Babble Wrap: Rudd Says Australian Recession ‘Inevitable’

Rudd Says Australian Recession ‘Inevitable’
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd conceded for the first time Monday that Australia was heading for a recession, saying it was inevitable in the current global downturn. AFP

Marriage Drama For Heartbroken Jana Rawlinson
Athletics queen Jana Rawlinson’s life is in turmoil after the reigning world champion split from her husband and moved back in with her parents. Daily Telegraph

Aussie Mother Jailed Two Years For ‘Insulting’ Kuwaiti Emir
A criminal court has convicted an Australian woman of insulting the ruler of Kuwait and sentenced her to two years in prison, her lawyer said. SMH

Do Kids Spoil Our Happiness? It Depends On What You Mean By ‘Happy’
Kids won’t make you happy, says Dr Nattavudh Powdthavee – research shows that parents are less happier than adults without children, and that includes not just the nappy-and-sleepless-nights phase, but also the coming-home-for-Christmas-with-their-families as well. Alpha Mummy

Victorian Diseases: Back From The Dead
Charles Dickens knew more than he would have wished about scarlet fever. His son, Charley, was afflicted by it, causing the family to leave Paris hurriedly and return to London in 1847, and it featured in several of his novels. It was a much-feared disease that caused devastating epidemics through the 19th and early 20th centuries, resulting in thousands of deaths. Independent

Can You Take Kids To A Festival And Still Have Fun?
This is so cool!” said my six-year-old daughter, Sofia, skipping past a packed marquee reverberating to drum and bass. This was our first festival together — a far cry from other family holidays, such as the one spent on a working farm in Devon. Times Online

‘My Baby Should Be Alive’
Ella Harman survived for only one week. Yet her death need never have happened. For her parents, it was a tragedy – and thousands of other families every year face the same agonising loss. Independent

Families Confident Of Surviving The Downturn
Families are defying the doom and gloom of the global recession, saying they are confident of making it through the downturn. Daily Telegraph