Climate Strike in Brisbane Tomorrow
Climate strikes are happening Australia-wide tomorrow, despite the potential storms set for Queensland.
The focus of these strikes is to hold Prime Minister Scott Morrisson accountable for his lack of ambition towards preventing a climate crisis, along with his loose approach to COP 26.
The Meanjin strike is in line with current COVID-19 restrictions, and will be hosted at Queens Gardens at 1pm tomorrow.
Indigenous Custody Death in Toowoomba
An Indigenous Queensland man has died during a violent struggle with police that also left 2 officers with minor injuries in the Queensland city of Toowoomba on Thursday.
Police say the man became unconscious as they were attempting to arrest him and could not be revived.
The incident is being treated as a death in custody and is being investigated by the police service’s ethical standards command, with oversight by the state coroner and the Crime and Corruption Commission.
Police want to hear from anyone with mobile phone or dashcam footage.
New Queensland Child Sex Abuse Laws
New Queensland child sex abuse laws have been charged for the first time today in the case of a Redbank woman.
Under previous laws, only school staff, doctors and nurses had the legal obligation to report suspicion of child sex abuse, but now that responsibility extends to anyone over 18.
If found guilty of not reporting a case of child sex abuse, without a reasonable excuse, one could face up to 3 years in prison.
The Queensland government hopes the law will target institutionalised abuse, and compel Clergy members to break their vow of silence.
Job Insecurity in Australia's Science Sector
An annual snapshot of Australia's scientific workforce reveals widespread job insecurity, a sharp spike in workloads and concerns about fatigue during the pandemic.
Nearly 2 in 3 scientists say morale at their workplace has also dipped over the past year, compared to 1 in 2 in the previous survey.
The research comes off the back of figures revealing that more than 17,000 jobs were lost in Australian universities during 2020.
Hendra Virus in Flying Foxes
Scientists at the CSIRO have confirmed a new strain of Hendra virus within Australia’s flying fox population.
The paper comes just days after a horse in New South Wales was found to possess this new strain, meaning it had been transmitted to the equine through a flying fox.
Horses are able to transmit Hendra virus to people if horse owners do not maintain proper vaccination and wearing of protective gear.
Bow and Arrow Attack in Norway
A man armed with a bow and arrow has killed several people and wounded a number of others yesterday morning in the Norwegian town of Kongsberg. 8 ambulances and 3 air ambulances were dispatched to the scene and both Oslo university hospital accident and emergency department and the local hospital were on standby to receive victims. The man has not yet been questioned but police have said that the attacker’s motives are not yet clear, however they are not ruling out terrorism.
Mindy Meng Wang 王萌: Phoenix Rising
<p>- For some people it’s like difficult circumstances don’t seem to exist. Mindy Meng Wang 王萌 is back with her third release of the pandemic period. It’s not any old bedroom recording either, but a collection of improv duets, the kind of thing that you imagine would’ve been hard to put together over email. Mindy Meng Wang 王萌, however, has spent her career defying expectations.
Grace Petrie: Connectivity
<p><span><span>- English folk singer Grace Petrie has been gradually rising in profile over the last decade - with songs of left-wing politics, queer female experience, and poppy singalong hooks</span></span></p>
<p><span><span><em>Connectivity</em> is Petrie’s 8th album. The promo material describes it as her “most personal record to date”. I guess like so many of us, Grace has taken the last 18 months of Covid restrictions as a chance for some internal reflection.</span></span></p>
WEDNESDAY 13/10/2021 ZEDLINES 11AM
Your 11am Zedlines with Dan and Luke
Image Credit: ABC Far North, Phil Brandel
Month of the Super-Cell Storms
Several super-cell storms are expected to sweep in from the west tomorrow, bringing ‘giant hail’, larger than five centimetres.
The Bureau of Meteorology warns that south east Queensland now faces a new destructive weather system, that will be slow moving but bring various thunderstorms this October.
This comes as a relief to some, as on Sunday there were rising concerns around southern coastal Queensland's severe rainfall deficiency. During September, the region received an unpredicted below average rainfall.