Tuesday's news in under 5 minutes

1. Elite school abuse charges

An elite Brisbane school has been rocked by indecent assault charges brought forth to one of its long-standing teachers.

Nudgee Junior College teacher Kevin Jaey Robert Crisp, 48, faced court yesterday on four charges of molesting three students, the youngest aged 11.

The teacher was stood down immediately.

The Brisbane Times reports the Principal Michael Senior told parents that the school was not even aware of the charges until Friday.

2. MH17 developments

Australian police due to arrive at the MH17 crash site have been delayed for a second day due to unrest in the area.

Australia has a team of 19 disaster victim identification specialists at waiting for access to the crash site.

‘War crime’

Overnight, UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said that the downing of the aircraft may constitute a “war crime”.

She released a statement saying: “Every effort will be made to ensure that anyone committing serious violations of international law including war crimes will be brought to justice, no matter who they are.”

Black box

Meanwhile the black boxes from MH17 show it was destroyed by shrapnel coming from a rocket blast and went down because of “massive explosive decompression”, a Ukrainian security official said

3. Campaign against proposed childcare changes

A campaign will be launched today claiming the proposed changes to the childcare subsidy will push women back to the 1950s. It is backed by an online petition rejecting a proposed means test to the childcare rebate.

The Parenthood ‘s national advertising campaign warns any move to means-test childcare subsidies will have serious consequences for women’s participation in paid work.

“If you cut the childcare rebate you take Australia back to the 1950s where women had no choice about whether they could go to work or not. Their choice was non-existent,” The Parenthood’s executive director Fiona Sugden said.

Ms Sugden told News Limited: “We will see the return of an army of women kept in the home because the choice for them to be able to re-enter the paid workforce has been ripped away.”

4. Miss World controversy

The Miss World Australia pageant has been thrown into controversy after a Facebook post by one of its competitors who pulled out at the last minute.

Stephanie Campbell withdrew from the competiton on Saturday posting this to her Facebook page: “I decided to remove myself from Miss World Australia yesterday lunchtime (Saturday).”

“Good luck to the girls who still think the title has value and are competing for it at the crowning event tonight. May the odds be ever in their favour.

“I only support organisations I believe in … I do not condone abusive and disrespectful treatment of women.”

The Courier Mail report that they tried to contact her for comment but she did not respond.

5. Qantas to continue to fly over Iraq

Qantas says it will continue to fly over Iraq despite a decision by Emirates to abandon the dangerous airspace.

News Limited reports that Qantas say they fly between 38,000 and 41,000 feet, the flight level deemed safe by international aviation authorities. However pilots have reported seeing ground fire from the plane – and say they are concerned they are vulnerable to missile attack from ISIL rebels.

Emirates announced yesterday that for the next 10 days it will avoid flying over Iraq.

6. Peter Slipper faces five years in jail

Former parliamentary speaker Peter Slipper has been found guilty of acting dishonestly in using taxpayer-funded Cabcharge vouchers to pay for trips to Canberra region wineries.

Slipper pleaded not guilty to using nearly $1000 worth of government issued vouchers for tips to wineries in 2010. He is due to be sentenced on September 22 and could face up to five years jail.

7. Gaza conflict

The Israeli army said five of its soldiers have been killed in two separate incidents today, including four in a mortar strike.

Meanwhile, three separate rocket strikes in Gaza left at least 10 dead after attacks on a refugee camp and hospital. Hamas blamed Israel for the rocket strikes at the hospital which left eight children dead, CNN reports.

Meanwhile Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country must prepare for a protracted conflict in the Gaza Strip, ending any hopes of a quick end to fighting that has cost over 1,000 lives.

8. Arrest over missing 15 -year-old girl who returned home.

In the US, a man has been arrested over the disappearance of  teenager Abigail Herdandez.

The 34-year-old man was arrested just hours after her mother spoke out for the first time about her daughter’s mysterious return after nine months away.

15-year-old Abigail returned home after being missing for nine months.

For more on this story, see this post here.

9. Puberty occurring earlier due to obesity

A study has shown children are reaching puberty nearly five years earlier than a century ago as childhood obesity contributes to hormonal changes n the body allowing puberty to occur earlier.

The risk of cancer and other serious health problems is increased with early puberty.

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism showed that the onset of puberty in girls was 14.6 years in 1920, compared to 10.5 in 2010.

In boys, puberty hits nearly a year later than girls.

10. Facebook post causes riots

A young girl aged just seven, along with her baby sister and her grandmother, have died in a violence outburst reportedly provoked by a Facebook post.

The house the family were in was attacked by a mob angry about  “blasphemous” material on Facebook.

The horrific murders took place in the Pakistani town of Gujranwala, 140 miles from the capital Islamabad.

For more read this post here.

