Death toll rises to 155 in Japan in catastrophic floods

Catastrophic floods in Japan have killed at least 155 people, deemed to be the country’s worst floods in 36 years.

Despite 7 million residents being told to evacuate on Sunday, more than 60 people are still unaccounted for this morning, with many citizens facing health risks from a lack of water and high temperatures.

The Japanese Agency of Meteorology has said as much as 10 centimeters of rainfall per hour fell on large parts of south-western Japan.  

Frozen vegetables recalled in major grocery stores

Woolworths, IGA, ALDI, Campbells and other independent grocery stores have been instructed by the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand to pull varieties of frozen vegetables from their shelves due to fears they could be contaminated by listeria.

Scientist Gary Kennedy from the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology said the recall was a necessary but cautious as the risk of illness was only present if frozen vegetables with listeria were consumed uncooked.

Sydney school leads the nation is waste removal

A Sydney-based school is leading the nation in getting rid of plastic and advocating for responsible behaviour.

Students from St Mary's Catholic School in Manly spend several lunchtimes a week parading the grounds collecting rubbish.

The student’s findings are then uploaded from their iPads to Litterati, an app which tracks the type of waste being dumped and hot-spots.

 

More than 160,000 bees calling West End home

More than 160,000 bees now call West End home after Bee One Founder Jack Stone installed four beehives on top of the Westpac Bank building on Boundary Street.

Mr Stone started the company to educate Brisbane’s inner-city population about the importance of bees in the global food system.

The bees are apart of a “green installation” at the $2 billion West Village development and is hoped to collect over 160 kilograms of honey from the harvests a year.

The first harvest of honey from the West Village is scheduled for October.

Woolloongabba Landcentre Demolition

Work has begun to demolish the Queensland Government Landcentre building located in Woolloongabba.

This project is the second largest scheduled demolition in recent years for Brisbane, and will make way for infrastructure necessary to Cross River Rail.

Heavy demolition work will not begin until September, including the removal of the South Brisbane Dental Hospital.

Didirri on Zedgeist

When Didirri was in town promoting his new EP 'Measurements' he stopped by 4ZZZ for an old chat. Jack brought up that Didirri's music sounded like it was coming from an old mate and from there the conversation just flowed. The conversation talks about hometowns, regional life, music, storytelling and ends with him playing a track off his EP in the studio. 

Promising trials against disease spreading mosquitoes

Mosquito trials in far north Queensland have produced advantageous results with 80 percent of a dengue fever spreading mosquito wiped out.

CSIRO research director Dr Paul De Barro has heralded the results as promising for efforts to eradicate disease-carrying mosquitoes from urban areas.

The project is set to end in far north Queensland with planned trials overseas.

Protests outside Citibank Sydney

Activists have lay down a thirty-metre pipeline outside Citibank’s Sydney headquarters in protest against the organisation’s funding of tar sand pipelines in the US.

According to Greenpeace, Citibank is one of twelve global banks with ties to pipeline projects and companies such as Energy Transfer Partners, responsible for the Dakota Access Pipeline.

The Dakota Access Pipeline sparked protests internationally in early 2016, for the environment hazard it posed and the disregard for Native American land rights.

Authorities monitoring site of tar trap incident

Authorities are monitoring two sites on the Palmerston and Kennedy highways after more than 60 drivers got caught in a tar trap at a roadworks site.

The drivers involved are seeking compensation, describing the experience as akin to being an insect caught in a spider’s web.

Special equipment has been called in to the site with repairs expected to take five days.