8 Thursday news bites. (July 21).

Morning you wonderful things. The end of the week is drawing near, so pop your feet up and dive into these news bites this morning so you can get across the news you need to get across with none of the messing around. Starting with PMS and milk:

1. Milk eases PMS, US dairy body uses this in advertising campaign

Women who consume about four to six servings of milk per day are apparently 30 per cent less likely to feel any PMS. That’s according to one study. What’s more, a US milk body has picked up on the research for it’s new campaign ‘Everything I Do is Wrong‘ aimed at men feeling the strain of PMS in their relationship. The website of the same name is billed as ‘your home of PMS management’. The posters in the campaign feature frazzled men doing things wrong and begging for forgiveness.

2. Former PM Kevin Rudd to have heart surgery for new aortic valve

His last one wore out over about 20 years, which is the average life span of these types of things. He first had one fitted after a bout of rheumatic fever as a child damaged his heart. The operation is slated for August 1 and Mr Rudd, now Foreign Minister, says he expects to be back at work in about 8 weeks.

3. Body image campaign starts with schools

The Federal Government has announced new resources for schools which will put the focus on body image. The ‘Respect Every Body’ program, announced by Youth Minister Peter Garrett, was billed as a conversation starter that could be built into the curriculum, in subjects such health and physical education. The initiative is one of the recommendations from the National Body Image Advisory Group.

4. Leopard mauls six people in India

These pictures are quite incredible. A leopard wandered out of the jungle in an Indian slum and mauled some forestry department employees and villagers. Others scrambled up houses to get away. India is facing a problem of urban sprawl as it’s population expands rapidly past 1.2 billion. This means encounters like this one are growing more frequent, which also leads to the deaths of animals as farmers shoot them. The leopard in this attack was shot and killed.

5. British PM cuts short trip to Africa, returns home to deal with hacking scandal

And some reckon he might be forced to resign. The odds are still a little long, but closing fast and political analysts in Britain are saying that the events that have brought about the scandal so far have only really just got started. David Cameron, the PM, has already announced a judicial inquiry and much more will be revealed as that gets underway. Last night, as he addressed Parliament for the first time since, the PM announced the inquiries would widen to include the conduct of the Met Police which has drawn criticism for its investigations into phone hacking in the past. Cameron has already copped flak for hiring former News of the World deputy editor Andy Coulson, who has now been arrested. The Met Police hired 10 former News of the World journalists and editors in communications roles. Cameron admitted he discussed News International’s bid for broadcaster BSkyB with those executives.

6. Australians might get an even stronger right to privacy

Federal Minister for Privacy Brendan O’Connor will begin consultation on new legislation which would allow individuals to sue for serious breaches of their privacy. This comes in the wake of the News of the World phone hacking scandal. The new laws would still be over-ridden by free speech so long as it were in the public interest, though ABC’s Mark Scott noted this did not simply mean that breaches could be ‘interesting to the public’. Media organisations have concerns with any new legislation in how it might curtail their operations.

7. Opera House image in bomb-making magazine

An English-language bomb-making magazine published by a terrorist branch of Al-Qaeda that has been active in recent bomb plots around the world has included a picture of the Opera House in its latest issue. Inspire magazine included the image with bomb-making tips. A terror analyst said the group was one of the most ‘publicity hungry’ of them all and it was unclear from the manual if they were planning an attack.

8. Daggering, the foreign dance craze that’s breaking penises.

Yes. No, really. So, in Jamaica, couples are getting vigorous on the dance floor with some ‘daggering’ dance moves which is basically exaggerated sex moves performed with your clothes on. The only problem is, when they try to simulate it in the bedroom couples are zig-zagging so abruptly that penis fractures have gone through the roof. Cases in Jamaica tripled last year. Good one, daggering. Also, it’s quite demeaning to women.