6 Friday news bites (Oct 14) + pics of the week

1.Government’s Malaysia deal is off – for now.

The Federal Government has been forced to scrap its plans to process asylum seekers in Malaysia after it failed to get the numbers of support required for the deal to go ahead. The retreat came after crossbench MP Tony Crook – who vote was needed to get the bill through the lower house – said he will not support the government in its attempt to change the Migration Act.

What it means it that onshore processing will now become the norm and asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat will be given bridging visas, enabling them to live in the community and work while they wait for their claims to be processed. PM Julia Gillard says the Federal Government will continue to push for the Malaysia people-swap deal. And for the record, the government will still take 4000 refugees from Malaysia as initially negotiated.

2. Australia is the 13th happiest country in the world.

A ‘How’s Life?’ report for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development that measures well-being across the world has listed Australia as number 13 behind Denmark (1), Iceland (2) and the UK (9). The OECD asked people in its member countries to report whether they felt more positive than negative emotions in a typical day, and studied 11 aspects surrounding people’s overall well-being, including health, jobs, housing and work-life balance to come up with the findings. How are you feeling today?

3. US President Barack Obama will address Australian Parliament in November.

The US President will be in Australia from November 16-17  for a visit that will be “firmly focused on the future”, according to PM Gillard, and during that time he’ll address Federal Parliament. President Obama canceled his last two scheduled trips to Australia, so fingers crossed he makes it this time.

4. Man arrested in Hollywood phone hacking scandal.

In the US a man has been arrested for allegedly hacking the phones of celebrities such as Scarlett Johansson, Mila Kunis and Christina Aguilera. Following an 11-month investigation dubbed “Operation Hackerazzi”, the man was charged with 26 counts of cyber-crime for hacking into the emails and phones of the celebrities and leaking private photos online and to the media.

5. Sex was so good it literally blew her mind.

A 54-year-old woman in the US arrived at a hospital in a state of panic because she had no recollection of the previous 24 hours said  her memory became hazy after sex with her husband. Apparently she was suffering from a rare – and temporary – condition called ‘transient global amnesia’, which affects between 3 and 5 people per 100,000 each year, according to doctors.

6. Nicki Minaj surprises YouTube sensation on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Remember the amazing 8-year-old Sophia Lee Browlee (aka mini Minaj) who raps REALLY WELL?  Ellen DeGeneres was so impressed with the young rapper and her cousin’s YouTube performance of Nicki Minaj’s Super Bass she flew the pair to her show in LA. She also gave them the surprise of their lives when the real Nicki Minaj emerged from backstage. This video is priceless. I think we played this video at least 20 times at MM HQ yesterday. Take a look. Have you ever met one of your idols?

News today brought to you by Lucy

And here’s the pics of the week: