Friday's news in under 5 minutes

1. Father jailed for attacking newborn

A father in QLD has been jailed for five years — to be suspended after 18 months — for hurling his newborn daughter into her cot, giving her permanent brain damage.

The infant was five weeks old, and her and her twin had only been home from hospital for five days after being born premature. The mother was sleeping when the man picked the newborn up by her throat and threw her “as hard as he could” into the cot, crown prosecutor Gary Churchill told the court.

The mother noticed something was wrong when she checked on her soon after, but the father initially denied he hurt the baby.

Doctors found the newborn had suffered significant brain injuries and called the police. Four days later, he told police he had not been coping with parenting when he “lost it” because he “just wanted her to shut up”, Mr Churchill said.

The court heard that, at 12 months, the little girl had the developmental age of a four-month-old and she would be permanently brain damaged, with the possibility of an early death.

2. Turnbull leadership speculation

The speculation over whether Malcolm Turnbull is gunning for the Prime Minister’s job continues after he refused to rule out his leadership ambitions in an interview last night on the ABC. “I don’t have any plans, any desires, any expectations to be the leader. Having said that politics is an unpredictable business,’’ he told the ABC’s 7:30 program.

“I don’t think there is any member of the House of Representatives who, if in the right circumstances, would not take on that responsibility.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has arrived in France for D-Day commemorations — and has responded to claims of leadership tensions by saying he would be “amazed” if ministers didn’t harbor leadership ambitions.

3. Aussie Journalist in Cairo jail

Australian journalist Peter Greste has learnt he will face the ‘maximum penalty’ sought by Egyptian prosecutors.

The Al Jazeera journalist has been detained among a group of 20 defendants, all accused of aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood.

Prosecutors have demanded the maximum penalty, ranging from 15 to 25 years in jail.

4. Boko Haram attack

Hundreds of residents in four villages in in the northeastern Borno state of Nigeria have been killed in attacks by terrorist group Boko Haram.

Hundreds of homes have been destroyed in the raids.

5. Dredging spoil dump approved

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has approved the dumping of more than 370,000 cubic metres of dredge spoil as a part of a dredging project by Hay Point coal port in central Queensland.

The dredging will be carried out within the marine park and the World Heritage Area.

North Queensland Conservation Council spokeswoman Wendy Tubman told AAP: “The government claims it is protecting the reef while allowing it to be subjected to such damage from out-of-control sea dumping.”

6. Madeleine McCann

As police in Portugal scour a cordoned-off waste site in the search for evidence related to Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, there are reports British forensic experts are carrying out tests on material discovered near a hidden pit close to where Madeleine McCann vanished.

It is believed the items are scraps of clothing.

7. Gary Glitter charged

Pop star Gary Glitter is to be charged with eight sexual offences relating to girls aged between 12 and 14.

The alleged offences are said to have taken place between 1977 and 1980, the UK Crown Prosecution Service said. He will appear in court on 19 June.

8. Dangerous new reality show

A new reality show in the US is being criticised for putting women in danger and encouraging unsafe birthing.

Born in the Wild will feature women who will give birth unassisted in the ‘wild.’

“What happens when the craziest experience of a woman’s life becomes truly wild, and soon-to-be parents decide to take on an unassisted birth in the outdoors?” says a press release from the show.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the show was inspired by a viral video that featured a birth in a forest, which got more than 20 million views on YouTube.

Critics are saying it is dangerous and irresponsible.

9. Toddler snatched in QLD mall

A terrifying turn of events has taken place in QLD, with a toddler being snatched from his mother’s arms in a shopping centre.

Two men chased down the abductor. It happened yesterday in the Lutwyche City shopping centre.

For more on this story, see this post.

10. Middle aged women drink more than their daughters

Research from the Queensland University of Technology has revealed 13% of Australian women aged 45 to 59 average more than two drinks a day, making them the group who drinks the most alcohol in Australia.

