RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today
RESEARCHERS believe they have traced the current Ebola outbreak back to its original carrier, whom they call “Patient Zero”.
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.
TODAY
• Delivery with a difference - man’s mail dangling from roof, best note left.
•“There’s a certain sorrow that brings me here”: Abbott arrives in the Netherlands
• Researchers trace Ebola outbreak to its original carrier, aka “Patient Zero”
• US Secretary of State John Kerry in the country for talks with Julie Bishop
• Baby Gammy's parents: the bizarre 60 Minutes interview and reaction
• Where and how to check out the super moon this week
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.
9:20am
This is what is wrong with the world.
Sydney jihadist Khaled Sharrouf’s son — a child, 7, raised in the suburbs of Sydney — struggles with both arms to hold up the decapitated head of a slain Syrian soldier.
According to a report in The Australian, the horrifying image was posted on Twitter by a proud father with the words “That’s my boy” and is set to reverberate around the world as a savage example of the brutality of the Islamic State.
Sharrouf, a convicted terrorist, fled to Syria last year and has re-emerged on Twitter as an Islamic fighter, posting confronting images, some that are included below.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the image was evidence of the “hideous atrocities” such groups are capable of.
8:55am
The stars, moon and even meteors are aligning this week for a spectacular night-time display - and you can take part in the action.
The “super moon” phenomenon, which scientists call a "perigee moon," occurs when the moon is near the horizon and appears larger and brighter than other full moons, according to AP.
Stargazers can catch the super moon again tonight, and on Wednesday there will be a Perseid meteor shower.
Here’s a few of the best shots from overnight.
Полнолуние Закат Луны на #МКС ещё Ñм. блог (Supermoon Moonset #ISS more in blog) #BlueDot http://t.co/Wg9098bHIF pic.twitter.com/PIk5zZRRJR
— Oleg Artemyev (@OlegMKS) August 10, 2014#Supermoon #Cooberpedy pic.twitter.com/9nn3n2ILJ5
— Ronald Duke (@DukeJamesd) August 10, 2014
8:35am
The plight of baby Gammy is the talk of the morning after the biological parents told their bizarre side of the story on 60 Minutes last night.
FULL STORY: ‘WE DIDN’T ABANDON BABY GAMMY’
David Farnell held back tears as he revealed that their surrogate mother, 21-year-old Pattaramon Chanbua, threatened to take their biological daughter, Pipah, away if they didn’t leave Gammy with her.
Baby Gammy has Down syndrome
“The surrogate mother wanted to take our girl,” Mr Farnell said. “We were scared we were going to lose her. We had to try and get out as fast as we could.”
But many of the Farnell’s stories just didn’t seem to add up. While the couple denied abandoning their son, they also revealed they would have chosen to terminate if they knew of his condition earlier in the pregnancy.
Not surprisingly, Twitter weas sent into a spin.
'They didn't do the tests earlier enough. We probably would have terminated'. https://t.co/GMvJjoy58N
— Matt Young (@MattYoung) August 10, 2014Complex ethics around surrogacy, not least because the question of fitness to parent is never asked of couples who don’t need fertility help
— Dominic Knight (@domknight) August 10, 2014@PatsKarvelas ...Not to mention that a number of mothers choose to terminate pregnancy based on 'abnormalities' likes DS.
— Sarah Harris (@SarahHarris) August 10, 2014Gobsmacking stuff on #60Mins. The parents' story just doesn't add up. #Gammy
— James Law (@JournoLawJ) August 10, 2014How the hell is a convicted child sex offender accessing IVF? #60mins #60Minutes
— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) August 10, 20148:00am
Chinese authorities are undertaking an unconventional method to teach drivers how to use headlights.
In a tit-for-tat twist, traffic police in the southern city of Shenzhen confirmed drivers will suffer the same fate if they flash their headlights inappropriately.
In a post on Sina Weibo China’s version of Twitter,, forces confirmed the guilty would be forced to stare down the barrel of bright headlights for five minutes.
“From now on, traffic police will make those found carelessly using bright lights to look at them for five minutes,” read the post.
A laughing-face emoticon was added to complete the announcement.
The post included a photo of a man receiving his five-minute punishment.
Offenders can also expect to pay a 300 yuan ($49) fine.
7:25am
Ehrm ... this is random.
Benjamin Ward returned home to find a delivery with a difference, but this time it wasn’t on his doorstop. It was dangling from his roof.
It gets better. Staff from courier company myHermes left a note reading: “Stuck on roof, sorry”.
Thanks @myhermes for delivering my parcel so it's 20ft high stuck to the roof! Great care taken! #Hermes pic.twitter.com/zN4IhCq95d
— Benjamin1980 (@benjamin1980) August 8, 2014After the tweet by Mr Ward picked up steam across the internet, the company tweeted in response: “Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience this has caused. I can confirm we’re speaking with our field team now. This is unacceptable and we’re on it. Again, we do offer our apologies”.
Another employee later added: “Benjamin, we have confirmation that your local courier is currently on his way back to your address with a ladder to retrieve your parcel. I would like to apologise once again for the inconvenience this has caused you”.
