Thousands STRANDED as Jetstar cancels flights

Jetstar is desperately working to get its planes back in the air after engineering issues forced the company to ground almost half of its fleet, leaving thousands of Australians stranded overseas.
The budget airline confirmed that, by the end of Tuesday, four of its 11 long haul Boeing 787 Dreamliners would be grounded to undergo emergency repairs.

One plane will return to service later this week with two more 787s to take to the skies next week, leaving only one plane out of operation.

A Jetstar spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the fleet had been impacted by ‘a number of issues’, including a lightning strike, a collision with a bird, damage from an item on the runway and issues sourcing a part from the US.

‘The team is working hard to return these aircraft to service as quickly as possible however, safety remains our first priority,’ they said.

It’s understood more than 4,000 passengers have spent extra time in Bali after seeing their return flights with Jetstar either cancelled or delayed.  For the latest stories follow Bangkok Jack News on Twitter.

Some of those passengers were forced to wait up to five days to be put on another flight while others paid thousands of dollars to travel home with a different airline.

One woman from Melbourne, Meagan Mulder, said she, her husband and their two kids had a seven-hour delay in getting home, but the situation was much worse for the friends they’d travelled with around the Indonesian country.

‘We had 12 friends who were on the midnight flight (on Sunday) night, they had their flight cancelled, they can’t get another flight anywhere for seven people until Friday this week, so they’ve had to get more accommodation and everything,’ she told NCA Newswire.

Other friends she knew ended up spending $10,000 to fly via Kuala Lumpur with another airline.

Similar issues have been seen in Thailand with one woman from Brisbane due to fly home with her husband and two kids from Phuket on Saturday night only to find out their flight had been cancelled.

The family was told the next available flight was on September 12 – nine days after their original return trip, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

For those stranded overseas, passengers will be given $150 per hotel room by Jetstar and $30 per person for food.

‘Our teams are working hard to get passengers on their way as soon as possible – we are putting on five special services to bring people home and booking seats on Qantas flights also,’ a Jetstar spokesperson said.

Flight credits or refunds have also been offered.

Source - BangkokJack

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This Virtual Vacation to Australia Has an Itinerary Packed With Free Activities

I don't know about you, but I'd go for just about any vacation right now. Send me on a trip to middle-of-nowhere Indiana and I'd be jumping for joy (I can say that because I'm Midwestern, OK!?). But the whole travel thing is a no-go for the indefinite future, so we've gotta come up with creative ways to satisfy our wanderlust.

The solution? A virtual vacation to Australia. The country's tourism board is hosting a streamed travel activation, dubbed Live from Aus, for an entire weekend, kicking off Friday, May 15, at 5pm EST. Workout with Chris Hemsworth's trainers in Byron Bay, get up close and personal with crocs, and let your kids dance it out with The Wiggles, among other activities.

The itinerary also includes front row seats for the Penguin Parade -- which is exactly what it sounds like -- on Phillip Island and an underwater tour of the Great Barrier Reef. Because drinking and eating is unequivocally the best part about vacation (tell me I'm wrong), you'll learn how to throw an Aussie-style BBQ, hit up a dinner party with famed Chef Matt Moran, and experience a sommelier-led wine tasting.

The weekend-long event features free and live content every single hour on the hour and it's available to stream directly on the Tourism Australia's social media channels, including Facebook and YouTube. But if you've already got weekend plans (you shouldn't) the series will also be available on the Australia.com website afterwards.

Browse the full virtual itinerary and plan your days accordingly. 

Source - Thrillist

#Phuket looks to build ties with Gold Coast sister city

Australia’s Gold Coast city and Phuket plan to sign a letter of intent to establish themselves as sister cities on September 10.

The intent of the agreement is to explore a stronger relationship between the two municipalities and create international business opportunities.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate will travel to Phuket to sign the agreement with his Phuket counterparts.

The mayor is half Thai, originally from Saraburi, and emigrated to Australia at a very young age. He said that Gold Coast and Phuket share similarities in economic success, year-round sunshine and a cosmopolitan lifestyle.

 

“I want this sister city partnership to work, because I know that Gold Coast and Phuket are a good match. The two cities share a significant beach culture and we could possibly exchange knowledge on lifeguard procedures and training. We will see what Phuket authorities and other business operators will be interested in, this is the first stage,” said the mayor.

He said Phuket has the potential to become a mid-way destination for European travellers to spend a few weeks before flying on to Gold Coast.

