Eerie empty bridge

Newsmakers

• 01.20. The drought has been blamed for a plague of grasshoppers sweeping through farms in Tasmania's northern midlands. The Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association says farmers around Ross say grasshoppers are attacking anything green, including pastures, crops and even garden hoses.

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• 01.16. Tasmania's Environment Protection Authority is taking samples from the Pieman River at Rosebery, after reports that thousands of eels have died. The EPA's Acting Director John Mollison says water and fish samples are being collected for testing.

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• 01.11. A teenage girl is being flown to hospital in Tasmania after being attacked by what is believed to be a five-metre white pointer shark on the state's east coast. The attack happened at Baileys Rocks at Binalong Bay [NE Tasmania] earlier this afternoon. The girl was surfing when the shark attacked her, biting through her surfboard and injuring her leg.

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• 01.10. A Tasmanian-based IT company has signed a lucrative deal with internet giant Google. E Tech creates online learning systems which are used by schools all over the world. It's also the first recipient of a $2 million Tasmanian Government support loan to help it through the global financial crisis.

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