Wednesday's news in under 5 minutes.

1. Oscar Pistorius

Social media has reacted furiously to the sentence given to Oscar Pistorius with the hashtag #nojustice trending last night after the Paralympian was given five years jail but it was revealed he will probably only serve 10 months behind bars.

The parents of Reeva Steenkamp have said that the sentence is “”the best sentence we could have expected.”

Speaking to Hello Magazine June Steenkamp said, “I believe Oscar expected to go to prison. He was almost resigned to what was coming. It was obvious in the court from his manner; he was calm and wasn’t performing.”

British celebrity Katie Piper who was disfigured by her ex-boyfriend in an acid attack joined the condemnation tweeting  “Reeva family must be shocked, gutted and crushed all over again #nojusticeforreeva.”

 2. Pistorius led to prison

Following his sentencing Pistorius was led down the stairs to the notorious Kgosi Mampuru II prison where he will live for at least the next 10 months.

The leader of one the roughest gangs has already threatened Pistorius via the media saying he doesn’t want him to get any special treatment.

Pistorius, a double-amputee who uses prosthetic legs, will be kept in a cell in the prison’s hospital section – which has rails and facilities to cope with his disability.

 3. Luke Batty inquest

The mother of Luke Batty has broken down at an inquest into his death asking the court,

“Did I ever think Luke would get smacked over the head with a cricket bat and stabbed to death? Of course I didn’t.

“So don’t ask me any more about what I did and the risk I thought there was, because there was an ongoing, never-ending consideration of Luke’s safety, except he got killed, he got killed on a day everyone thought he was fine.”

Rosie Batty has told the court that she considered calling police when her ex-husband Greg Anderson turned up at the cricket oval but she decided not to as previous attempts had been “traumatic and unpredictable.”

Luke had asked her if he could go see his father as he had not seen him for a while.

She also questioned the role of child protection.

“I wanted support. I wanted other people to step in to make some decisions so it wasn’t just me facing Greg.” reports the ABC.

“The only suggestion they have is to have counselling.

“No one spoke to Greg. If he stopped being violent, I wouldn’t need counseling.”

The inquest continues.

4. Boy struck by taxi

A seven-year old boy has been struck by a taxi in the Sydney suburb of Drummoyne after chasing a ball onto the road.

He is in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

5. Aussie murdered in Bali

An Australian man has been found murdered in Bali.

The man named as Robert Kelvin Ellis was discovered in a ditch in a paddy field with his throat cut, his body wrapped in plastic and hands and feet tied.

60-year-old Ellis was married to an Indonesian woman and lived in a villa in Sanur.

Police overnight have said that his wife has confessed to ordering a hit on her husband and has been declared a suspect.

News Limited reports that Badung police chief Komang Suartana said, “Because of many things. She said that her husband is often cheating on her. We allege that she paid the executioners to kill her husband.”

6. Gough Whitlam Tributes

Politicians from both sides of the divide have paid tribute to former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam after his death yesterday at the age of 98.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said that, “His life was a life full of purpose. Proof, if proof were needed, that individuals do matter and they can make a lasting difference to the country they love. We have much to learn from the giants of those times,” he said.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said that Gough Whitlam redefined our country – and in doing so, he changed the lives of a generation and beyond.

While Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull cried as he said Mr Whitlam was a man of “presence, eloquence and generosity of vision”.

A state memorial service is now planned.

For more on Gough Whitlam’s legacy read this post here. 

7. Duchess of Cambridge first appearance.

The Duchess of Cambridge has made her first public appearance since announcing her pregnancy, welcoming Singapore’s President Tony Tan and his wife Mary to Britain.

Alongside her husband William, the Duchess joked about how she was happy to get out of the house.

The first images of her baby bump have made headlines worldwide.

For more (and to see the bump)  read this post here.

8. 10-year old girl bullied after cutting hair.

A 10-year old girl has been bullied after cutting her hair to donate to a cancer charity that makes wigs

The little girls’ story is now going viral.

For more read this post here.

 9. Teenage jihadist “an idiot”

The family of a 17-year-old Sydney boy who appeared in a chilling propaganda video for the Islamic State, threatening Prime Minister Tony Abbott have said that he is “ a stupid idiot.”

News.com.au reports that in the video Abdullah Elmir declares war on the west.

“To the leaders — to Obama, to Tony Abbott — I say this: These weapons that we have, these soldiers, we will not stop fighting. We will not put down our weapons until we reach your lands, until we take the head of every tyrant, and until the black flag is flying high in every single land.”

The Herald Sun reports that an unnamed relative has said, “We never associated with him, that guy was brainwashed, I don’t know what these kids get into.”

10. Kindy strike

Many Victorian preschoolers will be affected by a strike today as 480 kindergartens face disruptions when state wide preschool teachers strike after failed negotiations for a new pay deal.

The Age reports that preschool teachers who are paid between 5 per cent and 9 per cent less than school colleagues will hold a rally at the Athenaeum Theatre before moving on to the steps of the Victorian Parliament.

11. Qantas worker sues over dress code

A Qantas worker is taking the airline to court over what she says is discrimination.

The Courier Mail reports that Georgina Sarikoudis, who is a member of the Greek Orthodox Church claims that the airline discriminated against the Christian faith by demanding she and others remove necklaces with crucifix on them – while allowing Muslim female employees to wear headscarves.

In documents presented to court she claims that managers ordered her to cut off her prayer-knot bracelet and remove her necklace with a crucifix on it.

“The Qantas uniform policy allows for head scarfs by Muslim females but no allowance for the wearing of crucifixes, religious bracelets or other religious … artefacts. “

News Limited report that Qantas say the uniform standards do not ban religious jewellery worn under the uniform.

12. World first man paralysed from waist down walks again.

A 38-year-old man from Bulgaria who was completely paralysed from the chest down after his spinal cord was sliced in half in a stabbing attack is able to walk again after world first treatment.

Darek Fidyka, is thought to be the first person in the world to recover from complete severing of the spinal nerves.

He can now resume an independent life – and even drive a car.

The Telegraph reports that surgeons used pioneering therapy that involved transplanting cells from his nasal cavity into his spinal cord to provide pathways along which the broken tissue was able to grow.

13. Two-year old girl died after drinking methadone in fruit juice bottle

A two-year old girl has died after drinking her mother’s methadone which was stored in a fruit juice bottle.

Sophie Jones from Blackpool in the UK died less than an hour after drinking it.

The Daily Mail reports that the girl’s mother was selling the methadone rather than taking it.

Her mother has admitted the manslaughter.

A court in the UK heard that the toddler had traces of four separate drugs in her hair and that three of her dummies had traces of cocaine powder on the teat.

 14. Canada – children’s bodies found in storage locker.

The decomposing remains of either three or four children have been found in a U-Haul storage locker in Winnipeg, Canada.

Police said the deaths were being treated as “suspicious.”

“The incident is tragic beyond belief,” Constable Eric Hofley said in a news conference.

“It’s just too early in the investigation to say exactly what has transpired here.”

He said the dead appeared to be “very, very young” and could be newborns reports The Star.

 15. Is this the dirtiest thing in your kitchen?

Researchers have found that 90% of tea towels harbor bacteria – and that by wiping dishes with them we are unknowingly spreading germs.

The study by the University of Arizona has found “enteric bacteria” in 89% and E. coli in 25.6% of kitchen tea towels.

The Huffington Post reports that researchers said, “ If you are using a dirty kitchen rag, you may actually be introducing hundreds of thousands of bacteria.”

The (vaguely depressing) suggestion is to wash tea towels after every use.
[post_snippet id=324408]