CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s federal government will direct almost AUD 540 million ($417.18 million) to clean energy technologies after Prime Minister Scott Morrison this week emphasized the nation’s power mix had to change. Morrison is expected on April 21 to announce the investment for hydrogen hubs and carbon capture and storage developments and play up the job opportunities to come. “We want to make clean energy more affordable and reliable while looking for ways our investments can get more people into work,” he said. “We cannot pretend the world is not changing. If we do, we run the risk of stranding jobs in…
Author: zenger.news
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The New Zealand government has pledged radical changes to its health system, centralizing control to improve care. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s government is axing its 20 district health boards (DHBs), created in the Helen Clark era, and replacing them with two bodies, Health New Zealand and the Maori Health Authority. Health Minister Andrew Little said the system had become too complex and fragmented, leading to different quality of care in other regions, known by Kiwis as the postcode lottery. “It is far too complicated for a small nation,” Little said. “Covid-19 has seen the system forge a spirit of collaboration,…
AUCKLAND, New Zealand — New Zealand’s Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins has downplayed the chances of the country’s latest community case impacting the trans-Tasman bubble, even if new cases are announced. Kiwi health authorities, on April 20, reported a fully vaccinated cleaner, with responsibilities to clean planes from high-risk countries at Auckland Airport, had caught the virus. A major contact tracing exercise has followed, with the person quarantined, their close contacts tested, and isolated. As per officials, the cleaner came in close contact with 16 people. The community informed of three locations of interest from the person’s recent movements. So far, no…
BRISBANE, Australia — The Australian state of Queensland’s gender pay gap is bigger than the national imbalance, with the premier admitting more work needs to be done. The 2020 Gender Equality Report Cards shows women earned AUD 1485.10 ($1417.46) on average per week in the state, compared to men earning AUD 1753.70 ($1355.09) That puts Queensland’s gender pay gap at 15.3 percent, compared to 14 percent nationally, said the report released on April 21. Women in the state are more than twice as likely to work part-time and receive almost 33 percent less in superannuation. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says women comprise 54…
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand has farewelled Prince Philip in a reverential memorial service at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul. Around 500 people attended a service-rich in pomp, song, and prayer on April 21 in a cathedral adorned with British and Kiwi insignia. Prince Philip, who visited New Zealand 10 times as the Queen’s husband and consort, died at Windsor Castle on April 9 at 99. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern did not eulogize the Duke, who she never met in the job, instead of delivering a reading titled “Memories”. The Wellington Cathedral of St Paul posted a picture…
HOBART, Australia — On April 22, aircraft NZ179 will put the international flights back into Hobart International Airport. Air New Zealand’s service from Auckland to Hobart is Tasmania’s first regular international flight in 23 years and cause for great celebration from industry heavyweights. “It’s a historic milestone for Tasmania,” said Luke Martin, chief executive of the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania. “We’ve been wanting to see this happen and trying to make it happen since the last flights ended.” Hobart’s first international flights took off in December 1980, serviced by two now-defunct airlines. “Trans Australia Airlines operated it on a Saturday. And Ansett operated…
BRISBANE, Australia — A man is reportedly being treated for blood clots in a Brisbane hospital three days after receiving the Pfizer vaccine for Covid-19. The 40-year-old was rushed to hospital after developing the clots on April 21, as it was reported. The man received the Pfizer shot on April 18. Although, Queensland Health has not confirmed the report. But if confirmed, it will be the first reported case of a patient developing blood clots after getting the Pfizer vaccine in Australia. So far, three people have developed blood clots in Australia after being given the AstraZeneca vaccine. AstraZeneca is a British-Swedish…
CHENNAI, India — India’s second-largest stockbroking firm Upstox initiated password resets for millions of traders on its platform earlier this month after learning a huge data breach might have hit it. Chief executive Ravi Kumar announced on April 11 some user data and Know-Your-Customer details — that all financial services firms in India accept to verify user identity — might have been compromised from third-party data-warehouse systems. “We have upgraded our security systems manifold recently, on the recommendations of a global cyber-security firm,” Kumar, co-founder of the firm backed by the likes of investment firm Tiger Global Management and Indian industrialist Ratan Tata,…
Spanish experts have reconstructed the face of a Mesolithic woman who lived in the Galicia region some 9,300 years ago, revealing she likely had dark skin, brown eyes and dark hair — her appearance similar to her UK contemporary, Cheddar Man. The remains of Elba, meaning “the woman who comes from the mountains,” were found in the Chando Lindeiro cave in the northwestern region of Galicia, Spain, in 1996. Aurora Grandal Danglade, professor of paleontology at the Institute of Geology at A Coruna University, said that the original discovery was difficult as the team of speleologists and archeologists had to…
It’s well known that whales communicate with one another, but what if humans could understand what they say, and communicate their own thoughts back to them? That’s what marine scientists from the University of Haifa in Israel and top universities across the world hope to do with a new five-year research study to decipher how sperm whales communicate and whether their speech patterns can be replicated so that humans can communicate with them. The new interdisciplinary Cetacean Translation Initiative (CETI) kicks off this week at a press conference in Dominica in the Caribbean, where the project will take place. University…