KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — International passenger traffic volumes remained at depressed levels, showed preliminary air traffic figures for May released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines. Strict border restrictions held it back amid concerns about the spread of Covid-19 variants. Only 1.3 million international passengers flew on the region’s carriers in May, representing just 4.3 percent of the volumes carried in the corresponding month of 2019. The international passenger load factor averaged 28.4 percent for the month, with available seat capacity at 12.3 percent of levels recorded in 2019. Meanwhile, strong business and consumer demand globally drove demand for air…
Author: zenger.news
GENEVA — Around one in four people or around 2 billion people lacked safely managed drinking water in their homes in 2020, said a joint report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Nearly half the world’s population lacked safely managed sanitation. The urgent need to ensure everyone can access good hand hygiene was highlighted during the pandemic. At the onset of Covid-19, 3 in 10 people worldwide could not wash their hands with soap and water within their homes, states the report. “Handwashing is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and…
SYDNEY — HIV transmissions in Australia’s New South Wales dropped 40 percent when prevention medication was made more easily available and these historically low rates have been sustained among high-risk men, a study reveals. The research, published in The Lancet HIV on July 2, is the culmination of a three-year study called EPIC-NSW, the first globally to measure the impact of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) on reducing HIV in a large population. The Kirby Institute’s Professor Andrew Grulich, who led the study at the University of New South Wales, said the “modest cost” of accessing PrEP once it was subsidized through the Pharmaceutical Benefits…
CANBERRA, Australia — An elected Labor government will launch an in-depth study charting the path to full employment in a bid to create a post-pandemic jobs boom in Australia. Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has pledged to commission a full employment white paper with input from government, industry and union experts. The report will devise a plan to drive down unemployment and underemployment while hunting for solutions to reduce insecure work. In a speech to the National Press Club in the national capital Canberra, Albanese on July 2 signaled a shift away from focusing on the headline unemployment rate. He argued the…
CANBERRA, Australia — Australian Opposition and Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese has thrown his support behind a “competition without catastrophe” approach towards China. Drawing a line through Donald Trump’s erratic behavior towards Beijing, Albanese backed Joe Biden’s more conventional strategy. “I am pleased that under the Biden administration there is a return to diplomacy and a return to engagement, and a normalization of international politics under the leadership of the United States,” he said on July 2. “Which, shall we say, carries less uncertainty than was there under the previous administration on Donald Trump.” Albanese said Australia would always have to live…
ADELAIDE, Australia — The former artistic director of the State Opera of South Australia has been jailed for 14 years in Adelaide after being found guilty of abusing two teenage girls while working as a music teacher three decades ago. Sentencing Timothy Adrian Sexton, 60, on July 2 Judge Geraldine Davison said the protection of children was paramount as she also imposed a non-parole period of eight years in relation to Sexton’s convictions on two counts of maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child. Judge Davison said the lengthy terms were appropriate given Sexton had not accepted the verdict of…
CANBERRA, Australia — Australian Aged care providers have warned of a coronavirus blind spot if community workers are not included in a vaccine mandate. Catholic Health Australia, which represents residential and home-based aged care providers, has urged the national cabinet to close the loophole. Catholic Health Australia represents 75 hospitals and 550 residential and community aged care services and comprises Australia’s largest non-government not-for-profit grouping of health and aged care services. The mandate does not apply to 150,000 aged care workers who care for one million older Australians living in the community. Chief executive Pat Garcia said the community aged care…
SUNSHINE COAST, Australia — A public health alert is being issued for parts of the Sunshine Coast, Australia after a new locally acquired coronavirus case was identified. The man in his 50s returned a positive result on July 2 after becoming symptomatic on June 30 and undertaking a test on July 1. Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath encouraged anyone in the Caloundra, Mooloolaba, Sippy Downs, or Maroochydore areas to come forward even if they had only the slightest symptoms. “We are relying on everyone to help us contain this potential outbreak,” the minister said. “That means wearing your mask and using…
HOBART, Australia — Former Greens leader Bob Brown says the campaign against a proposed mine expansion in the Tasmanian wilderness will ramp up ahead of a federal government decision. Robert James Brown is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown toured rainforest with federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley on the island’s northwest on July 1 as part of her two-day trip to the region. The majority of the Chinese government-owned company Minerals and Metals Group (MMG) wants to build a new tailings dam in the Tarkine rainforest…
PERTH, Australia — About 60 West Australians are expected to peacefully end their own lives within the next 12 months under newly implemented voluntary assisted dying laws. The legislation came into effect on July 1 after an 18-month implementation period. Western Australia is now the second state after Victoria to activate voluntary assisted dying, which was recently also legalized in South Australia and Tasmania. However, unlike Victoria where Euthanasia laws prohibit telehealth consultations on the subject, the Western Australian Voluntary Assisted Dying Act will allow practitioners to discuss voluntary assisted dying with patients over the phone or on a video call. Under…