11. Chinese boy causes ‘stink’ on airplane

The Daily Mail reports passengers on a flight from Beijing to Detroit this week were left horrified after a family allowed their young son to defecate in public.

The Chinese family allegedly spread out some newspaper and let the boy do his business in full view of other passengers

The Daily Mail reports: “passenger Luolan Gang Wang told Sina News that once the boy had finished his business, its smell began slowly to waft through the cabin sparking a wave of disgust among fellow travellers. “

12. Ban the handshake?

There has been a call from scientists for the traditional handshake to be replaced by fist bumping — to reduce levels of the flu.

The UK Telegraph reports scienctists have found a “fist bump” can reduce spreading of viruses and bacteria by 90 percent.

Dr Dave Whitworth of Aberystwyth University said: “People rarely think about the health implications of shaking hands. But if the general public could be encouraged to fist bump, there is a genuine potential to reduce the spread of infectious diseases.”

 13. Tea will save your marriage? (Oh, and a warm bath)

A program funded by the UK government is helping Brits stay in their relationships. The love nuggets’ programme helps those in need save their relationship with helpful tidbits such as: make cups of tea for each other, put your arm around your man in public, leave love notes around the house or go see a movie together even if you don’t want to see the film.

The Daily Mail reports £3million of dovernment money went to the OnePlusOne relationship charity to “encourage couples to take proactive steps to strengthen their relationship from the start, rather than allowing it to reach crisis point before seeking support.”

Oh, and here’s one that will surely save any fledging marriage: “dress to impress, to show that even after years you still want to look good when out with your man.”

14. Prince Harry “proposal”

Australian hockey player Rachael Lynch has posted an tweet of her meeting Prince Harry that has gone viral.

The hockeyroo cheekily suggested the Prince had proposed.

15. Six-year-old hit and killed

A six-year-old boy has been killed after he was struck by a car in Sydney’s south after running out onto the road by himself.

The boy was about to attend a taekwondo class in Hurstville at about 4:40pm yesterday, but was hit by a car on Durham Street and thrown metres into the air.

He was treated by paramedics at the scene and then taken to St George Hospital,  the Daily Telegraph reports.

However, he has suffered critial chest and head injuries, and died about two hours later.

The tragic incident has prompted a plea from Acting Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith for parents to tell their families about road safety, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

“The impact of a crash on everyone who is linked to it resonates well after headlines have faded,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Smith, from the Traffic and Highway Patrol Command, said.

“As a parent, I would plead with everyone that if they are with young children near a roadway always keep holding their hand… To drivers, particularly if you are passing residential areas, do be mindful children may be about,” he said.

16. Prisoners break out of prison – and then back into it

The ABC reports that the Darwin prisoners are suspected of repeatedly escaping Berrimah jail, partying and then breaking back into jail.

According to the ABC, the group were suspected to have been jumping a fence, getting picked up by their girlfriends and given alcohol and marijuana. They were believed to have broken back into prison hours later. 

The suspected misbehaviour was discovered on July 20, the ABC reports.

An internal departmental investigation is underway,  a spokesperson for the NT Department of Correctional Services told the ABC.

The suspected men have been transferred to the a maximum security section in the jail, News.com.au reports.

17. New video takes aim at workplace discrimination

A new online video is encouraging women to learn their rights at work — and speak up about pregnancy-related workplace discrimination.

The Victorial Legal Aid video, to be formally launched tomorrow morning, follows a shocking report by The Australian Human Rights Commission revealing that one in two mothers experience workplace discrimination.

That report, released in April, also found that 91 percent of mothers who experience discrimination don’t make a formal complaint — presumably because they are exhausted and busy looking after their kids.

The short Victorian Legal Aid video encourages women to take action to protect their job by knowing their rights in the workplace and arranging a free, confidential meeting with a legal aid lawyer.

Watch the video below or find out more about the rights of working mothers here.

18. Taxpayers paying high price for an unused room: report

Fairfax Media reports that taxpayers have paid almost $330,000 for a governmental room that hasn’t been used since it was completed.

The room, first intended as a border protection briefing room, reportedly cost almost $235,000 just to construct and fit out — with one of its doorknobs alone costing $800.

Other costs include $30,000 for rented lights and a monthly $10,000 rental fee for audio-visual equipment, Fairfax Media reports.

But the border protection media briefings for which it was originally intended were ultimately held at offices in Sydney, Fairfax Media reports. The room therefore hasn’t been used since it was finished 10 months ago.

The shock findings were revealed in documents obtained by AAP under Freedom of Information legislation, Lisa Martin writes for the Sydney Morning Herald.

The revelations have prompted a backlash on social media, with Broede Carmody writing: “$800 for a doorknob doesn’t really fit with the ideology of a government intent on cutting spending, does it.”

Bevan Shields tweeted: “Stop the waste? $800 for a door knob in a $330k briefing room @ScottMorrisonMP has never used “.

What news are you talking about today?