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Sydney
Record cold morning in Sydney
– Record cold morning in Sydney:
Sydneysiders awoke to record cold weather and frost on Monday.
Richmond airport had its coldest morning since 1987 at -2.1C, the coldest morning for May on record in 23 years of data. The previous was -1.4C in May 2011.
Several sites in Sydney experienced their coldest May morning in 20 years.
Sydney Hostage Standoff Update: 5 Escape, Gunman Identified; Demands Islamic State Flag, Conversation With Prime Minister
– Sydney Hostage Standoff Update: 5 Escape, Gunman Identified; Demands Islamic State Flag, Conversation With Prime Minister (ZeroHedge, Dec 15, 2014):
The Sydney hostage standoff at the Lindt chocolate store on Martin Place continues well into its 13th hour, where the latest news is that five people have escaped with others still held inside as neighboring blocks remain locked down, authorities said ABC reports. The first three people who fled sprinted out of the Lindt Chocolat Cafe about six hours into the standoff, while two women wearing aprons frantically ran from a side exit and into the arms of heavily-armed SWAT team police officers waiting outside. At the same time, media personalities said they received calls from hostages during the standoff. It remains unclear exactly how many people remain inside the cafe.
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Breakthrough In Solar Cell Efficiency: Low Cost Solar Cells Suitable For Rooftop Panels Could Reach A Record-Breaking 40 Percent Efficiency
(L-R) Associate Professor Tim Schmidt and his research partner Dr Klaus Lips at the Helmholtz Centre for Materials and Energy have made a breakthrough in solar cell technology. [Image: HZB/Philipp Dera]
– Breakthrough in solar cell efficiency (University of Sydney, April 18, 2012):
Low cost solar cells suitable for rooftop panels could reach a record-breaking 40 percent efficiency following an early stage breakthrough by a University of Sydney researcher and his German partners.
With Australian Solar Institute support, Associate Professor Tim Schmidt from the University’s School of Chemistry, together with the Helmholtz Centre Berlin for Materials and Energy, has developed a “turbo for solar cells”, called photochemical upconversion that allows energy, normally lost in solar cells, to be turned into electricity.
The finding has been published in the Energy & Environmental Science journal.
‘Bin brother’ keeps watchful eye on Aussie rubbish
Tens of thousands of Australian households will have their rubbish and recycling monitored by tracking devices placed in their dustbins in a move dubbed by the media as “Bin Brother”.
Officials on Monday confirmed that 78,000 new council-issued bins in the eastern suburbs of Sydney have been fitted with small radio frequency tags, which allow for data collection.
Each bin will transmit a unique identification code to the rubbish truck which weighs and empties it each week, allowing officials to identify how much waste is produced at each address.
World stocks tumble on US recession fears
LONDON (AFP) – European equities dived on Monday after heavy falls earlier in Asia as markets were gripped by growing concern that the US economy was slipping into recession, dealers said.
Stock markets in Europe and the United States had sunk late last week following signs that the fallout from the US credit crisis was far from over.
In late morning European trade on Monday, Frankfurt, London and Paris stock markets chalked up fresh losses of about 1.5 percent.
Asian stocks plunged earlier Monday with Tokyo ending down almost 4.5 percent, Hong Kong tumbled 3.07 percent and Seoul gave up 2.3 percent. Singapore and Sydney both shed about 3.0 percent.
“Not a great start to the week with the UK following falls in the US Friday and Asia today,” said Mike Lenhoff, strategist at brokerage Brewin Dolphin.
“What matters most to investors is what is happening in the US. Investors view the US as in recession or going into recession which is not good news for corporate earnings and the market.”
