Australia's national science agency has made a commitment to help reduce the country's plastic waste by 80 percent over 10 years. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) on Sunday announced a further investment in its Ending Plastic Waste Mission. The initiative will receive 50 million Australian dollars (37.1 million U.S. dollars) in funding from the CSIRO, industry, governments and universities to develop cutting-edge innovations for how Australia makes, uses, recycles and disposes of plastics. Australians currently use 1 million tonnes of single use plastic every year, only 12 percent of which is recycled. READ: Plastic waste increases from 178 tons per day in 2005 to 646 tons in 2020 in Dhaka Larry Marshall, chief executive of the CSIRO, said that without significant action the plastic waste problem would continue to grow. "The Ending Plastic Waste Mission will bring together the whole innovation system, from government, industry and academia to turn science into solutions that will benefit the environment and create economic opportunities for Australia," he said in a media release. "By turning plastic waste into a renewable resource, the Mission will deliver collaborative scientific and manufacturing capabilities to drive new technologies across the entire plastics supply chain and grow Australia's circular economy." The CSIRO launched its "Team Australia" missions project in August 2020 with an aim of using major scientific and collaborative research initiatives to solve the country's biggest challenges including plastic waste, climate change uncertainty, pandemics and natural disasters. 

Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an Australian company for recruiting Bangladeshis in the Australian ICT sector. The state-owned manpower exporting company BOESL inked the MoU with Australian company Sterning on Thursday, said a PID handout on Friday. BOESL Managing Director Md Billal Hossain and Operation Director of Sterning Paul Egan on behalf of their respective sides signed the document. READ: Women’s participation in ICT sector to be raised substantially: Hasina As per the agreement, Sterning will arrange employment for the skilled manpower of Bangladesh in the ICT sector in different client companies in Australia. BOESL will provide competent candidates against the demand of Sterning. Bangladeshi ICT professionals will have job opportunities in Australia for the next three years under the deal. Consulate General of Bangladesh in Sydney Khandaker Masudul Alam, Counsellor (Labour) of Bangladesh High Commission in Canberra Md Salahuddin, Sterning CEO Joseph Merz and BOESL Executive Manager Md Mahabubur Rahman, among others, virtually joined the agreement signing ceremony. READ: Administrative work remain uninterrupted amid pandemic due to progress in ICT sector: Palak Billal Hossain said the BOESL is now contacting other Australian companies to expand the skilled manpower export to Australia in other sectors. Joseph Merz said there is demand for skilled IT professionals in Australia. So, recruitment of Bangladeshi professionals will help meet the demand.

They say love can move mountains, but more often all around us, we see it move people - from their comfort zone, their home, where everything is familiar, and into the unknown. That is a step Australian Malcolm Arnold took almost 17 years ago, when he left his home town of Adelaide in South Australia, and moved to Khulna in Bangladesh. What brought him here was falling in love with a Bangladeshi NGO worker, Halima Begum. They got married in 2004 and settled in a rented house in Khulna’s Sonadanga residential area. READ: Australian, Japanese, EU, US envoys visit St Martin’s Island Malcolm who happens to be a painter, takes painting orders online. This Australian citizen is 74 years old and has two daughters in Adelaide and a brother. His first wife left him long ago. And he has been painting for over 45 years. His paintings have sold for anything between Tk 5000 to Tk 5 lakh. Malcolm has always lived selling his paintings but in the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, sales have almost stopped. As a result, he is facing a bit of a financial crisis. Besides, he has been diagnosed with a block in his heart. He can't even stand to walk properly. Though Malcolm’s visa is valid till 2025 and he has assets, property in Adelaide he doesn't want to go there anymore. He has unconditional love for Halima and Bangladesh. He says he wants to live in Bangaldesh as long as he is alive. When the UNB correspondent visited the couple recently, they recounted their story of love and marriage. Malcolm and a few of his friends visited Bangladesh in February 2001. They had a goal to write about Bangladesh cricket and publish. During that tour, while they were visiting the Sundarbans, Malcolm met Halima Begum, then a field-level worker of World Vision in Mongla. READ: Australian envoy sees potentials for future bilateral cooperation “golden” Halima, now a 45-year old woman who works to make ends meet through sewing nowadays, said that 7-8 days after they met, Malcolm returned to Australia. But he kept writing letters to Halima.

Ambassadors of Australia, Japan, European Union (EU) and the United States (US) have visited St Martin’s Island and witnessed the impact of climate change on the Island which is considered as a piece of heaven on earth. “The stark impact of climate change is a reality on St Martin’s Island, including coastal erosion, bleaching of corals and depletion of sea life,” Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the EU to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley tweeted on Monday afternoon. READ: Mohib's murder: US, UK envoys express deep shock

Australia's prime minister and Israel's president on Wednesday discussed an extradition request for a former school principal whose alleged abuse of Australian school girls has cast a shadow over the Israeli leader's visit.

Around 180 Australians evacuated from a virus-stricken cruise ship arrived Thursday in the city of Darwin to begin a second quarantine period.

The Latest on the Australian Open (all times local):

Former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki will have no further preparation before her final career appearance at the Australian Open after withdrawing Monday from the traditional warm-up tournament at Kooyong.

A man who died in an Australian hospital became the 20th casualty of a New Zealand volcano eruption more than a month ago, officials said on Monday.

More than 250 homes have been lost to bushfires across the Australian State of New South Wales (NSW) over the past week, authorities confirmed on Friday, with the number expected to rise as displaced residents return to assess the damage.