BRISBANE, Australia — Urgent federal and state government action is needed to address the health and socio-economic “gap within a gap” experienced by Australia’s stolen generation survivors. An Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report released on June 2 found survivors over 50 faces worse life outcomes than their Indigenous people counterparts. The study estimates there are more than 27,000 survivors in the age group as of 2018-19, almost double the figure from four years earlier. Compared to other Indigenous people over 50, survivors are more likely to be living with ill health and other stressors. They are also 1.4 times more likely to have…
Author: zenger.news
CANBERRA, Australia — Australian workers with deadly silicosis and their families are still waiting for action on the incurable disease that has been dubbed the new asbestosis. A national dust disease task force set up in 2019 is due to hand its final recommendations to the government this month, after getting a Covid-19 extension. Exposure to crystalline silica dust in engineered stone increasingly used for kitchen benchtops is of particular concern to Safe Work Australia, which is a member of the task force. Crystalline silica (silica) is found in sand, stone, concrete and mortar. Known as silicon dioxide, silica is naturally…
Coral in the Red Sea is in danger of “bleaching” if water temperatures drop by as little as 1 degree Celsius. The results show for the first time that coral is not only sensitive to increases in temperature, but decreases as well. Climate change is unpredictable. The temperature of seas and oceans can rise and fall as a result. However, the coral in the northern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba has exceptionally high tolerance to increasing seawater temperatures. That led coral reef scientists to believe that the Red Sea’s coral were relatively safe from the bleaching effects suffered…
As greenhouse gas emissions from industrial activities continue to warm the planet, the stability and integrity of national electrical grids grows ever more concerning. Time and again, power outages resulting from high demand and complications brought on by extreme weather events such as droughts, coastal flooding and prolonged heat waves continue to disrupt lives and take an ever-increasing financial toll. Most electricity generation comes from burning fossil fuels — approximately 63.3 percent in 2019 — but this process releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere which warm the planet and destabilize natural climate patterns, thereby increasing the number and intensity of…
A golden jug that French King Louis XV gave to his mistress is about to be offered for sale, valued at over $1.4 million. It is part of the collection of Belgian antique dealer Bernard De Leye. The art dealer’s collection of 220 artworks, includes objects of vertu, silverwork, paintings and sculptures, as well as a silver gilt ewer with an estimated value of $1.5 million, made by the French silversmith Jean-Baptiste-Francois Cheret in Paris in 1770. A silver gilt wash basin with the coat-of-arms of Madame Pompadour Paris, with marks of Francois-Thomas Germain. (Lempertz/Zenger News)The jug, one of the…
Swiss crew members from Air Zermatt AG rescued a paraglider who got tangled up in a dangerous situation when he got stuck in a power line. The challenging rescue over the weekend was captured on video. Two Air Zermatt crew members are seen hanging from a helicopter as they released the man who was caught on the power line. The crew had cut off power to the high-voltage line and used a 459-foot pole for the rescue, so the man would not be affected by the down draft of the helicopter. Air Zermatt, founded in 1968, employs doctors and anesthesia…
The largest study on yawning ever conducted, according to researchers, has revealed that animals with larger brains yawn longer to produce the needed cooling effect. “Given that larger brains have greater thermolytic needs and brain temperature is determined, in part, by heat production from neuronal activity, it was hypothesized that animals with larger brains and more neurons would yawn longer to produce comparable cooling effects,” the study’s authors wrote. “To test this, we performed the largest study on yawning ever conducted, analyzing 1,291 yawns from 101 species (55 mammals; 46 birds).” These included animals and birds at the Schönbrunn Zoo…
CANBERRA, Australia — Federal Member of Parliaments will get a chance this week to see a report into a new parliamentary complaints process following a cabinet discussion. Prime Minister Scott Morrison claimed in a coalition joint party room meeting on June 1 that the cabinet was considering the review‘s findings by his departmental deputy secretary Stephanie Foster. He hopes to share the report with the coalition Member of Parliaments later this week before Foster leads consultation with members from all parties and independents. Foster’s work, which was sparked by an allegation of rape by former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, has already led…
ADELAIDE, Australia — South Australia has decided against imposing increased local Covid-19 restrictions despite the ongoing outbreak in Victoria. The state’s transition committee met on June 1 and resolved to keep the current level of measures in place. They largely restrict most venues, including pubs, restaurants and others business to 75 percent of their usual capacity. But Police Commissioner Grants Stevens said tougher measures could be imposed if the situation across the border continued to deteriorate. “There was a conversation on what those trigger points may be that would see restrictions coming back into place,” he said. “We can’t ignore the…
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Months worth of rain in just a few days has brought widespread flooding in New Zealand’s Canterbury region, closing the national highway and cutting off much of the South Island. Ashburton Bridge, south of Christchurch, has been shut after the mayor said drivers felt the road move under their cars. “There’s definitely a slump in there,” Neil Brown told news outlet Stuff. “I visually can see a slump. It’s in major damage.” Engineers expect the bridge, over the Ashburton River or Hakatere, to be out of action for days. It is the only practical route between Christchurch…