He says that for an interim period of one year, the Gold Coast government will send officials to Phuket to explore areas where they can exchange work ideas and knowledge.

“For instance, if Phuket is looking at developing a better waste management policy, or green energy utilisation, we will see how both parties can work together on the initial high-level studies,” he said. 

Gold Coast is a multicultural city and a hub for Australia’s tourism with its geography and economy similar to  Phuket. 

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For Gold Coast, international partnerships of this type are a source of economic growth; provide cultural, educational and professional opportunities, and boost international profiles. These relationships open doors to the world and create real outcomes for Gold Coast residents and businesses.

Traditionally, sister city relationships focus on cultural and education exchanges. It is now recognised that these relationships also have the ability to stimulate economic growth, increase tourism and assist in establishing reliable business contacts, which can create long-term benefits to the local communities in both cities.

They also enable communities to exchange ideas, gain an international perspective and increase their understanding of global issues.

Currently, Gold Coast has eight sister cities and one friendship agreement, all of which have helped shape Gold Coast as a city of global significance by fostering successful business and cultural ties. This is through initiatives that include two-way trade missions, hosting inbound delegations, and offering business and student exchanges.

As for the benefit to Phuket, Andrew Park, the Honorary Consul of Thailand for Queensland, Australia, says that the partnership is important at many levels. Apart from generating government-to-government links between the two cities, it also creates direct links at the people-to-people level. 

 “Prince Songkla University Hospitality and Tourism School in Phuket is well established and well regarded as one of the world best hospitality, hotel management and tourism schools while the Griffith University in the Gold Coast has the same high acclaim globally,” Park said.

“There is a possibility of academic exchanges between the two institutions for the benefit of both,” said Park. 

He also said that in terms of the business linkages, the agreement will be a driver for the government of Gold Coast to express an interest in developing stronger partnerships with Phuket at the business level. 

“Next year, Mayor Tate will be taking business delegations across to Phuket and I believe Phuket will be doing the same. The marine sector, with the wealthy high-end yachting industry, is something Phuket does very well and I believe that is something Gold Coast can learn and benefit from.” 

Park said that he is excited to be part of creating this inaugural relationship between the two cities to set a good example for further relationships between cities in the two countries in the future.

Source - TheNation

 

Cloud brightening, 'sun shields' to save Barrier Reef

Australia announced plans Friday to explore concepts such as firing salt into clouds and covering swathes of water with a thin layer of film in a bid to save the embattled Great Barrier Reef.

The UNESCO World Heritage-listed reef, about the size of Japan or Italy, is reeling from two straight years of bleaching as sea temperatures rise because of climate change.

Experts have warned that the 2,300-kilometre (1,400-mile) long area could have suffered irreparable damage.

While the government has pledged to tackle climate change -- the greatest threat to the world's largest living structure -- there has also been a push to explore shorter-term measures to buy the reef some time.

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 Canberra in January offered Aus$2.0 million (US$1.5 million) to attract innovative ideas to protect the site, which is also under pressure from farming runoff, development and the predatory crown-of-thorns starfish.

Six schemes selected out of a total of 69 submissions will be tested to see if they are feasible.

One selected concept is cloud brightening where salt crystals harvested from seawater are fired into clouds, making them more reflective and therefore deflecting solar rays back into space.

David Mead, a researcher at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, said the idea might seem wacky but the proposal has real potential.

"The team have been looking at using a very fine nozzle to pump small droplets of salt water at the rate of several billion per second," he told national broadcaster ABC.

"The water vaporises and you're left with a salt particle which will float around, and if you can introduce those into the system you can increase the amount of sunlight reflected back."

Another idea was a biodegradable "sun shield", where an ultra-thin film containing light-reflecting particles covers some reef waters to protect corals from heat stress.

"The great thing about the film is it is only a molecule thick so you can swim straight through it and it'll just keep self-forming," Andrew Negri from the Australian Institute of Marine Science told the ABC.

Other short-listed projects include mass producing coral larvae with the aid of 3D-printed surfaces to support new growth, and large-scale harvesting and relocation of larvae.

The experimental commissions came as Canberra said Friday it was updating its Aus$2.0 billion "Reef 2050" plan -- first unveiled in 2015 -- to protect the reef, with further measures to improve water quality.

Source - TheNation

#Australia tourism industry under climate change threat

Australia's multi-billion dollar tourism industry is under increasing threat from climate change with some of the nation's top natural wonders in the firing line as temperatures and sea levels rise, a study warned Thursday.

