RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today
HOW do you end a war between two singers? Through music of course.
Good morning, and welcome to our morning news coverage. We will be bringing you the best of what’s happening this morning, so you can get across the news quickly.
10am
That’s it for our live #RUSHHOUR news blog. You can get across the stories you need to know today below or go to news.com.au for the latest headlines.
9.40am
Myuran Sukumaran has started a painting of the island where he is expected to be executed and is no longer sleeping as it becomes increasingly unlikely he will be granted clemency.
The execution of Sukamaran and fellow Bali Nine drug smuggler Andrew Chan is thought to be imminent, and authorities in Indonesia are finalising plans to move the pair from Bali to their execution place on an prison island off Java. A date for the transfer will be determined today.
Artist Ben Quilty, who is a friend and mentor of Sukumaran said goodbye to the aspiring artist at Kerobokan prison in Bali for the last time on Thursday.
“He’s found an image of the island where his execution will take place and wants to make a painting. I hope it’s not the last he makes but it’s the beginnings of a great painting,” Quilty told ABC.
“He knows someone will knock on his door in the middle of the night. I offered to bring him valium but he said `no’. He is completely free from drugs and won’t even take sleeping pills.”
9.10am
A manhunt is continuing in Victoria as police search for a gunman who shot dead a man outside a Melbourne factory.
Officers found the victim at the Campbellfield industrial estate after reports of loud bangs just after 6am on Thursday. Early reports said the victim was shot in the face, but detectives would only say he had a gunshot wound to his upper body. Police believe the shooter fled; no weapon has been found. There are no suspects as yet.
8.50am
A user on SoundCloud has sought to end the war between Beyonce and Beck after Kanye’s Grammys spray - through music of course.
Beckyonce uploaded a mash up of Beyonce’s Single Ladies with Beck’s Loser, and the result is actually pretty catchy.
RELATED: Kanye blames Grammys rant on ‘voices in my head’
8.30am
Two Victorian police officers have been charged with drug trafficking as part of a crackdown on links between police and organised crime.
A senior constable and a constable, both from the North West Metro Region, were each charged with trafficking a drug of dependence, possessing proceeds of crime, three counts of theft and three counts of misconduct in public office.
8.20am
Barack Obama has appeared in the fun video playing around with a selfie stick, posing in front of a mirror and declaring “YOLO man!” - you only live once.
In the short skit recorded by BuzzFeed the US President can also be seen blaming himself for making cookies too big to dunk in a glass of milk -- “thanks Obama” -- and drawing a picture of his wife Michelle.
The light-hearted two minute footage attracted the usual flurry of approval and disgust on social media.
“It’s good to see even the President has a dirty mirror, and a great sense of humour,” Facebook user Teri Jacobs wrote.
“Worst president EVER” wrote Jeff Morris in an expletive-laden post.
Thursday’s video was also designed to get Americans to enroll for a health care insurance program, part of reforms that have been the cornerstone of his presidency. A short time after being posted the video had received 1.6 million views.
8am
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have reportedly named their baby girl James.
Lively gave birth to their daughter almost two months ago but her name has remained a mystery.
There were rumours that the girl’s name was Violet, which Reynolds denied but E! is now reporting from sources that the couple have named their daughter James.
7.30am
A man has been charged with stealing and using Robert Allenby’s credit cards on the Aussie golfer’s infamous night out in Hawaii.
A spokesman for the Honolulu Police Department said Patrick Owen Harbison, 32, was allegedly caught on CCTV using Allenby’s stolen credit cards at various Waikiki outlets. racking up a US$23,000 bill.
Harbison, a known drug addict, has been in custody for a week on unrelated charges.
7.05am
The family of a young Sydney woman shot dead by police outside a Hungry Jack’s this week after wielding a knife have released a statement and photo.
“The Topic Family would like to thank everyone for their overwhelming support,” a statement released on Thursday said.
“We ask that you could respect our privacy during this tragic time.”
Courtney Topic, 22, was shot in the chest after she was seen wandering in and out of traffic brandishing a large knife in the Sydney suburb of West Hoxton about 11.45am on Tuesday.
6.45am
The Islamic State group published what it described as an interview with the widow of the French gunman who attacked a kosher supermarket and a police officer in Paris last month, claiming for the first time that she was among extremist fighters.
