Wednesday's news in 5 minutes.

1. “Lets outlaw sunburn on reality TV shows”. Survivor contestant’s melanoma diagnosis a “warning” to all Australians.

Melanoma Institute Australia says the diagnosis of Australian Survivor contestant Jacqui Patterson with stage four melanoma should serve as a “warning” to all Australians about the risks of sun exposure.

The 50-year-old marriage celebrant from Byron Bay was diagnosed with melanoma after returning to Australia from filming Survivor in the Samoan jungle. She was receiving treatment for a shoulder injury she suffered off-camera when the melanoma was discovered.

The news comes only weeks after CEO of Melanoma Institute Australia Carole Renouf publicly called out television producers after noticing some Survivor contestants were sunburnt and using minimal sun protection.

“Melanoma is not a game, and its greatest risk factor – sunburn – has no place on a reality TV game show. It makes me frustrated. It makes me angry. But mostly it makes me sad,” her statement, issued on July 31, read.

Renouf says Patterson is one of some 14,000 Austraians who will be diagnosed with melanoma this year. Though there is no evidence that her time in the jungle contributed to her diagnosis, it should serve as a lesson to all of us.

“Let’s outlaw sunburn on reality TV shows,” Renouf said. “And start treating melanoma like the potential killer it is, just like smoking and drink driving.”

2. Polluted river turning dogs blue in Mumbai.

Dogs in Mumbai, India are turning blue. Animal rights groups are blaming industrial pollutants from a nearby river. https://t.co/OaXDcTwOc7 pic.twitter.com/Jm6PI8enDa

— ABC News (@ABC) August 18, 2017

A manufacturing company in Mumbai has been shut down after it was found to be dumping untreated industrial waste into a local river, which was harming surrounding wildlife – most noticeably, turning at least 11 dogs blue.

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board started receiving complaints in early August, with locals reporting a group of bright-blue coloured dogs roaming the streets.

Footage showed the dogs’ fur had turned completely blue and Arati Chauhan, head of the Navi Mumbai Animal Protection Cell, told the Hindustan Times: “We have spotted almost five such dogs here and have asked the Pollution Control Board to act against such industries.”

After an investigation, the Board shut down the plant on Wednesday, The Guardian reports, confirming the dumped pollution was to blame for the dog’s blue fur. Thankfully, some of the dye could be washed off and the canines appeared otherwise unaffected.

3. Free meningococcal vaccinations for students around the country after 19-year-old dies.

Father mourns son’s meningococcal death https://t.co/pTnU3pCj50 pic.twitter.com/g7z7W5WEFX

— Australia Channel (@AustChannel) August 22, 2017

Students aged between 15 and 19 in Tasmania, NSW, Queensland, Victoria and WA can receive free immunisation against the deadly W meningococcal strain after an outbreak of the disease has been seen across the country.

This comes after a 19-year-old WA man Lloyd Dunham died from the disease in Tasmania over the weekend.

“My heart and soul is shattered into pieces by your sudden departure from this world,” his father Terry Dunham posted to social media yesterday.

A dozen cases of meningococcal disease have been reported in Tasmania this year, AAP reports. And the W strain has caused six deaths in 18 months in NSW alone, according to the MailOnline.

The W is the deadliest of the meningococcal strains (there are five in total) and results in death in around 10 per cent of cases.

4. Taylor Swift posts second cryptic clip, fans go crazy.

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Aug 22, 2017 at 8:00am PDT

Singer Taylor Swift is fuelling speculation about new music after posting a second cryptic clip of an unidentified creature’s tail.

The clip, posted on Tuesday, comes a day after she shared a similar video in her first social media post since wiping both her Twitter and Instagram accounts last week.

The most recent update shows a closer, but crackly, view of what appears to be an animated animal’s tail twitching and writhing on a black background.

Fans on social media, of course, have gone crazy: WHAT COULD IT MEAN?????

5. Sisters die in same spot, 24 years apart.

RT TelevisionMalta “Two tragedies in 24 years for Turner family – “Janie you have joined your sister” – … pic.twitter.com/pNOfLYLpnM“

— Malta News (@MaltaNewsOrg) August 21, 2017

A woman has been killed in a car crash in Malta just metres from the same spot where her sister died in a similar accident 24 years ago.

Janie Turner, 45, died on Sunday just metres away from the marble memorial plaque marking the site where her younger sister, Carmen, was killed in a 1993 traffic accident near the village of Mgarr, then aged 17.

The accident had also happened on a Sunday in August. Both victims were passengers.

6. Overseas Aussies can vote for marriage equality through ‘paperless’ survey, ABS confirms.

Rainbow flag above Sydney Town Hall in the lead-up to national postal survey on #MarriageEquality. Town Hall will be lit pink from tonight. pic.twitter.com/STyakhbjKv

— City of Sydney (@cityofsydney) August 21, 2017

Australians overseas or those living in aged care or in very remote areas will have the option to vote on same-sex marriage over the phone or online.

The Australia Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday confirmed a paperless option will be available to Australians abroad during the collection period, living in a residential aged care facility or in very remote locations, and the visually impaired.

Those who are eligible can request an access code to anonymously respond to the survey via an automated phone service, online form or the information line.

Those wanting to vote will have to be correctly enrolled with the AEC by midnight on Thursday.