Australian journalist returns home after Israeli detention
Australian journalist, Chris Graham, has arrived home after being detained by Israeli authorities for being part of the latest attempt to break the Gaza blockade.
Mr Graham boarded the Al-Awda, a fishing boat leading the “freedom flotilla”, in Italy about a week earlier to report on the activists’ journey and the plight of Palestinians trapped in Gaza.
He said the event created an amazing, compelling story.
Indigenous students complete year 12 at similar rate to non-Indigenous students in QLD
The Queensland Budget Estimates hearing has revealed that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are completing year 12 at almost the same rate as non-Indigenous high school students in Queensland.
The hearing revealed that 97.2 percent of Indigenous students received a high school certificate, compared to 98.1 percent of non-Indigenous students.
A figure that is up from 75 percent in 2013.
Queensland Education Minister Grace Grace said the results were the best in Australia.
Australian students outperformed by international tests
Studies have shown Australian primary and high school students who spend more time in the classroom in comparison to Finnish students are receiving far lower scores in international tests than students in similar countries.
Dean of education at Newcastle University, John Fishetti, said other countries were embedding more teacher autonomy into their curriculum, which was making them "learning centres rather than assessment centres".
He says Australia needs a different assessment scheme that gives teachers the time to drive dynamic learning.
Sleepy: Postcards
- Some bands you can tell a lot about how they sound from their name. I’m thinking here of acts like Metallica, The Dixie Chicks, or Extreme Noise Terror. On the other hand, sometimes you expect one thing then are surprised – like Daft Punk or The New Pornographers.
Golden Features: SECT
- If you are in need of evidence that Australia has a thriving deep house scene, look no further than Golden Features’ debut full length SECT. It marks a significant milestone for Sydney producer Tom Stell, having held a residency at Candy’s Apartment in Sydney (alongside Hayden James, What So Not, and Allison Wonderland) and previously released two attention grabbing Eps, earning him placements on the festival circuit.
11am Zedlines
11am Zedlines with Simon and Laura.
Image: Ed Dunens via Flickr Creative Commons.
Middle East were in the middle of plans
Saudi Arabia and the UAE planned to launch a coup in Qatar at the start of a diplomatic crisis in June last year but were stopped by former US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, likely leading to his dismissal.
The Intercept said it received information from a member of the US intelligence community. The coup, which was largely devised by the countries crown princes, "was likely some weeks away from being implemented".
Dolphin hybrid surfaces in Hawaii
Marine biologists working off Hawaii have confirmed the sighting of a hybrid of two dolphin species.
The discovery was made after the group working off the island of Kauai spotted a mixed group with unusual features.
As outlined in a newly published research paper, a skin sample was collected and DNA testing confirmed their suspicions.
The genetic test showed the hybrid had the mitochondrial haplotype of a melon-headed whale, which means the mother was a melon-headed whale, and the father was a rough-toothed dolphin.
Sort of solid brown gold
Some farmers in the central west of New South Wales have used a new fertiliser to help deal with what's been called the worst drought in living memory.
It is human sewage, treated and dewatered to produce biosolids, an organic fertiliser transforming about 30 farms in the region.
From more than 20 metropolitan treatment plants, Sydney Water is producing about 180,000 tonnes of biosolid fertiliser a year.
Sunshine state breaking the bank best
Personal bankruptcies across Australia are at an eight-year high according to recently released research on the last financial year.
More than 32,000 Australians declared bankruptcy, and experts are warning that a combination of rising debt, stagnant wage growth and falling house prices could herald more bad news.
Queensland had the highest number of bankruptcies in the country, with more than 9,415 people declaring personal bankruptcy in the Sunshine State over the past year, but the rate of increase did slow to 1.5 per cent.