Preparations have begun for Australian schools to begin offering Turkish language instruction to students beginning in 2016 as part of the national curriculum.

From next year, students at public schools all over the country will be able to choose from Chinese, Italian, Arabic, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Greek, Spanish Vietnamese and now Turkish.

An agreement was reached in 2011 to offer the language following intense efforts by the country's 60,000-strong Turkish community.

This week, the president of the Turkish Teachers Association in Victoria, Yasar Duyal, called the decision "very important for pupils as well as for the future of the Turkish community." He said, "Indeed, the work does not end here, now it starts," adding that he hoped the lessons would raise the profile of Turks in Australia.

From 2016, the language will be offered to students from grade one in primary school to year nine in high school.

Duyal said he hopes pupils outside of Australia's Turkish community will take up the language, but also underscored its importance to Turks living in Australia. "If we do not protect the language, if we do not teach to our children, what will happen in the future?" he asked. "We would lose the Turkish language as well as our identity."

Credit: Anadolu Agency Learn more »

In the fight against Ebola, Australia has said: No thanks. Australia’s Immigration Minister, Scott Morrison, has announced that his government would not be issuing any more visas to West Africa’s Ebola-affected countries and was halting humanitarian aid operations in the region.

The decision, which was announced in a televised session of parliament on Monday, went into immediate effect and comes after 11 persons previously isolated out of Ebola concerns were released after testing negative to the Ebola virus.

Watch video of announcement below:

---

---

Holders of permanent visas in Ebola-hotspots issued by the Australian government would not be barred from entry into Australia, but will have to undergo three weeks of isolation at points of departure deemed Ebola risk zones, in addition to isolation regimes upon re-entry into Australia.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and medical experts have repeatedly warned of restrictive measures against returning health workers fearing the potential in discouraging more international volunteers at Ebola hotspots.

To date the Ebola crisis has resulted in over 10, 000 recorded cases of transmissions and over 5000 related deaths.

**********

The announcement came as a "surprise," the Australian Medical Association (AMA) president Brian Owler told CNN, who said that the chance of the disease entering the country through a migrant from the region was very low.

"It's not necessarily a very well-focused decision. The bigger picture needs to be on our preparedness at home but more importantly our involvement in West Africa itself, putting doctors and nurses and other logistical elements in place and trying to combat the crisis there."

He added that the government had sought the advice of "very few people," and had excluded the AMA.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said: "I not always agree with the Australian Medical Association, but I take them seriously and I think that the AMA invariably has the national interest at heart."

The announcement that no refugees will be accepted from West Africa must be overturned, the Australian Greens have said.

"While the government drags its feet in responding to the Ebola crisis, Scott Morrison has slammed the door on West African refugees," the Greens' immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

"The immigration minister's crusade against those in need has spread to West Africa and is simply unacceptable.

"This miserly, selfish and cruel announcement from the government is not a reflection of our nation's character."

**********

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told CNN's Richard Quest that isolationism was not the answer to the current health crisis.

"The doctors from (the) WHO, to the CDC here and other countries have indicated that the worst thing you want to do is close off the borders and come up with this sort of restrictions and scare away potential help," he said.

"Our concern should be with the public safety and public health but we have to accept that the only way we can deal with it in the medium to long term is to stop the epidemic."

Concerns are being raised that the Australian response is largely engineered to create political capital, particularly given the country's well-documented hard line on immigration.

"There have been people here in Australia that have been asking for this kind of approach and I think the main drive is political," Owler said.

"Of course it will always be dressed up as a solution to keeping Australians safe but in actual fact the people who are coming from West Africa, a number of them are coming on humanitarian grounds so there are concerns about why their visas are being denied, and for what period of time they'll be denied for."

The nonprofit Medicines Sans Frontiers, also known as Doctors Without Borders, echoed the sentiment, saying that "developed countries' prevention strategies ... seem to have more political than medical implications."

Abbott defended the government's decision, pointing to an AUS $18 million ($15.9 million) investment to combat the spread of the disease in West Africa, saying his "government are taking very serious steps to address the Ebola crisis."

He added that the Australian authorities "are continuing to talk to our friends and partners about what more might be done to address the situation in West Africa," and that he did "not rule out Australia doing more."

The Australian move follows North Korea's tourist ban, also instigated over fears of the spread of the disease.

Credit: CNN, BBC News, ABC-AU

Learn more »

Sue-Ellen-Kovack_facebook

There were fears today that Ebola has reached Australia after a nurse developed symptoms of the virus. Sue Ellen Kovack, who had been working with the Red Cross in Sierra Leone, one of the worst affected countries, returned to Australia on Tuesday before developing the symptoms.

The Australian reports that she has developed a fever, prompting her to contact authorities who admitted her to hospital in the city of Cairns.

Jeanette Young, Chief Health Officer for Queensland, she that she has not yet shown other symptoms, but the case was still being treated as suspected Ebola as a precautionary measure.

"This morning [Ms Kovack] rang up ... because she developed a low-grade fever of 37.6C," Dr Young said.

"We felt it important that she come into the Cairns hospital and be tested. We don't know whether she has that [Ebola], but she's been exposed to people with the disease while working in Sierra Leone."

She added that authorities are treating the case seriously, reassured local residents that there is no risk to anyone in the community or the hospital.

Blood has been taken to be tested, with results expected back tomorrow.

Dr Young added that there was no need for people on Ms Kovack's flight home to worry as Ebola is relatively hard to catch.

“There is absolutely no concern for any passenger on any plane she’s been on because she did not have any symptoms at all when she was on those flights,” she said.

This is the fourth time that Australia has investigated potential Ebola cases. Last month, a woman was given the all-clear after being held in quarantine in a Perth hospital, while a one-year-old child was also cleared of the virus after developing suspicious symptoms.

A man in the city of Gold Coast was also given the all-clear after being tested for the virus after complaining of symptoms while in police custody. The people in all three cases had recently returned from Africa.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has told his country that measures are in place to deal with the disease.

"What we're doing at the moment is we're carefully monitoring everyone coming to this country who's been in West Africa.

"In every state, public hospitals have been prepared to deal with Ebola cases should we get any."

*Credits

Learn more »