The report by environmental advocacy group the Climate Council said the government needed to do more to reduce carbon emissions harming Australia's beaches, national parks and the Great Barrier Reef.

Tourism is the nation's second-largest export industry, valued at Aus$40 billion (US$31 billion) and employing more than 580,000 people, it said. 

But popular visitor destinations were at risk, with major cities in coastal areas expected to face more frequent flooding in coming years, while Australia's "Red Centre" region could experience more than 100 days annually above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2030, it found.

"Tourists travel across the globe to see Australia's remarkable natural wonders. But these icons are in the climate firing line as extreme weather events worsen and sea levels continue to rise," ecologist and report co-author Lesley Hughes said.

"Some of our country's most popular natural destinations, including our beaches, could become 'no-go zones' during peak holiday periods and seasons, with the potential for extreme temperatures to reach up to 50 degrees in Sydney and Melbourne."

 A separate report last year from Deloitte Access Economics valued the Great Barrier Reef as an asset worth Aus$56 billion, which included its tourism revenues and its indirect value for people who have not yet visited but know it exists.

The World Heritage-listed site, which attracts millions of tourists each year, is reeling from significant bouts of coral bleaching due to warming sea temperatures linked to climate change.

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"Without credible climate policy that cuts Australia's rising carbon pollution levels, the impacts of climate change will only intensify and accelerate across the country over the coming decades," Climate Council chief executive Martin Rice said.

Environmental advocates on Thursday urged Canberra to move away from coal-fired power generation.

With its heavy use of coal-fired power and relatively small population, Australia is considered one of the world's worst per capita greenhouse gas polluters.

"The extra heat from global warming will further reduce the tourist season and make some enterprises unviable," said Liz Hanna, from the School of Environment at the Australian National University.

"Protecting the tourism industry protects jobs and protects Australia's economic wellbeing."

Canberra insists it is taking strong action to address the global threat of climate change, having set an ambitious target to reduce emissions to 26 to 28 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.

Australia sweltered through its third-hottest year on record in 2017, with seven of its 10 warmest years experienced since 2005.

Source - TheJakartaPost

Thailand wants more tourists who act like Australians

Thailand is now so popular for holidays that almost 35 million foreign tourists -- equivalent to half the country’s population -- are expected this year.

As the influx gets harder to manage, the government is shifting strategy. It’s now targeting a minimum increase in tourism revenue of about 5 percent annually instead of a particular number of visitors, Tourism Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul said. That means encouraging longer stays and higher daily spending, a mix the typical Australian holidaymaker exemplifies, she said.

“Maybe they’re the ones who are like: this is my time -- I eat, I shop, and I eat, and I shop," Kobkarn, 56, said in an interview.

Australian visitors were among the top 10 biggest spenders in terms of per capita daily expenditure last year, forking out 5,831 baht ($172), Tourism Ministry data shows. Their average length of stay of almost 14 days was the highest in that group. Some nationalities take even longer holidays but tend to be more parsimonious. British tourists, for instance, stayed for just over 18 days on average while spending 4,376 baht daily.

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Tourism is a bright spot for Thailand’s economy, which faces challenges such as political uncertainty and sluggish consumer demand. The sector makes up about 18 percent of gross domestic product, Kobkarn said in the interview in Chiang Mai last month.

 

“We no longer have a target for number of tourists,” she said. “We shouldn’t go beyond the limit that we can cope. But there’s no statistic on that yet. When people say that Phuket may be too crowded, or Bangkok is too crowded, we have to make sure that we are introducing new destinations too.”

Arrivals from overseas more than doubled in the past decade, powered by a surge in Chinese holidaymakers who contributed 28 percent of 1.6 trillion baht in foreign tourism receipts in 2016. 

Affordability is one reason why Thailand has usurped Malaysia as Southeast Asia’s most popular destination, but Kobkarn said the nation must focus on quality as well as cost to tackle emerging competitive threats from the likes of Myanmar and Vietnam.

Quality doesn’t just mean targeting wealthy tourists as Thailand needs travelers on a variety of budgets, Kobkarn said. Instead, it refers to offering good value experiences that encourage return visits, increase the average length of stay and bolster daily spending per head, she said.

Read also: Thailand issues tourist guidelines for mourning period

Visitors from the Middle East are the biggest per capita daily spenders, according to the Tourism Ministry data. Chinese tourists stood out for above-average expenditure and sheer number of arrivals -- 8.8 million, dwarfing other nationalities and making China the most important single country for tourism receipts.

