SYDNEY — Australia’s chief of the army has defended the workplace culture within defense ahead of a royal commission into veteran suicides. Rick Burr said the country’s military leaders were determined to understand the causes of suicide better and help officers prepare for life beyond their service in uniform. “To retain that purpose, that connection, to find meaning beyond our service,” Burr said. “This royal commission will be beneficial to all of us, to all Australians, to better understand those causes and effects. “I ask everyone to cooperate so we can better understand this complex issue fully.” Lieutenant General Burr fended…
Author: zenger.news
SYDNEY — The Australian government will pump another AUD 20 million ($15.50 million) into Sydney’s Central Business District in a bid to entice people back into the city to work, shop, wine, and dine after the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. New South Wales Treasurer Dominic Perrottet announced the funding as part of a government push to stimulate the economy and boost jobs in the Central Business District. The treasurer hosted a second Sydney Central Business District Summit of business, community, government, and industry leaders at the Museum of Contemporary Art on April 22. “We need to continue to drive growth in Australia’s global…
SYDNEY — The competition watchdog has warned a water trade detail drought is fueling farmers’ suspicions about dodgy deals and market manipulation. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission‘s report into water trading across the Murray-Darling Basin Plan was made public last month. The landmark inquiry recommended a national overarching water market regulator with access to proper trading information that doesn’t currently exist. Before a Senate hearing on Thursday, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission deputy chair Mick Keogh said the AUD 2 billion ($1.54 million) markets needed proper regulation. While other agricultural markets like livestock and wool have a wealth of quality information,…
CANBERRA, Australia — A plan to bring forward Covid-19 jabs for Australians aged 50 and over, and proposals for state and territory mass vaccination sites are expected to be unveiled on April 22. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will meet with the premiers and chief ministers for the federal cabinet, which reached an in-principle agreement on changes to the vaccine rollout at the April 26 meeting. While General Physicians will continue to be the primary delivery point for vaccinations for people aged 50 and older, states and territories are considering options to supplement the rollout through expanded state vaccination centers. As the program…
MELBOURNE, Australia — Research into the long-term effects of coronavirus and potential links between the disease and unborn babies have received a funding boost from the government of the south-eastern Australian state of Victoria. Innovation and Medical Research Minister Jaala Pulford on April 22 announced AUD 2.3 million ($1.78 million) for the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute’s ‘Impact of Covid-19 on Organs’ project. The funds will help scientists investigate cellular mechanisms leading to “long Covid” issues such as fatigue, cognitive difficulties, and ongoing breathing problems. They will also analyze variants from Brazil, India, and the United Kingdom to understand the more infectious strains on the major…
German fighter pilot Baron von Richthofen — the “Red Baron” — was trying to save his cousin during a dogfight with Allied pilots when he crashed and died on April 21, 1918, just months before the First World War ended. The exact circumstances of his death are still debated, more than 100 years later. In about two years, the 25-year-old had notched 80 air combat victories, making him a feared and celebrated hero, even among his enemies. He led a fighter wing that came to be known as “The Flying Circus.” So, when he saw Canadian pilot Lieutenant Wilfrid “Wop”…
(Video from Adventure World/Real Press) A baby panda confidently masters the art of falling. Giant panda baby “Fuhin” Kaedehama from Adventure World, a theme park in Wakayama Prefecture, in Japan, has demonstrated she is ready for a new challenge in her pen. In the video posted by the theme park, the fluffy cub is seen running and jumping around. She seems confident on her feet, but there is one challenge she has not mastered yet — how to avoid falling. Panda cub playing with its mother at Adventure World, in Shirahama, Japan. (ADVENTURE WORLD/Real Press)No matter what she does, whether…
Female elephants in a German zoo give themselves a beauty treatment by rolling around in the mud, which is great for their skin. The sight was captured on video in the Tierpark Berlin zoo in the German capital. The elephants happily roll around in the mud and splash it on themselves with their trunks. Afterwards, they take a quick dip in their pool. Once clean, they complete their regime with a roll in the sand. “Our elephant ladies know how to have a good time,” Tierpark stated in its message with the video. “Here you can see the wellness program…
A “computer-human interaction” researcher has invented a webcam that looks just like a blinking human eye — with red veins and a glossy stare — to help people rethink the way they use technology. Marc Teyssier said he created the “eyecam because we are surrounded by sensing devices” and he wants people to think about the ”implications of the presence of these devices on our behavior.” Teyyssier is the lead researcher of Resilient Future Group at the De Vinci Innovation Center, a Paris think tank. “We are surrounded by Alexa, we are surrounded by surveillance cameras in the street, and…
The British variant of COVID-19 is more contagious than the original virus, a recent study from Tel Aviv University shows. In fact, it’s 45 percent more contagious. Researchers analyzed data from some 300,000 PCR tests for COVID-19 at a designated lab established right after the first outbreak of coronavirus in Israel. Their results were published in Cell Reports Medicine. They discovered the spread of the British variant, B.1.1.7, was rapid. On December 24, 2020, only 5 percent of positive results were attributed to the British variant, but within six weeks, in January 2021, the variant accounted for 90% of COVID…