Daily News Roundup

MONDAY, MARCH 2

Two people in regional Queensland have been charged with the murder of missing Chinchilla toddler Kaydence Dawita Mills who has not been seen since 2016.

Yesterday, police declared a crime scene at Chinchilla Weir as they searched the banks of the Condamine River at Chinchilla as part of their investigation into Kaydence’s disappearance.

That search came after a police team excavated the backyard of a house in Chinchilla in December.

Last night, detectives charged a 40-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman, both from Chinchilla, with murder, torture and interfering with a corpse.

The pair were known to Kaydence, who would now be five.

Kaydence was born in September 2014 and police said she has not been seen since 2016.

The man and woman are due to appear in Dalby Magistrates Court today.

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As the spread of coronavirus continues across the world, health experts say that it appears children are safe from severe symptoms.

Australia’s Chief medical officer Dr Brendan Murphy said one of the surprising features about the virus was how few children seemed to have been identified as infected.

“It’s very unusual compared to influenza,” he said.

“We don’t know whether children might be getting the disease but [their symptoms] are so mild they are not being picked up, or they’re not becoming sick, or whether they are somehow less susceptible.”

Professor Robert Booy from the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance said for some reason children appeared to be getting a mild dose of COVID-19.

“Those children who did contract the virus overseas have only had mild symptoms such as fever and upper respiratory symptoms,” he said.

As Australia confirmed three more cases of the infection on Sunday, all recent arrivals from Iran, it was reported that Iran’s death toll has reached to over 50 while the the number of countries affected by the virus passed 60.

Visitors from Iran have been banned by Australia amid growing calls for the ban to be extended to Italy which is being engulfed by the virus.

Meanwhile, the Louvre in Paris has been closed indefinitely due to coronavirus fears and the United States recorded its first death.

The Health Department has updated its figures on the virus saying there are 29 confirmed cases in Australia, Nine in Queensland, six in New South Wales, nine in Victoria, three in South Australia and two in Western Australia

Fifteen of these cases are reported to have recovered. The remaining cases are in a stable condition.

One person has died, a 78-year-old man from Perth.

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A guitar once owned by Beatles John Lennon and George Harrison has been valued at STG400,000 ($A786,325) on the BBC program Antiques Roadshow.

The owner of the guitar, who said he was “taken aback” by the valuation, said he was  given the instrument because he could play it better than Harrison.

He used to do recording sessions for Handmade Films, the film production company co-founded by Harrison.

At the end of one of the recording sessions, Harrison asked the man, identified as Ray in the BBC One program, to play a “strange” guitar.

“It’s a strange old thing to play – I played a few notes and he said ‘Yeah you’re definitely getting more out of it than I am, it’s doing better for you, why don’t you have it’,” Ray recalled.

Expert Jon Baddeley said: “I think in 25 years it’s by far the most expensive thing I’ve ever seen.”

The owner said he was amazed at the guitar’s value and he still plays the instrument regularly.

“I never really thought about value, as George being a mate and all that. I don’t know what to say actually, I’m really taken aback by it,” he said.

“I didn’t realise it was worth that much money. It’s lucky I don’t keep it in the house.