Thailand’s years-long tourism boom slowed somewhat in recent months. That’s partly because of terrorist bombings in resort towns in August last year and a clampdownby the military government on some operators of large Chinese tour groups, which were judged to generate insufficient local spending.

Arrivals are likely to pick up in the second half of 2017 as security concerns fade and Chinese visitors embrace independent travel over package tours, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

That signals more strain for the country’s airports, some of which are already stretched beyond capacity. State-run Airports of Thailand Pcl is planning to invest about $6 billion over a decade to try to ease the bottlenecks.

Read also: 2 weeks, 1 country and a world of wonders in Thailand

Even as Kobkarn tries to focus on revenue targets rather than visitor numbers, arrivals are projected to climb, whether drawn by the allure of white-sand beaches in resorts such as Krabi, the gastronomic delights of Bangkok or the perennially notorious sex capital Pattaya.

The Bank of Thailand forecasts 34.9 million tourist arrivals this year, a climb of about 7 percent from 2016, and 37.3 million in 2018. That’s projected to help Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy expand 3.5 percent in 2017 and 3.7 percent next year.

Thailand needs to be a quality tourism destination since a range of factors can prevent it being seen as the cheapest, such as rising wages or an appreciating exchange rate, Kobkarn said.

“We’re working very hard for people not to think only of the cost,” she said. “We’re not the best. We still have many negative things. But we’re very sincere in improving ourselves.”

Source - TheJakartaPost

’Zero recovery’ for corals in back-to-back Australia bleaching

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is suffering a fourth round of coral bleaching this year, after being hit in 1998, 2002 and 2016.

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 SYDNEY, April 10 — Coral bleached for two consecutive years at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has “zero prospect” of recovery, scientists warned today, as they confirmed the site has again been hit by warming sea temperatures.
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Researchers said last month they were detecting another round of mass bleaching this year after a severe event in 2016, and their fears were confirmed after aerial surveys of the entire 2,300km-long bio-diverse reef.
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Last year, the northern areas of the World Heritage-listed reef were hardest hit, with the middle-third now experiencing the worst effects.
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“Bleached corals are not necessarily dead corals, but in the severe central region we anticipate high levels of coral loss,” said James Kerry, a marine biologist at James Cook University.
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“It takes at least a decade for a full recovery of even the fastest growing corals, so mass bleaching events 12 months apart offer zero prospect of recovery for reefs that were damaged in 2016.”
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It is the fourth time coral bleaching has hit the reef after previous events in 1998 and 2002.
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“The combined impact of this back-to-back bleaching stretches for 1,500km, leaving only the southern third unscathed,” said Terry Hughes, head of the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, also at James Cook University.
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“The bleaching is caused by record-breaking temperatures driven by global warming.
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“This year, 2017, we are seeing mass bleaching, even without the assistance of El Nino conditions,” he added, referring to the natural climate cycle in the Pacific Ocean.
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The Barrier Reef is already under pressure from farming run-off, development and the crown-of-thorns starfish.
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It was also recently hammered by Category four Tropical Cyclone Debbie, which barrelled through the region last month, mostly affecting southern parts which largely escaped the bleaching.
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The extent of the destruction wrought by Debbie is not yet known, although scientists have said damage could range from minor to severe.
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Hughes warned rising temperatures could see more bleaching events.
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“One degree Celsius of warming so far has already caused four events in the past 19 years,” 

