Baby gets HIV tests after given wrong milk

A THREE-WEEK-OLD baby is undergoing tests for HIV after being given breast milk from the wrong mother in a southeast Queensland hospital.

THE Metro North Hospital and Health Service says it is urgently investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, which occurred at Caboolture Hospital on Thursday.

It says it has also apologised "unreservedly" to the baby's parents and the donor mother."Medical advice, provided to the families, is because of the good health of those involved there is negligible risk of health impacts to the baby as a result of this incident," a spokesman told AAP."However as a precaution, to give peace of mind and certainty to the families involved, blood and milk samples have been taken for comprehensive testing."Results are expected to be available within a week, with a routine confirmation test to occur again in 12 weeks.The mix-up has caused a nervous wait for the baby's family.The baby's grandmother, who only identified herself as Peggy, rang Brisbane talkback radio in distress on Friday morning saying her grandson was being tested for HIV, as well as Hepatitis A, B and C."My son and daughter-in-law are beside themselves," the upset grandmother told 4BC."We're on tenterhooks and to have something like that happen at a hospital, who's not doing their job?"The grandmother said a nurse gave a bottle to her daughter-in-law only to return five minutes later and say it was the wrong one.The health service spokesman said any issues identified by a formal investigation would be addressed to prevent a recurrence.Staff involved in the incident had been counselled about the importance of following all protocols in relation to expressed breast milk, he said.

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Proudest mum sees top five graduate

SHE just had to be the proudest mother in the country.

FIVE of her own graduating on the same day, and they were five of the smartest, happiest and furriest graduates you will ever see.

Overjoyed mum Olwyn watched on as her top five; Rosie, Richie, Riley, Robbie and Ruby all graduated with flying colours as fully fledged Guide Dogs at the organisation's base in Glossodia in western Sydney on Friday.There wasn't a mortar board in sight, but plenty of tasty treats, sloppy licks and maybe a celebratory bark or two for some of the cleverest canines in the country.Make no mistake, after six months of extensive training, these gorgeous Labradors are the best of the best and with a bright, rewarding future ahead of them you couldn't stop mum's tail from wagging.It costs $30,000 to train up each dog and after graduation at 18 months of age, they are paired up with a suitable handler,There are 250 working guide dogs in NSW and 40 blind or vision impaired people waiting for a dog which makes Olwyn, a 'prize bitch' in any vernacular, even more valuable."Olywn has always been easy going and very calm, she is a great mother and she always keeps her pups under control," explains owner Sally Gorman."Maybe that is why the pups are so successful. We are extremely proud of her and her dogs."It is the perfect combination of having a dog and doing some good for us."Puppy Raisers, families who help prepare a puppy for its potential career as a guide dog, are almost as important as the dogs themselves."It's a good way to help out," says Rebecca Smith, 21, whose looked after Riley before his rise to a Guide Dog and whose current charge the sleepy-eyed Wayne is the eighth puppy her and her family have raised.The puppies join families at two months and stay for around a year."We had another dog and we felt like it needed some company and wanted to see how it would work out and it has obviously worked out really well."It is rewarding and a lot of fun that is why we continue to stay involved."Rebecca looks on as graduation photos are taken, and taken and taken.The bond between puppy raiser and puppy after a year obviously becomes a strong one. So how hard is it to give them back?"I remember the first one, me and mum got a bit teary, but as much as it is hard to say goodbye you know it is going to a good home, going to someone who needs it," Rebecca says.

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WA Police charge former hostel warden

CHILD abuse squad detectives have charged a 69-year-old West Australian man, who is currently in prison, with two additional charges relating to historic child sex offences.

POLICE allege the offences occurred between 1975 and 1988 when the offender was a warden at a regional WA hostel.

He is expected to appear in the Katanning Magistrates Court on July 15.

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Afghan voters defy Taliban threat

Afghans have braved threats of violence and searing heat to vote in the presidential elections. Source: AAP

THE United States praised millions of Afghan voters who defied Taliban threats and attacks to vote in a presidential run-off election securing the country's first democratic transfer of power, with counting set to begin.

