.

Police say that the 24-year-old is not the only suspect and urge anyone with information to come forward.

5. Dam drowning

A six-year-old boy has died after slipped into a dam on private property near Lowood, west of Brisbane.

Police divers found the body about 10pm last night.

The little boy went missing in the afternoon. The six-year-old was a visitor to the property.

6. Daniel Thomas

An inquest into murdered toddler Daniel Thomas has heard that the two-year old was hogtied, gagged and locked in a cupboard for up to two days at a time in the weeks leading up to his disappearance.

Daniel Thomas was reported missing on October 17, 2003.

In a harrowing police interview video recording aired in court, his mother Donna Thomas described the extent of physical and verbal abuse two-year-old Daniel allegedly suffered at the hands of his babysitter, Mandy Martyn.

“She tied him up like …(she’d) caught a pig,”

7. Sexting to be illegal

Sexting or electronically sharing sexually explicit images of another person without their consent will become illegal in Victoria.

The government tabled its response to an inquiry into sexting in parliament on Tuesday and the legislation will also ensure youths found sexting do not end up facing child pornography charges.

8.Organic milk is healthier

A US study – the largest of its kind has shown that Organic milk is healthier than non-organic milk.

When scientists compared the fat content of 400 brands of milk, the organic bottles and cartons consistently came out on top.

9. Where’s the sisterhood?

Women undermining each other have become the sisterhood’s worst enemy, with new research showing they are holding themselves back by “stepping on another lady’s throat”.

A survey released today shows only a third believe women respect other women in the workplace, compared to nearly half for men.

10. Baby names

The most popular girls name for 2013 according to the website ”Babycentre” was Charlotte with Ava number 2. For boys Oliver was the most popular followed by Jack and Jackson.

Disturbingly there were nine babies named “Cheese” on the US list of most names, and one baby named “Phone”.

11. Un-schooling

In The UK a mother who “unschools” her children is under fire from education experts for harming her children’s education outcomes.

Maryanna Jacobs, from, Scotland, is one of a new wave of parents embracing ‘unschooling’, a new philosophy that rejects traditional, curriculum-based, education in favour of letting children choose what they want to do.

Rather than sitting down with a workbook and learning key subjects such as maths or English her children play Minecraft on their laptops, bake or go to the shops.

In Brief:

Today’s date – 11/12/13 – is the last time we will see three consecutive numbers line up for 90 years.

Jean-Claude Mas, the founder of a French company that made defective breast implants, has been sentenced in France to four years in prison for fraud.

What news are you talking about today?