he said. — AFP

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Source - themalaymailonline

SYDNEY, April 10 — Coral bleached for two consecutive years at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has “zero prospect” of recovery, scientists warned today, as they confirmed the site has again been hit by warming sea temperatures.
Researchers said last month they were detecting another round of mass bleaching this year after a severe event in 2016, and their fears were confirmed after aerial surveys of the entire 2,300km-long bio-diverse reef.
Last year, the northern areas of the World Heritage-listed reef were hardest hit, with the middle-third now experiencing the worst effects.
“Bleached corals are not necessarily dead corals, but in the severe central region we anticipate high levels of coral loss,” said James Kerry, a marine biologist at James Cook University.
“It takes at least a decade for a full recovery of even the fastest growing corals, so mass bleaching events 12 months apart offer zero prospect of recovery for reefs that were damaged in 2016.”
It is the fourth time coral bleaching has hit the reef after previous events in 1998 and 2002.
“The combined impact of this back-to-back bleaching stretches for 1,500km, leaving only the southern third unscathed,” said Terry Hughes, head of the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, also at James Cook University.
“The bleaching is caused by record-breaking temperatures driven by global warming.
“This year, 2017, we are seeing mass bleaching, even without the assistance of El Nino conditions,” he added, referring to the natural climate cycle in the Pacific Ocean.
The Barrier Reef is already under pressure from farming run-off, development and the crown-of-thorns starfish.
It was also recently hammered by Category four Tropical Cyclone Debbie, which barrelled through the region last month, mostly affecting southern parts which largely escaped the bleaching.
The extent of the destruction wrought by Debbie is not yet known, although scientists have said damage could range from minor to severe.
Hughes warned rising temperatures could see more bleaching events.
“One degree Celsius of warming so far has already caused four events in the past 19 years,” he said. — AFP
- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/features/article/zero-recovery-for-corals-in-back-to-back-australia-bleaching#sthash.NKFx4KHj.dpuf

SYDNEY, April 10 — Coral bleached for two consecutive years at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has “zero prospect” of recovery, scientists warned today, as they confirmed the site has again been hit by warming sea temperatures.
Researchers said last month they were detecting another round of mass bleaching this year after a severe event in 2016, and their fears were confirmed after aerial surveys of the entire 2,300km-long bio-diverse reef.
Last year, the northern areas of the World Heritage-listed reef were hardest hit, with the middle-third now experiencing the worst effects.
“Bleached corals are not necessarily dead corals, but in the severe central region we anticipate high levels of coral loss,” said James Kerry, a marine biologist at James Cook University.
“It takes at least a decade for a full recovery of even the fastest growing corals, so mass bleaching events 12 months apart offer zero prospect of recovery for reefs that were damaged in 2016.”
It is the fourth time coral bleaching has hit the reef after previous events in 1998 and 2002.
“The combined impact of this back-to-back bleaching stretches for 1,500km, leaving only the southern third unscathed,” said Terry Hughes, head of the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, also at James Cook University.
“The bleaching is caused by record-breaking temperatures driven by global warming.
“This year, 2017, we are seeing mass bleaching, even without the assistance of El Nino conditions,” he added, referring to the natural climate cycle in the Pacific Ocean.
The Barrier Reef is already under pressure from farming run-off, development and the crown-of-thorns starfish.
It was also recently hammered by Category four Tropical Cyclone Debbie, which barrelled through the region last month, mostly affecting southern parts which largely escaped the bleaching.
The extent of the destruction wrought by Debbie is not yet known, although scientists have said damage could range from minor to severe.
Hughes warned rising temperatures could see more bleaching events.
“One degree Celsius of warming so far has already caused four events in the past 19 years,” he said. — AFP
- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/features/article/zero-recovery-for-corals-in-back-to-back-australia-bleaching#sthash.NKFx4KHj.dpuf

Indonesia offers Lombok airport to Australia

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Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has said that the Indonesian government will offer an Australian company the opportunity to jointly manage Lombok International Airport in West Nusa Tenggara.

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The offer came after a meeting between Budi and Australian Regional Development, Regional Communications, and Local Government and Territories Minister Hon Fiona Nash on Thursday.

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"We are offering an airport operator in Australia the chance to jointly operate Lombok airport," Budi said. Currently, the Lombok International Airport is managed by state airport operator Angkasa Pura (AP) I.

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 The airport has not yet been able to turn a profit and as such the minister hopes that the cooperation will increase traffic and spur further development of the airport.

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The meeting also highlighted possible cooperation between the two countries in tourism and aviation, especially in remote and border areas.

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The development of airports in border areas such as Rote Island and emerging tourist destination Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, were also discussed during the meeting.

Indonesia has invited private companies to take part in developing airports because of limited funds in the state budget.

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Australia mentioned the Christmas Island as well as an area in Brisbane as possible locations for collaboration in area development.

Fiona also welcomed the business talks between the two countries. "Certainly there are various ways to extend our opportunities in front of us," she said. (bbn)

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source: TheJakartaPost

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Thai, Australian football players to wear black armbands

THAILAND and Australia will both wear black armbands as a mark of respect to His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej when they meet in their World Cup qualifier at Rajamanga National Stadium (14 Nov.)

The hosts are bidding to claim their first points of the campaign in the Asian last-12 World Cup qualifying round against the Socceroos, a fixture that comes little more than a month since the passing away of the Kingdom’s longest-reigning monarch.

