PARKES, Australia — The Dish, another name for Parkes Observatory that is located in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, is poised for another 15 minutes of fame, half a century after the Australian telescope captured images of humanity’s first steps on the Moon. Later this year, the enormous radio telescope, celebrated in the iconic Aussie film “The Dish”, will track the delivery of lunar exploration gear and help get crucial scientific and engineering data back to earth. The mission has been tentatively scheduled for October and will drop instruments near the Moon’s largest valley, comparable in size to…
Author: zenger.news
ADELAIDE, Australia — The crew of a shark patrol plane monitoring the coastline at Adelaide, South Australia’s cosmopolitan coastal capital, suffered chest pains, a loss of feeling in their legs, and reported losing periods of time after a mystery carbon monoxide leak, a safety report has found. The pilot, a communications officer, and an observer onboard the Cessna 172 were all found to have elevated carbon monoxide levels after the plane landed safely in December 2019. But the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said the incident and the symptoms they experienced highlighted the dangers of the colorless and odorless gas from piston-engine aircraft exhausts. While overhead of Sellicks Beach,…
ADELAIDE, Australia — The Australian foreign affairs department is alert to concerns about a new Chinese consulate in Adelaide, which has raised eyebrows over its size and staffing levels. South Australian Liberal senator Alex Antic told Senate the consulate had caused angst among residents. “There are, as we understand it, 12 foreign national staff working in what is a state of 1.7 million people with a significant defense project footprint and a significant Uighur population,” he said on Thursday, March 25. Uigurs, alternatively spelled Uyghurs or Uygurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. They are…
CANBERRA, Australia — Government officials are preparing for a rise in the number of Australians who need welfare support with the looming end of the JobKeeper wage subsidy. The JobKeeper Payment scheme is a subsidy from the Australian government for businesses significantly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Department of Social Services expects more than 1.2 million people to be on JobSeeker from next month when the scheme ends. But officials have not clarified if that figure includes people moving from the wage subsidy to unemployment support. Treasury estimates 100,000 to 150,000 people on JobKeeper will lose their jobs when the payment ends next week.…
CAIRNS, Australia — Traditional owners and scientists are coming together in Cairns as part of an Indigenous-led response to climate change issues in Australia. Cairns, considered the gateway to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, is a city in tropical Far North Queensland. More than 120 traditional owners representing 40 groups have collaborated with scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation over five days to share knowledge and develop adaptation and mitigation strategies. The National First People’s Gathering on Climate Change, which began on March 22, seeks to help communities respond to climate change-induced events such as marine heatwaves, rising sea levels, bush fires, and…
CANBERRA, Australia — Queensland, the north-eastern state of Australia, is set to pass new sexual consent laws that critics warn don’t go far enough and may be superseded in coming months. Under the laws, which have bipartisan support, consent will no longer be assumed if a person does not verbally reject a sex act. Consent will also be able to be withdrawn by words or actions during a sexual act. “The new laws will provide more clarity on sexual consent and close loopholes for perpetrators,” said Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman. “We have enshrined in the Criminal Code principles like silence doesn’t amount to…
WINDSOR, Australia — Help is continuing to flow to the flood-affected communities of northwest Sydney, where thousands of residents remain cut off while some are starting to assess the damage. Long-term Windsor resident Lisa Williams hadn’t expected her home to flood. She said it started on Sunday, March 21, and hasn’t stopped. The Windsor woman broke down as she said, “We’ve been here 30 years, and we’ve never seen anything like this”. The bottom story of her three-bedroom home, two blocks from Windsor’s main street, is entirely underwater, and so is the garage. “We’ve had snakes, we’ve had to keep the…
MELBOURNE, Australia — The who’s who of the international music scene have paid tribute to Australian industry great Michael Gudinski at his state memorial service. British music star Ed Sheeran, who was granted an exemption to fly into the country with his family, headlined a star-studded cast of live performers for Wednesday, March 24, night’s send-off at Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park. The venue is Australia’s favorite concert arena and home to the Australian Open. The singer and songwriter opened with Castle On The Hill, saying it became a personal favorite of the Mushroom Records founder after playing it for him and…
When Mexicans break a piñata, they sing a catchy song: “Dale, dale, dale. No pierdas el tino, porque si lo pierdes, pierdes el camino.” The lyrics mean, “Hit it, hit it, hit it! Do not lose focus! If you lose it, you lose your way!” Piñatas can be made from cardboard, newspaper, or clay pots, adhering colored paper with a paste made from water and flour. They can have a wide variety of shapes and colors, depending on the occasion, and people can fill them with sweets, fruits, or money. The most traditional form is the seven-pointed star, but piñatas can be…
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Among the more than 100 Sea Islands that stretch from Georgetown County, S.C., to Amelia Island, Fla., and about 30 miles inland, is the home of the Gullah Geechee people. As climate change continues to ravage these coastal areas — and gentrification infringes upon their ancestral birthplace — these descendants of African slaves are fighting to maintain the traditions and cultural heritage that are in danger of being forgotten. At the forefront of this fight are two St. Helena Island, S.C.-born women, and another from north Florida, who are each working locally and internationally to avoid the…