Australia

Ten ways to scrap plastic without breaking the bank

Its Plastic-free July and with the big supermarket chains eliminating single-use plastic bags, this is a good time to brush up on some afforable ways to eliminate plastic from your life.

Going plastic-free doesnt have to an expensive exercise or a compromise, here are some handy (and affordable) tips on giving plastic the flick.

Brush up on your grooming[hhmc]
Speaking of brushes…an easy one to start with is your hair brush. Many are made with plastic, however, wooden and bamboo brushes are becoming increasingly popular and dont cost much more. On the bright side, theyre better for your hair and scalp too.

Bean there, done that[hhmc]
Get rid of those coffee pods and get back to grinding those beans. Youll save on two types of plastic with this tip: first, you wont be using plastic coffee pods and second, youll be saving money as it works out cheaper to buy fresh from your local coffee shop or supermarket. Many supermarkets also have a coffee grinding facility available.

Plastic-fr..

Its Plastic-free July and with the big supermarket chains eliminating single-use plastic bags, this is a good time to brush up on some afforable ways to eliminate plastic from your life.

Going plastic-free doesnt have to an expensive exercise or a compromise, here are some handy (and affordable) tips on giving plastic the flick.

Brush up on your grooming

Speaking of brushes…an easy one to start with is your hair brush. Many are made with plastic, however, wooden and bamboo brushes are becoming increasingly popular and dont cost much more. On the bright side, theyre better for your hair and scalp too.

Bean there, done that

Get rid of those coffee pods and get back to grinding those beans. Youll save on two types of plastic with this tip: first, you wont be using plastic coffee pods and second, youll be saving money as it works out cheaper to buy fresh from your local coffee shop or supermarket. Many supermarkets also have a coffee grinding facility available.

Plastic-free July: Which cup would you reach for?

Put a lid on it

According to Roy Morgan, Australians on average drink 9.2 cups of coffee a week. So how many plastic lids does that make? Next time you head down to your local, bring your own reusable coffee cup and if you forget the cup, opt-out of taking a lid.

Tea-totaler

If youre not a coffee drinker but fancy a brew, get back to your loose leaf and use a metal tea strainer. You might be surprised to know that most tea bags are not biodegradable and use plastic packaging.

Heres a bottler

It seems that everywhere you turn you can buy a drink in a plastic bottle. Why not lead by example and reach for a drink packaged in glass? If we all took this step, perhaps beverage companies might be prompted to rethink their packaging choice.

Tall glass of water

While were on the subject of bottles, you can always opt to bring your own bottle of water with you, whether youre at the gym, doing the shopping or at your work desk. There are many options these days: glass, stainless steel or even give that coffee mug another purpose.

Packed lunch

And while youre at our desk and about to grab your lunch – what did you wrap it in? Plastic cling wrap, right? Why not pack your lunch in a reusable container or using beeswax paper.

Sin bin your liners

When youre done with lunch, throw out your rubbish without using a plastic bin liner. Better options are compostable bin liners, using a bin you can easily hose out, or use yesterdays newspaper (after youve read it of course).

Hang it out to dry

Another easy switch is swapping out those plastic pegs for the old-school wooden ones. You could even look at using some fancy stainless steel ones.

The last straw

Next time youre out for a cocktail or soft drink, choose to refuse and say no to that plastic straw. Like the plastic bag and coffee lid, these single use plastics are wreaking havoc on our natural environment. So in addition to remembering your favourite drink order, remember to add: “no straw, thanks.”

This story Ten ways to scrap plastic without breaking the bank first appeared on The Northern Daily Leader.

Nyngan Observer

Australia

New Species Discovered Online By Botanists

In Australia, researchers discover several unknown carnivorous plants – not in the open air, but on the Internet. Research in front of the screen is now part of everyday life for botanists. Many creatures would otherwise remain undiscovered before they became extinct, they explain.

Social media has become a treasure trove for species researchers: a German-Australian team of scientists did not discover four out of six new carnivorous plants during field research in Western Australia, but identified them on Facebook, Instagram & Co. They were posted there by nature photographers, according to a statement on the study.

Such data, often published accidentally, sometimes intentionally, by hobby photographers and citizen scientists have become a valuable source for biodiversity researchers. And thus of great importance for the protection of many animal and plant species, emphasized Andreas Fleischmann from the Munich State Botanical Collection and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. “In particular, it would not have been possible for us to determine the distribution areas of very rare species without this additional wealth of data.”

“Race Against Time”

He and his team had described six previously unknown carnivorous sundew species found in Western Australia and published the results of the investigations in the journal Biology. So far, only three species from the so-called Drosera microphylla species complex were known. Although many species are becoming extinct worldwide in the 21st century, new animal and plant species are still being discovered. “A race against time,” emphasized the scientists. Without the intensive work of species researchers, “many creatures would become extinct without ever having been known before”.

In the meantime, there is far more observation data from lay scientists in social media and even in scientific biodiversity databases than data from research collections, especially for the visually conspicuous carnivorous plants, according to a statement from the state collection on the study. For example, a sundew species from South Africa was known from three historical herbarium specimens and seven photos on a Citizen Science website in 2018.

