LATEST ARTICLES

Catching the bug

Catching the bug

A serious attack involves fever, sweating, vomiting, muscle spasms, driving thirst, thumping pain behind the eyes and in the joints. Weeks pass, tossing and turning in hellish delirium. And right now, a deadly wave of dengue fever is sweeping across Asia, killing hundreds and leaving tens of thousands sick, over­whelming health services and creating panic …read more

Rugby World Cup Japan 2019: Back to back epics for a nation’s devoted fans

Rugby World Cup Japan 2019: Back to back epics for a nation’s devoted fans

Sports loyalty drives passionate emotion in Japan. With the prestigious Rugby World Cup kicking off in Japan soon — and Japan playing Russia in the first match — fans will live through weeks of intense drama leading up to the final in November.

Words on a page or words on a screen?

Words on a page or words on a screen?

The contrast was stark. There was a small part of my husband’s library of beloved books, packed into four waist-high cardboard packing cases. Heavy. Unwieldy. Smelling a bit of mould and silverfish. A dead bore when moving, particularly between countries.

Ports operators send ‘more hands on deck’ call to governments over staff

Ports operators send 'more hands on deck' call to governments over staff

Australian shipping has an emerging crisis. Ninety-eight per cent of tangible Australian imports and exports arrive and depart by sea, yet the nation’s marine workforce is both ageing and dwindling in numbers to an alarming extent, experts say.

Sea’s bio-soup studied for clues to invaders

Sea's bio-soup studied for clues to invaders

An innovative Western Australian biosecurity warning system based on DNA “soup” has piqued the interest of ports in NSW, Victoria and particularly Queensland, where a trial is planned for later this year.

Cruising goes year-round ahead of expansion of berth space

Cruising goes year-round ahead of expansion of berth space

Brisbane’s new cruise terminal is scheduled to begin operations with a flourish in 2020, changing the shape of Australian cruising and setting the scene for further expansion in the lucrative market. The cruise industry contributes an estimated $5 billion to the Australian economy annually. And, according to advocates, cruising has brought an economic lifeline to …read more

Industry’s leaders set course for long haul

Industry's leaders set course for long haul

Sustainability is the new watchword for the ports sector in Australia with an array of new sustainability initiatives under way across the nation. Projects range from shorebird habitat rehabilitation at the Port of Newcastle to refurbishment of historic wharves in Cairns to the Port Lincoln wharf recycling project (using redundant wharf timbers to construct public …read more

Pied Piper lures students to our shores

Pied Piper lures students to our shores

From a working-class family living in the hard-scrabble, tiny coastal town of Umina in NSW, Phil Honeywood soared through study abroad and university. He wound up becoming one of the youngest Liberal government ministers in Victoria and deputy leader of the party in opposition before retiring from politics and taking the helm of the large …read more

Higher profile for humanities

Higher profile for humanities

The University of Sydney has launched a wholesale revamp of arts and social sciences research that may presage a change in the focus of humanities studies across Australia, focusing humanities research on the important questions of the modern world.

Innovative inner-city campus not fencing in students’ potential

Innovative inner-city campus not fencing in students’ potential

Brimming over with enthusiasm, the vice-chancellor of the University of Technology Sydney lets fly with a rapid-fire paean on the ­institution’s modernity, achievements and sheer potential. Attila Brungs has been in charge of the uber-modern university for four years and he’s “loving it, absolutely loving it”.