Cyclone blows in foreign ladybird
Well, look what the wind blew in!
The discovery of a foreign ladybird thought to have been carried into the country on a cyclone may be the key to controlling a pest wreaking havoc on the farming community.
Psyllids are little bugs that cause millions of dollars of damage every year to tomato and potato crops.
They are also found to be one of the foreign grey ladybird or Olla v-nigrum’s favourite snacks.
Indigenous group regenerating outback with carbon farming
Indigenous groups are looking to regenerate the outback through growing carbon farming projects.
The Budijiti Aboriginal Corporation is collaborating with carbon farming developer Climate Friendly in south-west Queensland to farm carbon where blocks of land are left to grow to create carbon stores.
The corporation hopes this will stop droughts as well as regenerating bush tucker, plates and medicines in outback areas.
Facebook CEO calls for more control on internet
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is asking for governments to rule establishment for internet content.
Zuckerberg is calling for regulations in harmful content, election integrity, privacy and data portability after Facebook failed to protect user privacy and failing to control hate speech on its platform.
He agreed with politicians in saying Facebook had a great deal of power over speech on the online platform, and Chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg is promising to further investigate more restrictions.
US Government cuts $700 million in foreign aid
The United States Government has ordered a $US700 million (700 million US dollars) cut in foreign aid to Central America following President Donald Trump’s threats to shut the US-Mexico border as early as this week in retaliation for reported over-migration.
The funding cuts to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras needs to be approved by Congress before they can be put in place.
10am Zedlines
[Image Source: NACCHO Communique]
QUT celebrates their production of "green hydrogen"
The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is celebrating their part in the production and export of “green hydrogen” derived from water from Australia to Japan.
The shipment was a test in collaboration with Japanese petroleum conglomerate JXTG and QUT’s solar facilities to extract hydrogen from water.
This is then used to power gas turbine generators to create electricity.
This has become an opportunity for Queensland to build renewable energy via sustainable export economies.
Police targeting dangerous scooter riders
A special police task force was deployed to target “stupid” electric scooter riders on Friday night in Brisbane City.
A total of 75 fines were issued for riders without helmets.
Around 30 police officers were situated across Mt Gravatt, Fortitude Valley and Brisbane City.
Fortitude Valley officer-in-charge Acting Sergeant, Simon Rowe, said “the number of offences detected as part of this operation [was] concerning and [they] want to remind everyone they do not tolerate people disregarding their own and others safety on scooters.
National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation launches Stronger Together campaign
R U OK?
The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), and Aboriginal Media is launching the STRONGER TOGETHER campaign with the suicide prevention organisation to encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to reach out and ask for help.
The program launches today and hopes to “break [the] cycle of trauma” within these communities.
Deportation for family looms
A family of Bhutan migrants are being deported after being told their hearing-impaired son would be a financial burden on Australia and does not meet the country’s migration health requirements.
18-year-old Kinley Wangchuck and his family have been calling Australia “home” since 2012.
Kinley has learned AUSLAN in an effort to communicate, but the language does not translate to Bhutanese and his family say he will struggle to communicate if they are forced to return to the country.
Egypt releases high-profile activist
Egypt has released a high-profile activist who was jailed alongside Australian journalist Peter Greste.
Egyptian local Alaa Abdel Fattah, a key figure in the Arab Spring, was set to serve 15 years imprisonment in November 2013, but later had his sentence reduced to five years.
His family and supporters have maintained his innocence since his arrest, and are reportedly “overjoyed” at the news of his release - however, the family said the release process has not yet begun.