WITH turnout higher than expected after a largely peaceful day of voting, Washington hailed the polls as a "significant step" for the country's democracy, commending "the voters, electoral bodies and security forces for their commitment to the democratic process".

"These elections are a significant step forward on Afghanistan's democratic path, and the courage and resolve of the Afghan people to make their voices heard is a testament to the importance of these elections to securing Afghanistan's future," the White House said.Ahead of the ballot, which decides the next president of the country ahead of the withdrawal of NATO troops later this year, the Taliban had threatened to kill voters and officials, saying the election was an American plot "to impose their stooges".Polling day saw no major attacks in cities, but there were at least 150 minor attacks - including a Taliban rocket that hit a house near a polling station, killing five members of the same family.Eleven voters in the western province of Herat had their fingers - which were dipped in ink to register their ballot - cut off by insurgents, Deputy Interior Minister Ayoub Salangi said on his Twitter account.The polls result, due out next month, will confirm whether former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah or ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani will lead Afghanistan into a new era of declining international military and civilian assistance.The two candidates came top of an eight-man field in the April first-round election, triggering the run-off as neither reached the 50 per cent threshold needed for outright victory.Abdullah secured 45 per cent of the vote with Ghani on 31.6 per cent.Counting the ballot will take weeks. The preliminary result is due on July 2 and a final result on July 22.The United Nations also praised the elections, congratulating the "courageous" Afghans who set out to cast their ballots in the face of Taliban threats."With the same determination, resilience and courage the world saw in the first round of elections, the people of Afghanistan today once again decided to take their destiny in their own hands and demonstrate their desire for a peaceful, prosperous, and united Afghanistan," the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, Jan Kubis, said.While high turnout may lend legitimacy to the winner if the gap between the two candidates is clear, a close count could mean a contested outcome.Both candidates swiftly alleged fraud after the closure of the polls Saturday."We know there has been fraud, you have seen it, we have seen it," Abdullah said.Ghani called for a full investigation into vote-rigging, saying "unfortunately there were cases of security forces involved in fraud, we have the evidence".A smooth handover in Afghanistan's first democratic transfer of power would be a major achievement for the 13-year US-led effort to establish a functioning state after the depredations of the Taliban era.President Hamid Karzai, who has ruled Afghanistan since 2001 and was re-elected in a 2009 vote marred by ballot-box stuffing, is constitutionally barred from a third term in office.

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Nicole Kidman for top Shanghai honour

NICOLE Kidman is to be honoured with an outstanding contribution award at the Shanghai International Film Festival in China.

HUGH Grant and John Woo will present the Australian actress with her latest accolade at the opening ceremony on Saturday, while artist Qin Yi will honour actor and director Jiang Wen with the Outstanding Contribution to Chinese Film Award.

Kidman will be hoping the festival will be a better experience than her visit to Cannes last month, when her new film Grace of Monaco was savaged by critics.Kirsten Dunst, John Cusack, Hayden Christensen, Jackie Chan, Tony Leung, Li Bingbing and Korean superstar Rain are expected to attend the opening gala, according to The Hollywood Reporter.The film festival will open with a restored version of 1964 movie Two Stage Sisters and close with Transformers: Age of Extinction.A jury led by actress Gong Li will decide the winner of the Golden Goblet from the 15 films in competition.

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Get out of Iraq now, warns Bishop

Australia ready to help with humanitarian crisis in Iraq, but no troops envisaged says Julie Bishop. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIANS have been told to leave Iraq immediately by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who has described the escalating crisis as deeply disturbing.

INSURGENTS from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have taken a swathe of mostly Sunni Arab territory in northern Iraq in an offensive that has brought fighting to within 80km of Baghdad.

The worsening crisis prompted Ms Bishop to urge Australians to leave "immediately".

"The airport in Baghdad is still open. Commercial flights are still operating out of Baghdad," she told the Ten Network. 

"But if Australians must stay in Iraq, they must ensure that their personal circumstances and their security is absolutely safe." 

