New Study finds damaging environmental effects of farm dams
Despite their small size, research has found that farming dams are hotspots for greenhouse gas emission.
A Deakin University study which sampled 77 farm dams in Western Victoria has found that the combined gas emissions from these farms equaled the same produced by 385,000 cars daily.
The findings from this study could put farming practices in the national spotlight.
Fires feared to intensify in NSW
The NSW Hunter region has declared a bushfire emergency with authorities warning that the situation could intensify.
The fire was ignited North of Newcastle in the Salt Ash Area and has so far burned through 1,300 hectares of land.
The Rural Fire Service Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers says that there are wind gusts of more than 50 kilometers per hour and this is raising concerns that the fire will continue to escalate in intensity.
Byron Bay Council votes to save nude beach
The Byron Bay Council have voted to keep an optional clothing beach, despite protests from the local community.
The beach was voted in by the local community 20 years ago to make wearing clothes an option but recent ‘lewd’ behaviour has changed the minds of some who believe it should be shut down.
Other locals believe that motions can be put in place to clean the beach up allowing it to be enjoyed by everyone.
A man is fighting for his life after falling from an escalator at Indooroopilly Shopping Centre
A man in his 50s is fighting for his life after a medical episode caused him to fall from an escalator at Indooroopilly Shopping Centre overnight.
An ambulance was called to the centre around 5pm and took the man to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a critical condition.
The fall caused significant head injuries which forced the centre to block off the area from shoppers until the man was taken away.
Various Artists: From The Bottom Of The Earth To The Top Of The Wazir
- For their mammoth one-hundredth release, Altered States Tapes have dropped a celebratory compilation From The Bottom Of The Earth To The Top Of The Wazir. Dedicated to the more experimentally inclined electronic music from Australia and abroad, head-honcho Cooper Bowman (who also features on the compilation) describes it as a culimnation of the work of some of the label's defining artists. The result is an intriguing, mixed-bag of the weird and wonderful.
Candy: Under The Weather
- After a warm reception at Bigsound this year, it appears people have finally developed a taste for Candy. His bittersweet brand of ‘80’s guitar licks and lilting synths has, for years, been a surprisingly well kept secret. Calumn Newton has, up till now, used his side-project as more of an outlet for his private heartaches than a shot at nu-romantic stardom.
MNMM: Minimum
- Melbourne’s MNMM brings together three collaborators who’ve done time in a number of reasonably well established post-rock acts in that town. Guitarist Gerard Mason hails from Goodbye Enemy Airship, drummer Brian O’Dwyer is one half of Warpigs and vocalist Gelareh Pour sings for ZÖJ. In a couple of ways it’s Pour’s contribution which is the most distinctive here. Coming from Iran she sings vocals in Farsi and that's also her with the sound of the alto Kamancheh.
Border Rangers: Captured
- Border Rangers have only been around for a minute, but they’re a band with a presence that seems old, bitter and strange. There’s an eerie, backhills twang to Orin Strung’s violin that send a chill up the spine and haunts the back of your mind. The low rumble of Muzza Monroe’s baritone guitar goes together hand-in-glove with his rough-as-guts bass voice: a grinding combination that grabs your attention like the snarling of a razorback.
Thirteen new cases of Ebola confirmed in Congo
Thirteen new cases of Ebola have been confirmed in north-eastern Congo, as attacks by armed groups disrupt international efforts to control the deadly disease.
The number of new cases has increased in the past month and World Health Organisation experts said the outbreak is likely to worse significantly unless greater steps are taken to curb the spread of disease.
Treatment, vaccination programmes, and the safe burials of victims have been hampered by a surge in violence and enduring local mistrust of health orders.
Syrian prisoners on hunger strike to protest death sentence
Dozens of inmates have been on an indefinite hunger strike in Hama jail in Syria protesting a Syrian court’s handling of a death sentence for some political prisoners.
In the latest updates, 11 people have been told they will be executed for taking part in protests, which were peaceful demonstrations in 2011.
Human rights groups say capital punishment is unjustified and appeal for the political prisoners' release.