The company sent the courier back with a ladder to pick up the package of clothing, but the “poor guy looked pretty sheepish”. “It was awkward”, Mr Ward wrote.
He continues to be baffled as to why the package ended up on his roof, giving this explanation: “I guess he was being lazy & trying to fling it over the house?!”
@colincurryer no, they sent him back to get it down but he was with his young son so couldn't really question him. It's more funny than
— Benjamin1980 (@benjamin1980) August 9, 2014@satureyes I think he must have tried to fling it over the house when I wasn't in and failed!
— Benjamin1980 (@benjamin1980) August 9, 20147:15am
This is every thrillseeker’s worst nightmare.
Authorities say a roller coaster carrying 24 people has become stuck as fire officials undergo a rescue operation at Six Flags America theme park in Maryland.
Prince George’s County Fire officials were called to The Joker’s Jinx roller coaster at the park just before 2:30pm. Sunday. No injuries have been reported.
Assistant Fire Chief Paul Gomez says the riders are sitting upright near the top of the ride. He says it will likely take a few hours to get them down.
It’s not clear what caused the ride to get stuck.
Six Flags’ website says the ride goes 60mph (96.5kph) per hour and turns upside down four times.
On scene technical rescue call 6-Flags America. 24 patrons stuck near the top of the Jokers Jinx pic.twitter.com/dFEvRG3p6S
— Marc Bashoor (@PGFD_Chief) August 10, 2014Firefighters have made face to face access with first riders - this will be a long term rescue pic.twitter.com/u6Wt4bANf0
— Marc Bashoor (@PGFD_Chief) August 10, 2014Firefighters have reached the 1st car by tower bucket - each of 6 cars will be emptied slowly pic.twitter.com/bkuF5zFt5c
— Marc Bashoor (@PGFD_Chief) August 10, 20146:55am
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel will meet Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Defence Minister David Johnston today for a discussion ahead of the annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) tomorrow.
The signature event will be the signing of the Force Posture Agreement reached by US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Tony Abbott in June.
It sets out the legal framework for the presence of US marines based in Darwin, currently at 1150, but set to rise to 2500, and allows the US to expand military assets over the next 25 years in Australia beyond the troop rotation.
6:20am
Researchers believe they have traced the current Ebola outbreak back to its original carrier, whom they call “Patient Zero”.
Now deemed “out of control” with 1,779 cases including 961 deaths, the disease is spreading and is likely to get worse as doctors struggle to suppress the largest outbreak of Ebola yet.
The disease found an easy entry point into three nations after a two-year-old boy died a few days after falling ill on December 6 in Guéckédou, south-eastern Guinea, reports The New York Times. The city also borders Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The boy’s mother, 3-year-old sister and his grandmother followed a week later, suffering fever, vomiting and diarrhoea.
It spread again after two mourners at the grandmother’s funeral took it back to their village, then again when a health worker and a doctor died after carrying it to their village, infecting relatives from further towns.
By the time Ebola was finally recognised, it was already rife in eight Guinean communities, with suspected cases in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
6am
“There’s a certain sorrow that brings me here”.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott touched down in The Netherlands overnight to formally thank Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte for his country’s role in retrieving victims’ bodies from the MH17 crash site and to ensure those responsible for the atrocity are punished.
MORE: ABBOTT HITS BACK AT PUTIN OVER RUSSIAN SANCTIONS
Forensic experts in Holland have now identified a total of 65 victims of the MH17 tragedy, which claimed the lives of 298 people. But Mr Abbott has warned it is “regretfully and of necessity” a very slow process.
“I am also here to say thank you from a grateful nation to the Australian police and military personnel who played such an extraordinary role in operation Bring Them Home,” Mr Abbott said as he stepped off his plane.
The prime minister will also meet some of the 500 Australian police, military and consular staff involved in the operation to recover and identify the remains of the 38 Australian citizens and residents who died when the Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17.
“Obviously while in the Netherlands I will have the opportunity to talk to Prime Minister Rutte and other Dutch officials about the ongoing investigation into the shooting down of MH17. I will have an opportunity to talk to Prime Minister Rutte and his senior officials about just what needs to be done to ensure that the investigation is concluded and the guilty are punished and justice is delivered to the grieving families of the 298 innocent people who were murdered on flight MH17,” he said.
Mr Abbott left for the Netherlands on Saturday night, accompanied by Australian Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus and Chief of the Defence Force Air Chief Marshall Mark Binskin. .
The last of the Dutch, Australian and Malaysian investigators returned to the Netherlands over the weekend after calling off their search amid escalating fighting between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces.
Mr Abbott will fly from the Netherlands to London later this evening for talks with the British government and officials about counterterrorism operations and the deteriorating situation in Iraq.
Two killed in Sydney to Hobart race
Two people have tragically died in separate incidents during the Sydney to Hobart yacht race overnight.
‘Too late to leave’: Fire ravages Victoria
Residents in parts of Victoria have been told they are “in danger” and “need to act immediately to survive” as bushfires tear through the state.
Cafe owner defends unpopular cost
A cafe owner has been forced to defend a reviled price increase amid backlash from Aussies over the holiday period.