The Australian embassy in Baghdad would be "very constrained" in the support it could provide, she said. 

On Saturday US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered an aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf as President Barack Obama considers possible military options, after he ruled out sending troops into Iraq. 

Speaking to reporters in Houston, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he would wait to see how the US responds to the situation before developing an Australian response. 

Ms Bishop said the US would take the lead when it came to any military action. 

"I didn't envisage a circumstance where we would be sending in troops," she said. 

"But we certainly stand ready to support the humanitarian crisis should a request be made." 

She defended the 2003 military intervention in the country, which she supported as a member of the Howard Government. 

"I thought Saddam Hussein was one of the worst dictators on the planet at that time. His removal was a good thing," she said. 

Greens leader Christine Milne said following the US into Iraq was not going to "fix" the violence in the country. 

"We do not want to follow the United States blindly as John Howard did (in 2003)," Senator Milne told ABC Television. 

"Clearly it didn't work last time in Iraq and it won't work this time." 

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Vic teen killed after leaning out of train

A Victorian teenager is dead after he leaned out of a train and was hit by a trackside object. Source: AAP

TRAIN safety features will be examined as part of a coroner's investigation into the death of a teenager, killed while leaning out of a Melbourne train.

THE 17-year-old was struck by a trackside object about 200 metres from Malvern station on Friday.

The boy, from Beaumaris, was travelling with friends in the rear carriage when the accident happened about 9.20pm.Emergency crews treated him at the scene and he was taken to hospital but died shortly before 11pm.The boy's friends were uninjured, and police are investigating the circumstances leading up to the accident.Acting Sergeant Andrew Kiss on Saturday described the fatality as a tragedy."It's going to impact severely on all family and friends," he told the Nine Network.Safety procedures on trains will be considered as part of the coroner's investigation, he said."It'll be up to the coroner to establish whether more safety procedures need to be put in place, whether, I guess, things like the locking system on the doors need to be looked at. It'll all be up to the coroner at this stage," he told ABC radio.Metro Trains spokeswoman Leah Waymark said it was "a tragic case of one risk too many"."Unfortunately some people take risks and the train network is not a fun park for thrill seekers," she told Nine.

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More drama over Qld chief justice pick

Queensland's controversial next chief justice had a private dinner with the state attorney-general. Source: AAP

THE appointment of Queensland's next chief justice is arousing new controversy, with the state's attorney-general accused of leaking yet another confidential letter linked to the matter.

TIM Carmody's promotion from chief magistrate to Supreme Court chief justice in just nine months has sparked growing anger among legal groups.

Queensland Council for Civil Liberties vice-president Terry O'Gorman has likened the appointment to the Joh Bjelke-Petersen era selection of Terry Lewis who "leapfrogged" numerous senior officers to become police commissioner.His condemnation comes a day after Peter Davis QC quit as head of the Queensland Bar Association, citing the leaking of confidential discussions he had with one of Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie's senior staff about Mr Carmody's possible promotion."The leaking of confidential discussions the attorney-general had with Peter Davis QC ... is an extraordinary development that cannot be left unaddressed," Mr O'Gorman said on Saturday in a statement.Australian Bar Association president Mark Livesey QC is also questioning Mr Carmody's selection."The handling of this matter has seriously called into question the appointment process and judicial independence," he said.Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk, meanwhile, has accused Mr Bleijie of leaking a private letter she wrote to him, to conservative Courier-Mail newspaper columnist Des Houghton.In April, Mr Houghton wrote that Labor had nominated former Queensland solicitor-general Walter Sofronoff as the state's next chief justice.Mr Sofronoff, who quit his post in March, has since called on Mr Carmody to decline his appointment, claiming he is too close to the government."He shouldn't be chief justice. He should do the gracious thing and realise that all of this has been a horrible mistake and say that he wouldn't accept the appointment," he told ABC television.Mr Houghton's column also said Labor had nominated Court of Appeal president Margaret McMurdo as a possible chief justice.An angry Ms Palaszcuk on Saturday insisted her correspondence in relation to the appointment process, which had been "provided to the attorney-general in confidence", had been leaked, and called for Mr Bleijie to resign."On Monday, the attorney-general should not be walking through the doors of this Executive Building," she told reporters outside the government's ministerial offices in Brisbane."The only reason he should go through these doors is to hand his resignation in to the premier of Queensland."In a statement issued later on Saturday, a spokesman for Mr Bleijie said "nothing came from the attorney-general or his office".However, he said Ms Palaszczuk had herself breached a confidentiality by publicly disclosing her recommendations for chief justice during a press conference on 7 May.As chief magistrate in late 2013, Mr Carmody angered the legal profession by issuing a directive that all disputed bail applications made by alleged bikies be dealt with in one court room.That meant he would, most likely, be presiding over the controversial cases.Days after being appointed chief magistrate in September 2013, Mr Carmody and Mr Bleijie had a private dinner at the upmarket Urbane Restaurant in Brisbane, documents obtained by AAP show.A spokesman for the attorney-general described that meeting as social catch-up.