“We made a request to wear black armbands and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) granted it. Australia team also asked to pay respects to the late king by sporting black armbands as well. Besides, there’ll be a minute’s silence before the kick-off,” said Patis Supapong, the spokesman of the Football Association of Thailand.

Supasin Leelarit, the FAT vice president, said fans will gather outside the venue on the match day to sing the royal anthem at 6pm, an hour prior to the kick-off time.

Meanwhile, national coach Kiatisak Senamuang decided to leave Tana Chanabut, who grabbed the country’s only goal so far in the qualifying round in a 3-1 loss away to UAE last month, out of his final 23-man list. The Port FC striker barely trained with the team during the training camp over the past two weeks.

Tana and Buriram United defender Narubadin Weerawatnodom were the two players excluded from the squad for the fixture. Kiatisak decided to include Suphanburi FC midfielder Charyl Chappuis and Chonburi FC defender Nattaphon Malaphan in a late call-up.

The former national striker is content with the team’s preparations as they concluded a two-week camp at Kirin Valley in Khao Yai, Nakhon Ratchasima province, and returned to the capital yesterday.

“We’re pretty ready for the game. From the first day, all the players showed their dedication and determination. The lads will fight tooth and nail on the match day.

“Nevertheless, it doesn’t matter whether we win or lose. The important thing is that everyone should play to their potential and stick to the game plan,” said the 43-year-old, whose side are lying at the bottom of Group B after four games.

Saudi Arabia are leading the way in the group with 10 points, two ahead of the Socceroos. Traditional powerhouses Japan are a further point adrift. UAE are fourth in the table, while Iraq, who earned their first points of the campaign following a 4-0 thumping of the Thais last month, have three.

Source: TheNation

'Many more' corals die in Great Barrier Reef bleaching

This photo taken on November 20, 2014 shows an aerial view of the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of the Whitsunday Islands, along the central coast of Queensland.

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SYDNEY - More corals are dying and others are succumbing to disease and predators after the worst-ever bleaching on Australia's iconic Great Barrier Reef, scientists said Wednesday.

A swathe of corals bleached in the northern third of the 2,300-kilometre (1,429-mile) long biodiverse site off the Queensland state coast died after an unprecedented bleaching earlier this year as sea temperatures rose.
And researchers who returned to the region to survey the area this month said "many more have died more slowly".
"In March, we measured a lot of heavily bleached branching corals that were still alive, but we didn't see many survivors this week," Andrew Hoey of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University said in a statement.
"On top of that, snails that eat live coral are congregating on the survivors, and the weakened corals are more prone to disease. A lot of the survivors are in poor shape."
Researcher Greg Torda said of the reefs surveyed near Lizard Island off Cairns -- a gateway to the giant ecosystem -- the amount of live coral covering them fell from about 40 percent in March to under five percent.
It is the third time in 18 years that the World Heritage-listed site, which teems with marine life, has experienced mass bleaching after previous events in 1998 and 2002.
The researchers said even though they were still assessing the final death toll from bleaching in the north, "it is already clear that this event was much more severe than the two previous bleachings".
They expect to complete all their surveys by mid-November.
Bleaching occurs when abnormal environmental conditions, such as warmer sea temperatures, cause corals to expel tiny photosynthetic algae, draining them of their colour.
The reef's northern 700-kilometre section bore the brunt of the breaching during March and April, with the southern areas "only lightly bleached and remain in good condition", the scientists added.
"As we expected from the geographic pattern of bleaching, the reefs further south are in much better shape," said Andrew Baird, who led the re-surveys of reefs in the central section.
"There is still close to 40 percent coral cover at most reefs in the central Great Barrier Reef, and the corals that were moderately bleached last summer have nearly all regained their normal colour."
The reef is already under pressure from farming run-off, development, the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish as well as the impacts of climate change, with a government report last week painting a bleak picture of the natural wonder.

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Course: The Nation (26-10)

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Where I can safely drink tap water in the world

Where I can safely drink tap water in the world ?

 Drinking water from the tap can not be everywhere. Even ice in your drink can ensure that you can get stomach cramps and diarrhea during your vacation. In which country is safe to tap a glass of water and in which country you can buy better bottles? Through the following graphic it is organized. Blue is doing, Red do not!

 Europe

 North and Central America

 South America

 Africa

Asia

Australia / Oceania

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