ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Pennsylvania, America’s s third-largest fossil-fuel producer, is to join a “cap and trade” agreement designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions — but risking the loss of coal and oil jobs, critics say. The state will be the first major fossil-fuel producer in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, when it joins next year after an executive order that Tom Wolf, its Democratic governor, issued in the face of opposition from Republicans who hold majorities in both houses of its legislature. Gov. Tom Wolf issues an executive order to join the carbon cap and trade policy for polluting plants.The commonwealth’s…
Author: zenger.news
SYDNEY — A former Australian bank worker has avoided jail over a more than AU$3 million ($2.27 million) financial scam after the Commonwealth Bank took eight years to report it to police. George Vrettakos was handed a three-year fully suspended jail sentence on June 24 over the fraud he confessed to more than a decade ago. Vrettkos took out three separate lines of credit through the Commonwealth Bank — where he worked as a mobile lender — in 2008 and 2009 worth a total of $3.75 million ($2.8 million). He pleaded guilty to three charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception,…
HOBART, Australia — Australian state of Tasmania’s jails are too often failing to provide prisoners with the basic human right of adequate time outside their cells, according to a report which has called for urgent state government action. The custodial inspector’s report, released on June 24, examined lockdowns across the island’s five adult custodial centres during December 2020. It found there were 605 lockdowns in total, with almost 31 percent of those due to staff shortages. Custodial Inspector Richard Connock said that, under the Corrections Act 1997, prisoners are required to have the “basic human right” of at least one hour…
MELBOURNE, Australia — Australian Aboriginal children are 20 times more likely to be removed from their homes than other Victorian kids, according to a new report from the state government. The Aboriginal Affairs Report 2020, tabled in parliament on June 24, highlights an alarming rise in First Nations children in the state’s care. As of the middle of 2020, 2450 Aboriginal children in Victoria were living out of home – up from 734 in 2008/09. That has driven up the overall statewide rate of Aboriginal children in care services from 37.7 to 99.8 per 1000, meaning almost one in 10 are living out of their homes.…
SYDNEY — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he is confident the New South Wales government can deal with its latest Covid-19 outbreak without shutting down Sydney. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian on June 24 warned the state was entering its “scariest” period since the pandemic began. Her state has now clocked up 36 cases linked to the outbreak that began in Bondi last week. All but one of the new infections are linked to a known case or cluster. Rather than a lockdown, as has occurred in other states, there will be a police blitz to nab anyone defying…
MELBOURNE, Australia — More than a third of Victorian children and young people who go missing from state care have been sexually exploited, an inquiry has found. The Out of Sight report by the Commission for Children and Young People, tabled in parliament on June 24, found the most vulnerable in the state’s care are going missing at an “alarming” rate. In the 18-month period covered by the inquiry, 955 children spent time in residential care in Victoria. During that time, there were 2375 reports of children going missing and almost 7000 warrants granted to find them. This equates to almost one warrant per…
CANBERRA, Australia — An off-duty Australian police officer fought through the smoke to narrowly escape from Brisbane’s Whiskey Au Go Go fire that killed 15 people, the state coroner has heard. The re-opened inquest into the 1973 firebombing concluded it’s first two-week sitting with evidence from Jennifer Mahony, the daughter of the man caught in the blaze. Her father, known as Vince, was getting a lift home with two other police officers when they told him they needed to call into the nightclub, she told the inquest. It was the night of the fire, and he decided to stay at the…
CANBERRA, Australia — The coronavirus pandemic has had limited impact on the life insurance industry and in many cases the outcome was much better than anticipated, two of Australia’s leading life insurers have said. The top bosses of market leader TAL and rival ClearView on June 25 told a House of Representatives economics committee that while there was an impact on operations, claims management actually improved last year. ClearView managing director Simon Swanson said there had been a concern that suicides would go up amid the pandemic but that did not materialize. “Suicides actually went down and part of that was…
Hippo calf Gori explores the depths of his enclosure pool with his parents at Valencia Bioparc in Spain. The hippo, which recently turned 13 months old, was filmed exploring the zoo’s Kitum Cave, which re-creates the habitats of African lakes and rivers. Gori, the calf (Hippopotamus amphibius), is the son of Raf and Rigas. “This fascinating species is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List and its main threat is habitat loss,” the zoo said. Gori dives with a member of his family in a large aquarium at the Valencia Bioparc. (Bioparc Valencia/Zenger…
An Austrian zoo has welcomed the first African penguin offspring almost one year after its parents were brought from the Netherlands. The new chick hatched in the Salzburg Zoo in Austria after its parents moved into their newly built enclosure at the beginning of July last year. “Our first African penguin chick is now around three weeks old and has already gained a lot of weight. We are very happy to say it is growing and developing well,” said managing director Sabine Grebner. The chick’s gender has not been determined since its birth to parents Dorie and Samaki. They were…