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US jazzman Jimmy Scott dies

American jazz man Jimmy Scott with an ethereal man-child voice has died at the age of 88. Source: AAP

JIMMY Scott, a jazzman with an ethereal man-child voice who found success late in life with the Grammy-nominated All the Way, has died. He was 88.

SCOTT died in his sleep on Thursday at his Las Vegas home, his wife, Jeanie Scott, said.

He battled health problems stemming from a genetic hormone deficiency and had been under the care of a home nurse, she said.His 1992 album All the Way sold only 49,000 copies in the US but earned him cult-like popularity in Europe and Asia, particularly Japan, where he often sold out performances.Eventually, he performed with the likes of Elton John and Sting."I love show business," Scott told the Associated Press in 2004. "It's my life, honey, and I try to enjoy it."His signature high voice came from Kallmann's syndrome, which kept him from experiencing puberty and stunted his growth. He stood just under five feet (152 centimetres), and his voice did not change.Although that trait ultimately helped Scott stand out as a singer, he also suffered from congestive heart failure and had a lifestyle that included heavy drinking and smoking.Despite his youthful sound, Scott brought heavy emotion to his delivery, often dramatically drawing out lyrics and singing far behind the beat."Jimmy had soul way back when people weren't using the word," Ray Charles once said in a PBS documentary on the history of jazz.A record label dispute prevented Scott making an album in the 1950s produced by Charles. Scott's previous record company, Savoy Records, said it had an exclusive, lifetime contract with him, and the company blocked Scott's efforts to release new records for nearly 20 years.Savoy Records dropped the matter in the 1970s. By that time, Scott had returned to Cleveland, where he worked as a hotel clerk and nursing home aide.Scott was born in Cleveland on July 17, 1925. He had a difficult childhood in East Cleveland, losing his mother, who cultivated his passion for music, in a traffic accident at age 13.His first claim to fame came in 1949 when he recorded the vocals as "Little Jimmy Scott" for the Lionel Hampton Band's Everybody's Somebody's Fool. His name never appeared on the record, and he never received royalties from the jukebox hit.At age 67, he was rediscovered by a Warner Bros Records executive who heard him sing at a friend's funeral and the result was All the Way.He married Jeanie Scott 10 years ago."He was an earth angel," she said. "He was different from any person I ever met. He was kind, humble. Everyone he met he made them feel special. He had a hard life, but he didn't hold any resentment."Scott stopped touring two years ago but continued recording until about a month before his death, his wife said. He is expected to be buried in Cleveland.

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Vic teen 'forced into sex work': police

A 17-YEAR-OLD girl may have been forced into sex work for three months, Victorian police say.

A 33-year-old Warrnambool North man was arrested over the claims, but was released pending further inquiries.

He was interviewed on Monday over charges of procuring and inducing a child to take part in sex work, allowing a child to take part in sex work and living on the earnings of a sex worker.

Police on Tuesday said they had reports a girl had been forced into sex work, and appealed for anyone else in the same situation to come forward.

Detectives want to speak to anyone who has information about the girl or illegal sex work in Victoria's southwest.

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