1.Oscar Pistorius, the Paralympic gold medallist who was convicted last year of killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, will be released from prison on Friday.
He will serve the rest of his five-year prison sentence under house arrest.
Time magazine says he will “live in a manor featuring more than a dozen bedrooms, a private gym, an outdoor swimming pool and landscaped gardens”.
Oscar, 29, served 10 months in prison for killing Reeva on Valentine’s Day 2013.
He will wear an electronic tracking tag for the remainder of his sentence.
Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated as a baby, was nicknamed “Blade Runner” for his speed on his prosthetic limbs.
Pistorius admitted shooting through the locked door of a bathroom but said he thought there was an intruder inside.
Prosecutors are still hoping to overturn the verdict.
2.Seeding. You may think you know what it is, but it may be time to think again, because it has nothing to do with gardens, and everything to do with bacteria.
Seeding is the latest thing for pregnant women who are having a caesarean, as opposed to vaginal birth.
According to this article from The Guardian, it’s when the husband – or partner, or somebody in the birthing suite, maybe even the woman herself – puts a piece of gauze in the women’s vagina before the birth, and leaves it there to soak.
Then, when the baby comes out, so does gauze, which gets wiped all over baby’s face and body, and even in the baby’s mouth.
Why?
The Guardian says: “During the trip through the birth canal, a baby gets coated with its mother’s microbes. Right after birth, a baby’s microbiome closely resembles the bacteria of the mom’s vagina.
“But what happens when a baby is born via C-section, deprived of contact with its mother’s vaginal bacteria? Its bacterial community resembles the bacterial communities found on skin. And not just mum’s skin, but that of doctors, nurses, other patients in the hospital, the person who cleaned the operating room floor.”
The Guardian quotes Dominguez-Bello, a microbiologist from NYU, who is trying to determine if C-section babies “can reap the benefits of a vaginal birth through the process of seeding with gauze that’s been incubated in its mother’s vagina. So far, the results are very promising.”
No word yet on whether the practice is coming to Australia but if it’s a big thing in New York, you can pretty much bet on it.
3.Former leader of the Labor Party, Mark Latham, is again without a job in the media.
Latham resigned from the Australian Financial Review yesterday after sustained criticism of his columns, one of which attacked the Australian of the Year, Rosie Batty, for having poor taste in men.
Rosie’s son, Luke, was murdered with a cricket bat by her ex-partner. Latham criticised Rosie’s decision to speak publically and passionately about the problem of domestic violence, saying her son’s death had become ‘entertainment’ at corporate events.
Latham came with a whisker of the Lodge before being defeated by John Howard at the 2004 election. He’s had a number of media gigs since then, including one for The Spectator. He gave no reason for his resignation yesterday.
4.Salim Mehajer, the man behind the wedding that shut down parts of Sydney over the weekend, has hit back at claims he is hiding the reasons behind his wealth.
The Auburn Council deputy mayor and millionaire property developer married the love of his life on Saturday, and it was the campest celebration in the world.
The groom and his men were dressed in tight suits and mirrored sunglasses. They stepped out of not one, not two but – count them – four helicopters, onto the red carpet, to pose for photographs. There were fleets of brightly coloured Ferraris, a jet flyover, and even a skyplane.
And the whole shindig left neighbours incredibly unimpressed as whole streets were shut down without permission and cars were threatened to be towed if they did not move out of the mayor’s path.
Speaking to the Kyle and Jackie O Show on KIIS FM on Monday, Mr Mehajer has said he cleared the extravagant celebrations with council, and the police were free to investigate him.
“That was absolute nonsense,” he said.
“With regard to the traffic control and the vehicles there, we had permits with council. However there was a number of vehicles… that exceeded the limit, which I had no control whatsoever.”
“They can investigate all they like, I’ve got nothing to hide.”
750 people have so far signed a Change.org petition to have the deputy mayor sacked.
