Overseas Student Numbers Plummet

The fall in international student commencements in Australia accelerated in July as numbers from India plummeted with the crackdown on student visa fraud and tougher migration policies. The fall caused a drop of 23% in English sector and a drop of 6.8% in the vocational sector. However, the commencements in the higher education sector increased by 5.6%. The figures, compiled by Australian Education International, have been revealed as the international education sector lobbies government for support and for adjustments to be made to the visa rulings. Melbourne University migration expert Lesleyanne Hawthorne said the vocational and English college sectors were experiencing a necessary reversal after fast growth as students and colleges took advantage of the previous study to migration pathway. The old system awarded bonus points for permanent residency for a plethora of courses, including hairdressing and cookery. However, the government's recent changes would keep students intent on migrating focused on doing quality courses and securing employee sponsorship, she said.

Three Australian Universities Make Top-100 Rankings

In the plausible Shanghai Jiao Tong world university 2010 rankings, there are three Australian universities that have managed to retain or either improve their performances in the top 100 of renowned global rankings. The Australian National University retained its 59th rank, the University of Melbourne leapt from the 75th to 62nd place while the University of Sydney improved its performance, jumping from 94th to 92nd. Outside the top 100, the University of NSW leapt from 166th to 159th place. The first place has been retained by Harvard in US for the eight year running. The University of California's Berkeley won second place while Stanford took third. On the fourth place is Britain's Cambridge University. Representing the Asia-Pacific, the ANU was pipped by the University of Tokyo in 20th place and Kyoto University at the 24th rank. The Jiao Tong rankings, that are heavily skewed to Nobel prize and other global research achievements, are increasingly seen as an important measure of a nation's economic health and competitiveness.

Superbug Risk in Food Imports, Health Experts Warn

Concerns on imported food that have been exposed to antibiotics during production have been aroused by the doctors in Australia. They are worried that the antimicrobial resistance in Australia will lessen and thus create a chance for an increase in the prevalence of superbugs. Superbugs have been identified by the World Health Organization as one of the three greatest threats to human health. Actually, superbugs have already infected parts of Europe which is brought home by a tourist that travelled to Asia for a cosmetic surgery. It is vital to ensure foods that have been exposed to antibiotics especially apples, were not consumed by Australian in large numbers. This is because Australian has much lower levels of antimicrobial resistance due to its unique position. If there is no regulations on imported food have been exposed to antibiotics, it may create the same problem as in the 1930s. Apples that are imported from New Zealand and in some parts of Asia are usually sprayed by antibiotics to prevent fire-blight. The antibiotics will then last on the skin of the apples for about up to six month and it then creates resistant bacteria which is superbugs.

21 Rescued From Life Raft After Boat Hits Reef and Capsizes Off Queensland Coast

A charter fishing boat has capsized at Swains Reef, about 200 kilometres off Yeppoon because of rough weather. The 22-metre fishing vessel was hit by huge winds of 52 knots overnight before the ship capsized. There were 21 passengers in the ship. All of them are managed to be rescued by the police. The rescue operation was launched after the Australian Rescue and Safety Authority (AusSAR) detected two emergency signals. The rescue operation involved a fixed-wing aircraft, three emergency choppers and three nearby vessels. It is said that after the ship capsized, the 21 passengers climbed up to a life raft and then were save by a passing fishing charter before they were found by the police. The cause of the accident is still unknown. There were no death reported, however, the rescued had only minor bruises and scratches.

Child Poisoned Every Nine Days in Mine Town Mount Isa

A study claimed that a child develops lead poisoning every nine days in the northwest Queensland mining town of Mount Isa. The research that has been conducted for about two years found that 11 percent of the town’s children had lead poisoning. The researcher blamed Xstrata, the mining company, and the government for doing nothing. The process of mining had caused lead to be present in the air. Although, the mining company had cleaned their pollution in the river but they had never done anything to address the air pollution problem. Last year, a study found lead contamination in the soil around Mount Isa was worse than that near similar mines in China. Professor Flegal, an adviser to the US Environmental Protection Agency on mining operations, stated that historic and continuing emissions from the mine and smelting operations has caused the lead poisoning. The people living there suffered so much because of the contamination to the air.

However, the government responded by saying that they had already installed an air monitoring device and the device has not shown any sign of poor air condition in that place.

The mayor of Mount Isa replied “We're a working town and a great town. The bloke who wrote that is working in hospital-like conditions in a big city -- he wouldn't understand life out here."

This shows that there is not enough action taken by the government and the responsible parties. Immediate action need to be taken to protect the life of the people in that area.

Heavy Fog Disrupt Travel in Sydney and Brisbane

Lots of air flights were diverted as a result of heavy fog that has been hovering over parts of Brisbane and Sydney. The heavy fog has caused the visibility to drop to as low as 180m. Many domestic flights would be delayed because of the knock-on effect. People are advised to contact their airlines to know what exactly happen to the schedule of their flight. The same situation also applies to the ferries industries as it is dangerous for the ferries to operate under the low visibility. As a result the airlines and ferries industry might have a loss because of the heavy fog. This is one of example of external factor that disrupt the profitability of an industry.

Australian News - Demand for Water Set to Soar

According to Water Services Association of Australia, water demand in Australia could increase by 1.5 trillion litres over the next 50 years if the population grows to 45 million. However, if the population only reach 31 million, it will only need an extra of one trillion litres of water. The Water Services Association is trying to diversify the sources of water in Australia such as desalination, recycled water, groundwater, water trading with rural sector, storm water and rainwater tanks. Development of new technologies like waterless washing machines also helps to cope with the rise of demand of water. Environmentalists are concern that there are possibilities the new technologies will harm the environment. No matter what approach is taken, the cost of water will increase soon in Australia.

I think it is the same for other countries too. Thus, we need to start appreciate water more. We must care for our river and stop the water pollution as it will only harm us back in the future.