Researcher Hanna Watling told The Guardian the findings were a worry. “What we are concerned about is that those women, who drink moderately but often, may end up consuming a larger volume of alcohol than those who drink heavily but less frequently,” she said.

11. We are too clean

A conference has heard that conditions such as asthma, hay fever and food intolerances are on the rise because we are too clean.

Professor Graham Rook, a professor in medical microbiology and immunology at University College London told the conference that said a simple way to keep the immune system working well is to pass germs between family members.

“If a parent picks up the dummy right away and sterilises it or replaces it with a new clean one, that child has a considerably greater chance of having eczema and asthma,” Professor Rook said.

“But if you are the sort of parent that sucks it clean and it sticks it back in the baby’s mouth, then it actually protects them from allergic disorders.”

12. Fairy tales are damaging for children

Prominent scientist and atheist Richard Dawkins has claimed that fairy tales are harmful for our children because they are statistically impossible.

“I think it’s rather pernicious to inculcate into a child a view of the world which includes supernaturalism,” he told The Times Cheltenham Science Festival.

“Even fairytales, the ones we all love, about witches and wizards or princes turning into frogs. There’s a very interesting reason why a prince could not turn into a frog. It’s statistically too improbable.”

The overwhelming response back to him has been: “Bah humbug”.

13. Footage of toddler on balcony

A toddler balancing precariously on a balcony in Brazilian coastal town of Vila Velha is making headlines after footage of him in the dangerous spot was posted to YouTube.

The child was soon rescued a man named in local media as Bruno Teixeira, who told Midia Con News: “When we arrived at the apartment the room door was open and the balcony was closed. (The boy’s) mother was asleep. She should be more responsible with her son’s life.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFDC3LJ54u0

14. Do women really need this shirt?

A retailer selling a maternity T-shirt saying” Wake me Up when I am Skinny?” is facing backlash for body shaming pregnant women.

“There are lots of things pregnant women need while they are waiting to birth their offspring. I doubt one of them is a shirt that reinforces the idea that there is something wrong with their bodies during pregnancy,” writes Rebecca Rose for Jezebel.

15. Fatal shooting spree at Seattle Pacific University

One man in his 20s is dead and three other people are wounded after a shooting rampage at Seattle Pacific University in the US.

Local police said the shooter entered the Otto Miller Hall at the university and started firing at random.

He reportedly shot three people in the foyer with a shotgun.

“At that point the shooter began to reload and a student that is the building monitor inside of the hall confronted the shooter. He was able to subdue the individual before other students jumped on top,” Seattle Police Department Captain Chris Fowler said.

Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Susan Gregg said a 20-year-old woman was in surgery with critical injuries following the rampage, while two other male victims aged 24 and 22 were in a satisfactory condition, News.com.au reports.

The shooting happened about 3.30pm local time and the campus was immediately locked dow, although that lockdown was lifted at about 5:00pm, News.com.au reports.

16. Mother told she can’t breastfeed her baby in a hospital

A mother was told she couldn’t breastfeed her seven-month-old son at a hospital childcare centre in Sydney this week, the Daily Mail reports.

Allison Smith, 32, was at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead on Monday when a volunteer at the centre told her she couldn’t feed her baby in a public lunch area.

‘She said “you can feed your baby in the storeroom”, Ms Smith recalls.

“So I went to the storeroom and fed, they peered through the window and retorted that I wasn’t even feeding. I returned the next day and fed in the dining area and they made remarks to each other, one stating that her daughter used a cover,” she claims. 

The says the storeroom she was relegated to was “disgusting” and strewn with toys.

Her two sons, Charlie and two-year-old Henry, both have rare and complex medical conditions.

In light of the incident, breastfeeding rights group held a ‘nurse-in’ peaceful protest this afternoon to raise awareness about the kind of discrimination faced by breastfeeding mothers. 

“I was distressed and embarrassed… I thought I was allowed to breastfeed freely in Australia.” said Ms Smith.

“They were just being bullies.”

What news are you talking about today?