Sydney, Aug 20 : High-school students in Australia will be able to use iPods, the Internet and mobile phones during exams under a plan revealed by a all girls’ college.

Presbyterian Ladies'' College at Croydon in Sydney said that it was redefining the "open book" exam concept, in which students are able to bring in reference books, to take into account new technology.

The school is trialling the use of the new media with 14 and 15-year-old English students but hopes to expand its use across all subjects by year-end.

Sydney (dpa) - An Outback town where males outnumber females five to one is in an uproar over the mayor's promise to Australia's not-so-pretty women that there's a mate for them in Mount Isa.

John Malony on Wednesday refused to withdraw his claim that the scarcity of women meant the "beauty-disadvantaged" should make a beeline for the dusty Queensland mining town.

Adding insult to injury, Malony refused to leave his office to meet a delegation of 100 single women outraged by his remarks, describing them as "beauty-disadvantaged themselves."

Brisbane, August 19 : A comment of the Mayor of an Australian town on how lovelorn female "ugly ducklings" could help redress a gender imbalance has sparked a protest march.

Mayor John Molony sparked controversy by suggesting that "beauty-disadvantaged women... (should) proceed to Mount Isa (town)", where women are outnumbered five-to-one.

"We want an apology. We are offended and we want to settle the score," brisbanetimes. com. au quoted local woman Rikki Loccisano, a 22-year-old administration officer, as saying.

Melbourne, Aug 19 : Rising temperatures can threaten the safety of blood used for life-saving transfusions, warn experts.

According to a new report by West Australian researchers, global warming will increase the prevalence of viruses, like dengue and Ross River, already circulating in the northern regions of the country.

The heat could potentially increase the range of organisms that can transmit the viruses and make them more infectious more quickly by accelerating life cycles, said Professor Robert Dunstan, a specialist in emerging infectious diseases at Curtin University in Perth.

Sydney - Marine scientists Tuesday held out little hope for a whale calf spotted nuzzling a yacht anchored off a Sydney beach after becoming separated from its mother.

The two-week old humpback stayed close when the yacht was towed out to sea in the hope that the mother would hear and respond to its calls.

National Parks and Wildlife Service spokesman John Dengate said the outlook was bleak because the newborn calf was still reliant on its mother's milk.

Melbourne, Aug 18: With men outnumbering women in Australia’s Mount Isa city, Mayor John Molony has come up with a unique solution to the severe female drought — inviting ugly girls.

He said that such a situation offers a perfect condition for "ugly ducklings" to flourish into beautiful swans, and find true happiness in the Isa.

"May I suggest if there are five blokes to every girl, we should find out where there are beauty-disadvantaged women and ask them to proceed to Mount Isa," News. com. au quoted him as saying