The collapse of a Taiwan bridge crushes fishing boats and triggers casualties

The collapse of Nanfangao Bridge, a popular tourist bridge in Yilan, Taiwan has crushed several fishing boats.

The accident took place when an oil tanker was under the bridge, triggering a fire.

10  people were sent to the hospital and six were seriously injured.6 people were trapped on one of the boats, and five were probably on the bridge when the bridge collapsed.

Police shot a teenager at a protest in Hong Kong

Hong Kong police fired live rounds at protestors, shooting a teenager at close range at a protest on China’s national day.

Police spokesperson, Yola and Yu, claimed that the teenager was shot after multiple warnings from police. 

There were at least 100, 000 people participating in the march, which was the largest one since the unrest in June.

The protestors threw petrol bombs, bricks, and objects at police, who used tear gas in response.

Restoring Australia's damaged wetlands and coastal vegetation has a huge effect on climate change

New world-first research has found that restoring Australia’s damaged wetlands and coastal vegetation would have the same effect on the fight against climate change as taking over four million cars off the road. 

Researchers from Perth’s Edith Cowan University have helped an international team of experts pinpoint the volume of greenhouse gas absorbed and released by Australian marine ecosystems, known has “blue carbon.”

New South Wales Residents are worried about the mass recycling waste dumped in their region

Residents in the New South Wales Riverina are up in arms about tens of thousands of tonnes of recycling waste from Sydney and surrounding areas being dumped in landfill sites in their local region.

 

The waste, which has come via a Visy paper mill in Tumut, contains chemical contaminants which locals residents fear have the potential to contaminate the local water supplies. 

 

A dog survived after a car cash that kills its owner

A dog that ran away into southern Queensland bushland after surviving a car crash that killed its owner has been found alive, two weeks after the incident, following a search initiated by the dead man’s family

Merlin the kelpie-cross had been travelling around Australia with his Victorian owner Simon Hannan, until he was killed by a car between Monto and Eidsvold on the Burnett Highway, west of Bundaberg, last month.

State Government misses climate change deadline

The Queensland Government has missed a deadline to release a green paper explaining how they plan to reach their carbon emission reduction targets.

Two senior Queensland scientists said the green paper would be released by July; however, Queensland’s Department of Environment and Science says the paper is still being prepared this week.

Queensland Conservation Council director Louise Matthiesson says “there is no clear road map of how the government is going to achieve its climate change targets beyond 2020”.

 

Image: AAP

New $20 note unveiled today

Australia’s new $20 note will be unveiled at Vision Australia in Melbourne this morning, and will be the fourth note to include a tactile feature to help the vision impaired.

Vision Australia government relations manager Chris Edwards says the features will enable the 350,000 Australians who are blind or have low vision to easily identify the cash they are handling.

The $20 note has three raised bumps along its edges, while $5, $10 and $50 notes have other distinguishing features.