7 metre snake skin found in Cairns

A Cairns resident has stumbled across a 7 metre snake skin on his daily walk near a creek in the suburb of Freshwater.

Stuart Morris, who lives in the suburb of Freshwater said he initially thought the snake was a native scrub python that had shed its skin, but on closer inspection he decided that it had been skinned. 

Snake expert David Walton said the skin appeared to belong to a reticulated python from South-East Asia, and said it was a mystery as to how the snake came to end up in Australia.

Climate change protestor due to face court

Climate change protestor Paul Jukes, who was found hanging in a makeshift harness beneath Brisbane’s Story Bridge yesterday, has now been charged by police for unregulated high-risk activity and is due to face court today.

Mr Jukes was demanding Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner declare a climate emergency.

He had initially said he was prepared to stay "as long as it takes", packing several days' worth of supplies, but his plan was interrupted when police started looking to remove him.

11 elephants dying of slipping off from a waterfall in north-east Thailand

11 elephants have died of slipping off from the 200-meter high Haew Narok Waterfall in north-east Thailand.

 

Only two elephants survived from the herd, as the adult elephants were trying the save the younger ones but were all swept down by a strong water current when they were crossing a river at the top of the cliff.

 

The governor of Nakhorm Nayork said that the cause of death still cannot be confirmed due to the difficulty of the hike between the terrain.11

South Park offers mocking apology after China bans its publication of latest episode

South Park’s creators have responded with a mock apology to reports that China has censored the programme, ridiculing the country and comparing President Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh.

 

The apology comes after comes after reports on Monday that China had scrubbed all episodes, clips and content related to the long-running comedy cartoon from Chinese streaming and social media platforms.

Jacqui Lambie encouraged mental illness patients to stay strong and persevere

Senator Jacqui Lambie has urged those struggling with mental health issues to stay strong and persevere through the hard times they are facing, ahead of World Mental Health Day.

 

The independent Senator, known in politics for her fight and conviction, has opened up about her own mental health battles, calling on those who are also struggling to take ‘one step’ forward at a time towards recovery.

 

Assess of Damage to Structures in northern New South Wales will begin

The Rural Fire Service has said it will begin assessing the damage to structures in northern New South Wales, after two fires spread quickly through the region yesterday.  

 

Hundreds of fire crew helped battle the blazes overnight, and both fires have now been downgraded to Watch and Act statuses, although 20 homes and structures have been destroyed.

 

Specialist teams will be in place today to assess the full level of damage, but conditions have improved with cooler temperatures and showers expected at the end of the week.

Primary school closes as bushfires continue to burn in Lockyer Valley

A primary school in the Lockyer Valley region will close today, as bushfires continue to burn throughout the region.

Education Minister Grace Grace announced that Thornton State School near Laidley would close today, saying that the Department’s priority was the safety and wellbeing of students.

Conditions have eased today, but residents in the Thornton area are advised to stay alert and keep updated on the developing situation.

Sampa The Great at The Woolly Mammoth

- Off the back of such a strong record as The Return I was a bit surprised to find one of Australia’s most impressive hiphop talents, Sampa The Great, playing the venerated -but not exactly huge- room upstairs at The Woolly Mammoth. The upside of putting the show there was that the place was packed and, on top of that, the whole crowd very enthusiastic to hear what Sampa had brought with her, returning from her epic journey, back to Africa and her roots in Botswana.