Brisbane dairy farmers protest $1 milk

Coles and Aldi supermarkets have announced they will cease selling milk at 1 dollar a litre, increasing the price by 10 per cent and paying this increase directly to farmers.

The change comes hours after farmers rallied at Coles Coorparoo, and will temporarily settle a price war which began in 2011, when Coles first announced their dollar-a-litre milk.

The increased price of water, power and grain has sent many dairy farmers out of business, leading supermarkets to make a change Aldi calls “a short-term solution to an industry-wide problem”.

Lime scooters face vote to remain on Brisbane streets

Brisbane City Council may take a portion of every e-scooter trip to offset the fee it would charge scooter hire for operating in the city.

Scooter company Lime’s trial finishes at the end of next week, with a vote on March 26 on whether to allow their scooters to remain in Brisbane under a year-long contract that more than a dozen scooter companies were hoping to snag.

Queensland fines revenue nudging half-a-billion dollars

The Queensland Government is reaping millions of dollars in revenue benefits following the rollout of new speed cameras and updated red light cameras.

The latest Government figures show $396m was made last year on fines, expected to grow to $444m in the next financial year. By 2021, the figure is expected to exceed half a billion dollars.

Mathematics' Abel Prize awarded to woman for the first time

This year’s Abel Prize has been awarded to a woman for the first time ever.

Karen Uhlenbeck, a mathematician and professor at the University of Texas, received the prestigious mathematics prize which is modelled after the Nobels.

The prize is awarded by the King of Norway to mathematicians who have greatly influenced their field and it includes a cash award of 6 million Norwegian kroner which is equivalent to almost $100,000 Australian.

Theresa May formally asks MPs for Brexit delay

UK Prime Minister Theresa May is writing to the EU to formally ask for Brexit to be postponed just nine days before the March 29 exit date.

EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier says the EU would not grant a delay without a “concrete plan” from the UK following the second rejection of the withdrawal deal last week by 149 votes.

Mrs May hopes to get in front of MPs for a third go, but says even if that happens and they vote in favour of it, the UK will need a short extension to get the necessary legislation through Parliament.

 

New Studies to Fight Against Zika Virus

Studies led by the University of Queensland and the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute are exploring ways to fast-track research which could lead to new vaccines against the Zika virus.

Scientists are using a new technique to uncover Zika mutations that help foster virus replication in mosquito hosts while hindering its ability to replicate in mammals.

Professor Andreas Suhrbier said the new technique allowed scientists to perform their evolutionary virus selection in a matter of days, where it would take tens or hundreds of years naturally.

Lack of Storms Impacting Queensland Dams

Queensland Dam levels are sitting just over 70 percent of their capacity after a hot summer with and a lack of storms to fill them back up again.

SEQ water says the levels are lower than normal for the time of year due to the lack of rainfall and an increase in consumption of 25 litres per person per day as we tried to escape the heat.

However, they estimate it would require another 12 months without decent rainfall before dams would reach the required 60 percent threshold to trigger water restrictions.