News: Raped woman freed from jail, told to marry rapist

Woman released from prison after rape, told to marry rapist

An Afghan woman who was ‘pardoned’ for being raped was released from prison after two years, but on the condition that she marry her rapist. The woman has been raising the child she had due to the rape. The condition was suggested by Government officials to ensure the woman was not in any more danger. She consented, but asked if her brother would marry the rapist’s sister as a sort of insurance policy.

Grammy nominations are out, Adele gets plenty

Adele and R&B / Rap singer Kanye West have dominated the award nominations for the Grammys. Kanye topped them all with seven nominations including one for song of the year (All of the lights) but not, surprisingly, for best album. His Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was a knockout in 2010 and praised by critics across the board. Adele was tied in her six nominations with Bruno Mars and the Foo Fighters. Adele scored the impressive nominations, however, with one for Album of the Year (21) and one for both record and song of the year for Rolling in the deep. What are you picks?

Daniel Craig rants about Kardashians and privacy

In an interview with British GQ (he’s plugging a film, but refused to talk about his personal life) the actor raved about the benefits of privacy and how it shouldn’t be sold. “I think there’s a lot to be said for keeping your own counsel. You can’t buy it back. You can’t buy your privacy back. ‘Ooh, I want to be alone. ‘Fuck you. We’ve been in your living room. We were at your birth. You filmed it for us and showed us the placenta, and now you want some privacy?” He went on to single out the Kardashians. “It is a career; I’m not being cynical. And why wouldn’t you? Look at the Kardashians, they’re worth millions. Millions! I don’t think they were that badly off to begin with, but now look at them. You see that and you think, ‘What, you mean all I have to do is behave like a fucking idiot on television and then you’ll pay me millions?” Ouch. While we’re on the subject of Kim, turns out she breached her Visa conditions when she was here this year. One of the world’s most recognised faces, Kim said she was in the country as a ‘tourist’ despite coming to spruik a handbag and originally to appear the Spring racing carnival.

Take a break, check out the Week in Pics including this Photoshop bugger-up:

Childcare reforms likely to see fee rises

Changes to the childcare industry are afoot. It’ll require more staff (reducing the ratio of staff to children from 1:4 for some care groups) and staff will have to have tertiary qualifications by 2014. That means some 48,000 workers will need to upgrade their qualifications in 2013. The trade-off, according to the Productivity Commission, will be that fees are likely to rise by $50 per week, per child. The Government maintained its modelling showed only modest rises of between $8-10 for the scheme. What do you think, would you pay more for a more tightly regulated system? Or are you paying enough already?

Elton John says we have AIDS ‘by the scruff of the neck’

Speaking during World AIDS Day in Sydney yesterday, the singer said we were so close to beating the AIDS disease but now was not the time to be scared off. “This is not a faggots’ fucking disease anymore,” he said. “This is a worldwide disease that affects everyone. We’ve got this disease really by the scruff of the neck. But we cannot loosen that grip we have on it. If governments start backing out and stop funding, then the epidemic will start to balloon again.” Around 33 million people live with AIDS/HIV in the world, most of them in Africa.