Today there are already 307 observations from 131 amateur researchers interested in nature on the internet platform. “Meanwhile, the number of known herbarium specimens of sundew from South Africa in the scientific collections has remained the same.”

This article is originally published on n-tv.de/wissen

Australia

Australian Open Ban On Russian, Belarusian Flags Sparks Debate

The Australian Open tennis organization today banned the display of Russian and Belarusian flags at the tournament venue, after a man hung the Russian flag in the stands during Sunday’s opening match between Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia and Ukraine. Kateryna Kozlova.

“The flags of Russia and Belarus are prohibited within the Australian Open,” the Australian Tennis Federation said in a statement.

“Our initial policy was that fans could bring them, but they couldn’t use them to disturb. Yesterday we had an incident where a Russian flag was placed next to the track,” the entity said.

“The ban is effective immediately. We will continue to work with the players and fans to ensure the best possible environment to enjoy tennis,” the text added, quoted by the AFP news agency.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, dozens of Russian athletes, teams and federations have been removed from major competitions or forced to participate without a flag.

This new sanction comes in response to a complaint from the Ukrainian Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, Vasil Miroshnichenko, who last night called on Tennis Australia to take action against the display of these flags.

“We strongly condemn the public display of the Russian flag during Ukrainian tennis player Kateryna Kozlova’s match at the Australian Open,” he tweeted.

“I call on Tennis Australia to immediately implement its ‘neutral flag’ policy,” he added.

Ukrainian Won The Match

The Ukrainian won the match 7-5, 6-7 (8/10), 6-1 and will face American Caty McNally in the second round.

Ambassador Miroshnichenko had requested last week that the tournament completely ban players from Russia and Belarus from participating.

Wimbledon opted for this measure last year and banned players from these two countries in the tournament, which as a result did not count for the rankings by decision of the ATP and WTA.

The Russian embassy in Australia criticized “another example of the unacceptable politicization of the sport” and regretted that, in addition to carrying a neutral flag, its players “cannot be visibly supported by the fans.”

For her part, the Belarusian and world number five Aryna Sabalenka said that she was not opposed to the ban on flags “if everyone felt better like this”, but pointed out that sport “has nothing to do with politics”. .

“It’s not fair. People are dying there,” said Ukrainian tennis player Oleksii Krutykh, who assured that his country’s players were “shocked” by the appearance of Russian flags in the stands.

A Russian banner also appeared on Melbourne’s center court, Rod Laver Arena, during Russian Daniil Medvedev’s match against American Marcos Giron.

“It’s not fair what they’re doing,” said the 22-year-old Krutykh after his first-round loss to Argentine Diego Schwartzman.

“I think the guys who did it (display flags during the Koslova match) were Russians who live here, so they don’t care about what happens in my country,” said the young man, who was out of town when the war broke out. country and settled in Berlin.

“It may be ugly to say it, but if I want to go back to Ukraine, I can go back, but then I can’t leave because I’m 22 years old,” Krutykh explained, referring to the fact that he is of fighting age.

On the other hand, yesterday it became known that Russia and Belarus are off the list of countries that will broadcast the Olympic Games during the period between 2026 and 2032.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that it awarded all audiovisual rights in Europe until 2032 to the European Broadcasting Union and Warner Bros Discovery, which will broadcast in 49 countries and exclude Russia and Belarus, the Sputnik news agency reported.

This article is originally published on ambito.com

Australia

Saudi women in Sydney: Sisters’ bodies lay undiscovered for a month

Australian police are baffled after the bodies of two Saudi women, believed to have lain undiscovered for a month, were found in a Sydney apartment.

Sisters Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, were found dead on 7 June in separate beds at home in the suburb of Canterbury.

Police, who were called to the property for a welfare check, said the women are believed to have died in early May.

But despite “extensive inquiries”, they still do not know how or why.

The sisters moved to Australia from Saudi Arabia in 2017 and may have sought asylum, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Police refused to confirm this, saying they do not comment on residential status.

A human rights organisation said it should be established whether the women fled Saudi Arabia because of domestic violence or harsh laws governing women. However, there is no evidence this is the case.

Police said they had been in contact with the women’s family, which is assisting them with inquiries.

Lina al-Hathloul, head of monitoring and communications at Saudi human rights organisation ALQST, said it “would not be the first case” of Saudi women who were killed abroad after fleeing domestic violence.

“There are no protections for women who are victims of domestic violence in Saudi Arabia, so they flee abroad,” she told the BBC.

She added: “I’m not saying that is the case here, just that we need a thorough investigation. It is frustrating not to have any information.”

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, there had been signs that something was wrong.

Last year, the women told their building manager they thought someone was tampering with their food deliveries, the paper reported.

A plumber who visited the apartment also said he believed there was “something mysterious” going on, and that police had been called in the past over concerns for the women.

New South Wales Police issued a renewed plea to the public on Wednesday, saying “any piece of information” could be the key to solving this case.

The local community is close-knit, police said in a statement, asking anyone who may have known or seen the women to come forward.

A report from Australian current affairs programme Four Corners in 2019 found 80 Saudi women had tried to seek asylum in Australia in recent years. Many of them were fleeing male guardianship laws.

Read from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-62331116