Update:
NSW Treasurer Mike Baird has been elected the new NSW Liberal leader.
He was elected unopposed as the new NSW Premier.
His nearest contender for the job, Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian, decided not to challenge in the leadership ballot.
Supporters of each minister were running the numbers overnight in anticipation of a ballot, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
While there were suggestions Ms Berejiklian had a slight edge, the prospect of a split partyroom vote prompted her to reconsider whether she will run, SMH reports.
1. Barry O’Farrell resigns as NSW premier.
NSW premier Barry O’Farrell has resigned over evidence he gave to the Independent Commission Against Corruption over an expensive bottle of wine.
Mr O’Farrell announced the resignation yesterday after a handwritten note was tendered as evidence at ICAC hearing yesterday. In the note, he
thanked an executive from a water company, Nick Di Girolamo, for the gift of a $3,000 bottle of Grange wine.
Mr O’Farrell, who was recalled to ICAC yesterday afternoon, told the inquiry that he could not recall receiving the bottle. He told the inquiry on Tuesday, “I’m not a wine connoisseur.”
Liberal MPs will meet this afternoon to accept Barry O’Farrell’s resignation and elect his successor. Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian and NSW Treasurer Mike Baird have emerged as potential successors, the ABC reports.
2. More than 270 missing as ferry sinks.
A South Korean ferry has sunk off the country’s south-west coast yesterday, leaving more than 270 people unaccounted for.
The ship’s 476 passengers included more than 325 school children and their teachers.
A major rescue operation involving more than 30 coast guard, military ships and navy divers as well as about a dozen helicopters continues.
Six people have been confirmed dead so far but rescued passengers told news outlets that they believe many more are trapped below deck.
3. Girl becomes a mother at 12.
A schoolgirl and her 13-year-old boyfriend have become the youngest parents in the UK.
The girl gave birth to a newborn girl weighing 3.1 kilograms after falling pregnant at 11, News.com.au reports.
The Year 7 girl and her Year 9 boyfriend, who lives near her in north London, have the lowest combined age of any parents in the UK’s history.
News.com.au reports that a source said the young parents were “totally in love” and planned to get married and raise their daughter together.
“Both sets of grandparents are incredibly supportive. It’s a very difficult situation because the parents are both so young — but their families are right behind them,” a source told The Sun.
“They’re very into each other, totally in love. She is obsessed with him. She sees this as true love.”
4. Woman stabbed to death on a busy Melbourne strip.
A mother of four has been murdered on a busy shopping strip in Melbourne’s Sunshine yesterday afternoon.
The 33-year-old mother of four from West Melton was shockingly stabbed with a fishing knife in front of her son and horrified onlookers in broad daylight.
The police say they are searching for her abusive de facto partner of 18 years, a North Sunshine man, who they suspect is responsible. The pair had attended Sunshine Magistrates’ Court earlier in the day “over a dispute” and investigators say the man was known to the police and had a history of domestic violence.
Several onlookers tried frantically to revive the victim at the scene but she was pronounced dead shortly before 12:30pm.
The man remains on the run. He is described as 175 centimetres tall and slim with short-cropped hair and a goatee. He was wearing a black hoodie, black jeans and blue runners. Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
5. The man who allegedly abducted a three-year-old girl is not linked to the family.
Eden James Kane.The South Isis man who allegedly kidnapped a Queensland toddler last week is not linked to the family and drugs were not involved in the abduction, the police say.
Eden James Kane, 45, appeared in Bundaberg Magistrates Court yesterday morning following his arrest on Tuesday night.
Bundaberg Magistrates Court heard yesterday that Kane’s fingerprint at the girl’s house linked him to the crime and that he later admitted to the police: “I took (her) and brought her back.”
He allegedly told the police he cared for her at his house “for a day or two,” while he washed her and shampooed her hair.
“There is no link to the family that we know of, there is no link to drugs that we know of,” Detective Inspector Bruce McNab said yesterday.
6. A student is facing charges over suspicious bags left near the Boston Marathon finish line.
A student at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design is facing charges after the police detonated two suspicious bags left near the Boston Marathon finish line.
Kevin Edson, 25, has been sent to Bridgewater State Hospital and ordered held on $100,000 bail at an appearance in Boston Municipal Court this morning (Wednesday in the US) on charges of threatening battery, threat to commit a crime, possession of a hoax device, disturbing the peace, disturbing a public assembly and disorderly conduct.
Edson apparently posted a meme featuring one of the Boston bombers, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev — and the line “had a blast at the marathon!” — on his Facebook page just before his alleged stunt.
He is due back in court on May 7.
7. Iran considers ban on vasectomies.
Iran‘s parliament is seeking a ban on vasectomies and a tightening of abortion rules in an attempt to increase the dwindling birthrate.
Last year, the supreme leader, 74-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, criticised the country’s existing policy on contraception, describing it as an imitation of western lifestyle.
The proposed ban would signal a U-turn from Iran’s current birth control programme, which was introduced two decades ago and includes subsidised male sterilisation surgeries and free condom distribution.
The Royals arriving in Sydney yesterday.8. Kate, William and George arrive in Australia.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Kate and William and baby Prince George — unofficially dubbed “His Royal Cuteness” — arrived in Sydney yesterday afternoon.
As they touched down to commence their 10-day Australian tour, Kate looked immaculate in a lemon-yellow dress by Serbian designer Roksanda Ilincic, which she is reported to have chosen ‘to reflect the Australian sunshine’.
Read more about the Royals’ Australian tour here.
9. Breakthrough in the fight against Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Researchers at the University of Adelaide have made a breakthrough in the fight against SIDS, Adelaide Now reports.
The researchers have identified a link between SIDS and breathing problems, finding that telltale signs in the brains of SIDS victims are extremely similar to those of children who died of accidental asphyxiation.
The syndrome kills dozens of babies without warning every year.
What’s making news in your world today?
Top Comments
I wonder about the health of the young UK mother. You hear about young girls dying having babies so young in other countries, or is that just because they don't have prenatal care?
A lot of it is that, yeah. The lack of proper nutrition can play a big part. Also, girls who are that young often don't have a pelvis large enough to accommodate a full grown baby, and no access to caesareans and they die during the birth, or afterward from infection after the death of the baby inside them.
I've looked after 12 and 13 year olds (not many admittedly). They are at a higher risk because of pelvis size apparently, but if they have good antenatal care they do well.
he resigned over a bottle of wine I think there's more to that bottle of wine