CANBERRA, Australia — The centenary of the Royal Australian Air Force has been the focal point of Anzac Day, also known as Australian and New Zealand Army Corps Day, ceremonies, telling stories of bravery by Air Force men and women. At the national Anzac Day Ceremony at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Mel Hupfield informed the crowd that while many Anzac Day stories speak of the trenches of Europe, he wanted to mark the “equally vicious fighting in the skies above.” Delivering the commemorative address, Hupfield informed Squadron Leader Peter Jensen, who joined the Royal Australian Air…
Author: zenger.news
SYDNEY — At the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge, Royal Australian Navy Lieutenant Danielle Couch stood still in the cold, watched the Anzac Day sunrise, and listened to the Australian flag flap in the breeze. The 28-year-old Royal Australian Navy principal warfare officer was one of the lucky few to commemorate Anzac Day at the apex of The Coathanger — 134m above the water. “It was incredible — such an iconic landmark of Australia, and during the silence period, we got to listen to just the sound of the flag blowing in the wind, which I found particularly moving,” she…
Video shows the rescue of an ill crew member hauled to safety by a helicopter in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean about 240 miles off the Galician coast of western Spain on April 23. The Netherlands crew member on board the Lange Wapper was found and rescued by two helicopters, a Sasemar 101 and a Helimer 402, dispatched by Salvamento Marítimo. It is the organization for maritime safety in the Spanish Ministry of Development. A member of the rescue team descended from the helicopter onto the ship using a rope as a slackline. The crew member was hoisted up…
The world-famous Pamplona bull run has been canceled for a second year due to fears of a COVID-19 outbreak. The celebration known as Sanfermin was scheduled to take place from July 6-14 in the northern Spanish city in the province of Navarra. But Mayor Enrique Maya announced on April 26 that the festival was canceled. Navarra is among the worst affected autonomous communities in Spain, with 432 cases for every 100,000 inhabitants reported over the last two weeks, the mayor said. Fears of a COVID-19 outbreak have caused the cancellation of Sanfermin, which traditionally attracts large crowds. (Ayuntamiento de Pamplona/Real…
The technology and innovation oriented Israeli nonprofit Start-Up Nation Central will launch a joint innovation task force with the United Arab Emirates aimed at sharing ideas and generating economic value for both countries. The launch was announced during a meeting between the UAE’s first ambassador to Israel, Mohamed al-Khaja, and Start-Up Nation Central CEO Eugene Kandel at the organization’s headquarters in Tel Aviv. The two discussed possible areas of collaboration including joint events, conferences, and ongoing programs to help both nations learn about each other’s tech ecosystems. Flags of Israel and the United Arab Emirates are flown together on Netanya’s “Shalom…
Monkeys and humans evolved from a common ancestor over the last 60 million years. And because primates are related, they are genetically similar. Human DNA, on average, is 96% identical to the DNA of our most distant primate relatives. That similarity extends to the mind. A recent study has determined that monkeys have both a conscious and nonconscious mind, much like humans. In their study, a joint Hebrew University of Jerusalem-Yale University team devised a novel scientific tool to examine levels of perception they tested on humans and monkeys. As reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of…
MUMBAI, India — ‘No vaccines — no beds — no oxygen — no remdesivir.’ This trending social media feed sums up the current Covid-19 situation India is facing, with the single-day count of new infections crossing 350,000 on April 26. The country had surpassed the 297,000 cases per day recorded in the U.S. in January days ago. Television and social media feeds are overwhelmed with pictures and videos of non-stop funerals, grieving relatives, queues of ambulances carrying gasping patients waiting for hours to secure a bed, mortuaries overflowing with dead bodies, and patients, sometimes two to a bed, in corridors and lobbies of hospitals. There are frantic calls for…
MELBOURNE, Australia — A First World War medal that went missing on a Melbourne beach nearly a century ago is finally back with the recipient’s family. Robert Stanley Gordon Smith lost his British Victory Medal at Chelsea beach in 1925 and died on April 23, 1963. The medal was found at Beaumaris beach in 1980, but no one had been able to find its owner, known only as Private RSG Smith from the 5th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force. Victoria Police Sergeant Vaughan Atherton, also an army reservist for nine years, found out about the medal. His detective work tracked down two living…
PERTH, Australia — A decision by the West Australian government not to prosecute a mining company that allegedly destroyed a sacred site in the Kimberley has reinforced concerns about proposed new Aboriginal cultural heritage legislation. An investigation was launched after Kimberley Granite Holdings allegedly damaged the Garnkiny and Jawaren site near Halls Creek in 2019. The Kimberley Land Council, representing Malarngowem traditional owners, disputes that permission was given for damaging the site, which was subject to an exploration license. But Western Australia’s Department of Planning, Lands, and Heritage last week determined there was “no reasonable prospect” of a successful prosecution. It cited…
SYDNEY — Leading Australian businesses have publicly committed to stamping out workplace sexual harassment amid a nationwide reckoning sparked by a series of high-profile cases. The chief executives of banks, legal firms, mining companies, universities, and other groups have signed Diversity Council Australia‘s #IStandForRespect pledge. The initiative was launched in early April and has since gained 147 signatories from businesses including ANZ, Bupa, Commonwealth Bank, Crown Resorts, Energy Australia, Network 10, Rio Tinto, Slater and Gordon, and the University of New South Wales. It asks employers to stand against all gendered harassment and commit to taking steps within their own ranks to address sexual and…