Your speedy update on all the day’s big stories Tuesday, April 22 2014
Father of slain Melbourne sisters is silent in court.
The father of the young Melbourne sisters killed on Easter Sunday faced Melbourne Magistrates court today, charged with their murder. Charles Mihayo, 35, is reported to have been living in a granny flat at the back of the property in Watsonia, north east of Melbourne where they were killed. Emergency services were called to the home at 3pm on Sunday but paramedics were unable to revive the pair. He had separated from the girl’s mother about a year ago. The family released images of the girls, Savannah, 4, and Indianna, 3, yesterday with a statement saying “We are utterly devastated at the loss of Savannah and Indianna.” Mihayo has been remanded in custody.
Julia's slamming email to Kevin revealed.
An email from Julia Gillard to Kevin Rudd from June 21, 2010, two days before she challenged him for leadership, has been released to the public. The extract from upcoming book Rudd, Gillard and Beyond by Troy Bramston proves that Ms Gillard warned Mr Rudd that his government was headed for destruction at the upcoming election. Ms Gillard wrote:
“To state the obvious — our primary is in the mid-30s; we can’t win an election with a primary like that and the issue of asylum-seekers is an enormous reason why our primary is at that low level. It is an issue working on every level — loss of control of the borders feeding into a narrative of a government that is incompetent and out of control. As you know I have been raising this with a great deal of anxiety and I remain desperately concerned about lack of progress...I do not normally email you directly Kevin and I don’t intend to make it a habit."
Family choose between lions and burning car.
A mother and her two kids were faced with a terrifying choice after their car caught fire within a lion enclosure at a safari park in the UK. Helen Clements was in her car with her nine-year-old son and 12-year old daughter at Longleat Safari Park when her car overheated and started releasing thick smoke and flames. She told the BBC that she sounded her horn and both she and her son opened their doors, before rangers came running towards them. “Unfortunately they were shouting to us: ‘Get back in the car, do not get out of the car’,” she added. They were rescued by Rangers who pulled up in a vehicle beside them. The Lions reportedly watched the events unfold from afar. 'It could have been in the flamingoes or the camels but no, it had to be in the lion enclosure,' said Ms Clements.