Townsville Residence Warned of Disease
A potentially deadly disease is infecting vulnerable residents amid the flood clean-up, health authorities in the north-Queensland city are warning.
Townsville public health unit acting director Dr Julie Mudd said eight people had so far been diagnosed with melioidosis, an environmental bacteria picked up from the soil.
People cleaning up after the floods are advised to wear protective equipment, cover any wounds and protect their airways if working around mud.
Teacher Strike in Denver
Teachers in Denver, Colorado, walked out of their classrooms on Monday after failing to reach a deal with administrators on pay.
The educator's strike, the first in the city in 25 years, follows a year of negotiations and waves of walkouts, the Denver Post reported.
Denver's school district said schools will remain open during the strike as more than 2,000 educators walk out, however, the district has cancelled classes for 5,000 preschool children as it does not have adequate staffing.
Polar Bears Besiege Town
A state of emergency has been declared in Russia, as environmental authorities deploy a team of specialists to a remote Arctic region to sedate and remove dozens of hungry polar bears that have besieged the people living there.
Alexander Minayev, deputy head of archipelago Novaya Zemlya says people are scared, and afraid to leave their homes while Parents are also unwilling to let their children go to school or nursery.
Sharon Van Etten: Remind Me Tomorrow
- After almost five years, Sharon Van Etten has returned with new album, Remind Me Tomorrow and it has proved to be well worth the wait. 2014 predecessor Are We There was critically lauded and somewhat of a breakthrough album for the singer-songwriter who had previous albums of similar quality yet dissimilar success. Van Etten’s songs are tinged with melancholy and her voice is often sorrowful and plaintive, which garners a likeness to The National and Leonard Cohen, however there are also glimpses of joy and euphoria.
Two People: First Body
- Opening their debut LP First Body with the most expansive, cavernous and dissonant track on the record is a bold move, but for Melbourne duo Two People, it just feels right.
Cubsport: Cubsport
- Bands quite often change their sound over time, and with their change in sound comes an adjusted fan base - perhaps they had a lineup change, or their target audience grew up, or sometimes it’s just an organic aural evolution over time. Then there are artists like Brisbane cult favourites Cub Sport, who over the last few years have turned from caterpillar into magnificent butterfly. With their physical evolution has also come a musical one - namely their third, self-titled record, which is out now.
Turkey condemns China's crackdown on ethnic Muslim minorities
Turkey has condemned China's treatment of its Muslim ethnic Uighur people as "a great cause of shame for humanity" and asked it to close the "concentration camps".
In a statement on Saturday, Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said that China has arbitrarily detained more than a million Uighurs.
Disagreements in US senate could lead to another shutdown
Just weeks after the longest government shutdown ended in the United States, talks between democrats and republicans have stalled once again.
Fresh tension arises as Democrats want officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to direct their efforts towards migrants with criminal records, rather than those who have simply overstayed their visas.
Negotiators also refuse to offer more than 2 billion dollars for President Donald Trump’s border wall, which falls far short of his 7 billion dollar goal.
Townsville residents face insurance fight
Insurance companies are being urged not to skip out on Townsville residents left to clean up the damage left behind by floodwaters that swamped much of the far north city.
Deputy Premier and Treasurer Jackie Trad has invited insurers and the Insurance Council of Australia to meet on Friday after media reports that claimants who had lost their insurance documents were not being paid out.
Mining regulations prioritise environment
State governments are upholding environmental standards despite strong mining industry protests.
On Friday judge John Preston established a precedent to move all three categories of carbon emissions to the forefront of New South Wales planning approval process.
In Queensland, Adani’s Carmichael Mine is halted by groundwater management concerns as regulators prioritise water flow for graziers off the Galilee Basin.