The text interviews in French and English, published Wednesday and Thursday, did not directly name Hayat Boumeddiene or show images of her, instead identifying her only as the wife of Amedy Coulibaly, or Umm Basur al-Muhajirah. She is considered key to the investigation into the attacks in Paris, which left 20 people dead including the gunmen, although she left France just beforehand.
In the stilted responses laced with references to the Quran, she called on women to be patient and make life easier for their men. She said Coulibaly himself would also have gone to Syria had it not “conflicted with his intent to carry out the operations in France.”
There was no way to confirm the circumstances of the interview, or even if the responses were hers. Coulibaly killed five people before he died in a raid by security forces. Brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi attacked the offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, killing 12.
6.20am
Spanish authorities ordered the residents of five northeastern towns to stay indoors for some two hours Thursday after a chemical explosion at a warehouse spread a large, orange toxic cloud over the area.
A spokeswoman for Catalonia’s regional firefighting department said the blast occurred when products being delivered to a warehouse in the city of Igualada became mixed, exploded and set a truck on fire. She said two people were slightly injured.
What's it like to be under an orange cloud blanketing the sky? Clip of #Igualada #Barcelona sent to me by @9davidgrau pic.twitter.com/m4KwfeOeFq
— Alexander Smith (@AlexSmithNBC) February 12, 2015Firefighters said the chemicals were nitric acid and ferric chloride.
The region’s Civil Protection department ordered some 65,000 residents of Igualada and four nearby towns to stay indoors until the cloud dissipated. The order was lifted two hours later but maintained for pregnant women, children, elderly people and those with respiratory problems.
Some more photos of the orange toxic cloud hanging over Igualada this morning. RT @mberzosa @PaulaArias_ @ajigualada pic.twitter.com/HSSEvsboOi
— The Spain Report (@thespainreport) February 12, 20156am
Controversial One Nation founder Pauline Hanson has lost her latest attempt to re-enter politics at Lockyer by just 184 votes after preferences were distributed.
Liberal National Party stalwart Ian Rickuss was able to hold on to his seat, and the LNP was also able to narrowly win seats in Whitsunday and Mount Ommaney.
Electoral Commission Queensland principal elections officer Carrick Brough said the final seats would be declared today and the writ delivered to the Governor as early as Monday.
The LNP now has 42 seats, compared to Labor’s 44 seats. However, one of Labor’s seats, Ferny Grove, could be forced to return to the polls because a Palmer United Party candidate was ineligible to run as he was a undischarged bankrupt.
5.45am
An onboard tantrum dubbed “nut rage” culminated Thursday in a one-year prison sentence for Korean Air heiress Cho Hyun-ah, a humiliating rebuke that only partially quelled public outrage at the excesses of South Korea’s business elite.
Cho, the daughter of Korean Air’s chairman, achieved worldwide notoriety after she ordered the chief flight attendant off a December 5 flight, forcing it to return to the gate at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
Head of cabin service at the time of the incident, Cho was angered she had been offered macadamia nuts in a bag instead of on a dish.
A Seoul court said Cho, 40, was guilty of forcing a flight to change its route, obstructing the flight’s captain in the performance of his duties, forcing a crew member off a plane and assaulting a crew member. It found her not guilty of interfering with a transport ministry investigation into the incident. Cho pleaded not guilty and prosecutors had called for three years in prison.
Cho, in custody since December 30, wiped away tears with a tissue as a letter expressing her remorse was read to the court by head judge Oh Seong-woo.
It included details about how Cho, one of the richest women in South Korea who regularly flew first class, was adjusting to the basic conditions in prison and reflecting on her life. “I know my faults and I’m very sorry,” Cho said in her letter.
Pedestrian fighting for life after bus crash
A male pedestrian has been rushed to hospital with critical injuries after he was struck by a bus in Melbourne’s north.
TV star’s son jailed for killing teen
Jaden Martinovich, the son of an Aerobics Oz Style star, has been jailed for life over the murder of a 17-year old boy who was stabbed during a fake drug deal.
Aussies’ data, including passports compromised
It has been confirmed that Aussies’ data, including passports, may be compromised if they have rented a car from this major company, even once.