Senior Doctor Deported from Naruru

A senior Australian doctor, giving medical assistance to refugees on Nauru, has been arrested and deported for a breach of Regional Processing Centre rules.

 

Dr Nicole Montana works for the health contractor International Health and Medical Services and was the most senior Australian health professional working on the island.

 

The ABC understands Dr Montana was detained for taking a photo of a child being treated at the processing centre, which the Nauru government forbids to prevent leaks to the media and refugee advocates.

NAPLAN results show discrepancy between Online and paper test scores

A Confidential document from the New South Wales Education Department has revealed that students who sat the NAPLAN reading and spelling tests online were disadvantaged, compared to those who sat the exam using pen and paper.

 

According to the document, students in years 3 and 5 who did their reading exams online scored lower results compared to an overall increase in student who completed the exam on paper.

 

Iconic Valley site up for auction

The Valley’s heritage listed 144 Wickham Street, presently housing Les [LAY] Bubbles, is going to auction.

 

The building has a infamous past at the centre of the Fitzgerald Inquiry, where it was a hub for illegal gambling and prostitution.

 

The present owners have owned the property, which brings in 90,000 dollars a year in rent, since 1985.

Brisbane Metro development picks up steam

Brisbane City Council has resumed four properties on School Road at Rochedale in order to build a depot for the Brisbane Metro project.

 

The resumptions come as five construction consortia submit proposals for the 944 million dollar infrastructure development.

 

The line is set to run 21 kilometres from Eight Miles Plains to Roma Street and the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital to UQ.

 

Shooter within Crimea endangers students

An attacker in Crimea let off a bomb in his college cafeteria this morning, before moving through the building shooting his classmates.

 

The main suspect has passed away, as have at least 18 others, while dozens are injured following the attacks in the Russian region.

 

President Vladimir Putin has promised his government will do whatever is necessary to help victims of the attack.

 

Vaccine producer caught in misconduct woes

Chinese authorities have ordered a 1.3 billion fine and asset seizure against a pharmaceutical company for the falsification of production records relating to a faulty rabies vaccine.

 

The Company Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences was ordered in July this year to suspend its production and had its vaccine production licence revoked for using expired materials and not testing product batches according to an announcement by the Chinese National Drug Administration on Tuesday.

 

A Rare Discovery

A rare mineral, that only forms when meteorites slam into the earth’s crust, has been found in Western Australia—making it the first discovery in the country and the sixth discovery worldwide.

 

A geology student, Morgan Cox, discovered the mineral while testing drill core samples from the buried Woodleigh impact crater near Shark Bay, which had been stored in a shed since 2001.

 

Tas Government presents threat to political transparency

The Tasmanian government has banned journalists from lingering in parliament or talking to MPs without an appointment.

 

Speaker Sue Hickey issued the guidelines yesterday, which also restrict when the media can take photos in parliament, and bans filming anywhere in the building without permission.

 

The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance’s Mark Thomas says the media were not consulted about the changes, which will limit their ability to report on state politics.

Connecting Routes Denied

The Brisbane City Council has denied the possible introduction of a council founded ferry between Bulimba and Teneriffe despite more than 500 residents petitioning for it.

 

The proposed plan was to be a free cross river ferry from the two stops, similar to the City Hopper. However Chairman Adrian Schrinner said the already existing services connecting Bulimba and Teneriffe are not underutilised and both areas do not need a patronage boost.