Wind change ups fire threat to town and other top stories.

• Wind change ups fire threat to town

  

  A NORTH-westerly wind change this afternoon will put Tasmania Fire Service crews on high alert as a bushfire is expected to turn towards the small North-West town of Balfour, south of Smithton.The smoke haze over Hobart yesterday. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNETemperatures are forecast to reach in the mid to high 20s in the west and north western part of the state today, with winds ranging from 10-25 knot north westerlies, changing from north easterlies.Tasmania Police also announced road closures on th..

  >> view original



• Tassie, SA need business migrants, says Xenophon

  

  Senator Nick Xenophon.LOW population growth states Tasmania and South Australia should be given a bigger share of business migrants to boost their economies, says South Australian senator Nick Xenophon.Senator Xenophon told the Mercury that business migration should be fast-tracked for states with low population growth.“Imagine what 1000 business migrants would do to the Tasmanian economy if they came in and invested an average of $2 million each,” he said.He said he would push for a Senate inqu..

  >> view original



• Motorists sought over fires in Tasmania

  >> view original



• Race to control blazes as weather threatens

  

  Smoke over Hobart’s Northern suburbs. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNEA MULTI-AGENCY response involving more than 250 personnel is battling to put out up to 60 vegetation fires around the state.The rush is on to bring the fires under control before forecast hot and windy conditions hit the state tomorrow.Much of the state was enveloped in a thick layer of smoke yesterday affecting visibility and air quality in the Greater Hobart, southern regions and on the West Coast.It is not expected to disperse until ..

  >> view original



• Coastal athletes leave their stamp on series

  

  A NUMBER of Coastal athletes finished the Tasmanian Christmas Carnival series on a high with the final instalment held at St Helen's on Saturday. ACROSS THE LINE: Latrobe runner Carmen Oakley took out the women's gift and 400m at St Helen's Carnival on Saturday.A NUMBER of Coastal athletes finished the Tasmanian Christmas Carnival series on a high with the final instalment held at St Helen's on Saturday.Devonport cyclist Michael Astell headlined the Coastal contingent with a trebl..

  >> view original



• Punt Road Disco has all the moves

  

  Luck rides with Rawlings after landing Burnie Cup after protest CHARGING HOME: Karalta Dazzler, driven by Wade Rattray, and Punt Road Disco, driven by Rohan Hillier, charge to the line in Sunday's Burnie Cup. Despite being second past the post Punt Road Disco was awarded the race after a protest for interference in the run to the line. Picture: Brodie Weeding.STOWPORT trainer Andrew Rawlings had the racing gods on his side when he won his home-town Burnie Cup with Punt Road Disco ..

  >> view original



• 'SCAPE | VOLUNTEERS ALL ABOARD

  

  People visit Don River Railway to look, touch, smell and experience what train travel was like years ago and volunteers make it all happen, LIBBY BINGHAM writes. THE roses behind the white picket fence at Don River Railway have done well this year thanks to a volunteer worker.New Don River Railway site manager Niels Brun.Niels Brun says each rose bush comes from different Tasmanian railway stations. A nice touch at one of Devonport's main tourist attractions.DRR is one of Australi..

  >> view original



• Microsoft cuts Azure cloud pricing

  

  Customers of Microsoft's Azure cloud platform will receive substantial price reductions from next month, in a move aimed squarely at Microsoft rival Amazon Web Services. While Microsoft has yet to publish the full list of price reductions, the company's director of Azure product marking Nicole Herskowitz said the cost of Linux instances will drop between 14 and 17 percent. Windows virtual machines, which include the operating system licence, will also fall by 10 to 13 percent. Herskowitz said M..

  >> view original



• A game that encouraged players to kill Indigenous Australians was removed from ...

  

  A smartphone game that encouraged players to attack and kill Indigenous Australians has been removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store after a petition calling for its removal gained over 80,000 signatures. The Guardian reports that Survival Island 3 — Australia Story 3D has been pulled from app stores after people discovered the content inside the game. The game tasked the player with surviving in ancient Australia, and screenshots used to promote the app in the App Store told the..

  >> view original



• Driverless cars still need a human touch

  

  by John Markoff Car enthusiasts, after hearing industry executives discussing the self-driving technology being built into their vehicles, might be forgiven for thinking robotic cars will soon drive themselves out of auto showrooms.Carlos Ghosn, the chairman and chief executive of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, announced during a news media event on January 7 at the company's research laboratory in Silicon Valley that Nissan would introduce 10 new autonomous vehicles ..

  >> view original

Cradle Mountain reopens after fire prompts evacuation warning .	Journalist in the frame .
Shorten confirms he stepped in on Clements .	Shorten wanted Clements matter 'resolved' .