BRISBANE, Australia — Australian women’s activewear chain Lorna Jane has been fined AU$5 million ($3.68 million) by the Federal Court of Australia for falsely claiming its clothing line could prevent the transmission of Covid-19. The court labeled it “predatory and exploitative.” During the deadly Covid-19 outbreak, the company claimed its active anti-virus wear had been sprayed with a substance called “LJ Shield,” which protected people against pathogens. Advertisements on the brand’s website, stores, and Instagram used the tag, “Cure for the Spread of Covid-19? Lorna Jane Thinks So”. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission launched court action against Lorna Jane for allegedly making false…
Author: zenger.news
PERTH, Australia — Western Australia’s nurses’ union is worried continued Covid-19 domestic border closures will impede efforts to find more badly needed hospital staff. The government of Western Australia, led by Mark McGowan, has launched a recruitment drive amid growing problems within the state’s crowded public hospitals but has been heavily criticized by the Australian Nursing Federation for not doing more. The Australian Nursing Federation is the largest professional organization for nurses, midwives, and carers in Western Australia that provides legal cover, industrial cover, insurance, and a range of other services. Mark Olson, state secretary, Australian Nursing Federation, on July 22 held what he described…
BRISBANE, Australia — A new Covid-19 case has reportedly been infectious in the community in northeastern Australian State, Queensland. A Qantaslink flight attendant has tested positive for the virus and was infectious while she traveled on flights between the capital of Queensland, Brisbane, and the central-western town, Longreach, on July 11. The woman reportedly did not leave the plan and tested positive on July 22. However, Queensland Health has not reported the case. “Queensland Health is not the source of the media reports and could not confirm any new cases outside the daily update,” said a spokesman. Longreach already has a…
SYDNEY — Four weeks after locking down, four Sydney local government areas in the southeastern Australian state, New South Wales, are bracing for daily Covid-19 case numbers to exceed the outbreak high of 124. “We anticipate case numbers will continue to go up before they start coming down, and we need to brace ourselves for that,” State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said. The lockdown of Greater Sydney was extended to July 30. But with the government aiming to get the number of people infected in the community as close to zero as possible, stay-at-home orders are not likely to lift that soon. Of the…
CANBERRA, Australia — It will be the weirdest Olympics since a demigod wearing a lion skin paced out a running track. At least Hercules had a crowd when legend has it; he literally drew a line in the sand to begin the first ancient Olympics in 776BC. Whether Hercules had a sense of history is not on the record. However, Cate Campbell, an Australian swimmer, does. “I definitely feel like every Olympian who gets to compete is going to be a part of history,” she said. “I do not think that we will see an Olympics like it. And to have…
IRVINGTON, N.J. — A child who fled war-torn Liberia is now a successful businesswoman in the United States. At age 21, Adenah Bayoh bought a three-family home and at 26, she bought her first International House of Pancakes franchise in New Jersey. NJBiz called her a “one-woman economic engine” when it named her among New Jersey’s Top 50 Women in Business for 2014. Her journey has been one of grit and enterprise. When she was 8 years old, she and her family were living in Liberia during the brutal civil war that ravaged the country for 14 years. She was able…
SYDNEY — Australia’s nearly 101-year-old “Flying Kangaroo,” the Qantas airline, has warned its workers of potential stand-downs as extended statewide lockdown and travel restrictions take a toll on domestic air travel. Alan Joyce, chief executive officer, Qantas, in an email to staff, lamented “frustratingly familiar challenges” for his team as more than 14 million people in the southeastern states, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia were subject to stay-at-home orders. “We are not at the point of requiring stand-downs in our domestic operations at this stage,” he said. “But to be honest, we cannot rule it out if multiple states…
Swimmer Yaakov Tomarkin and triple jumper Hannah Knyazeva-Minenko will carry the Israeli flag and lead Israel’s 89-strong delegation into the Olympic Stadium at the opening ceremonies in Tokyo on July 23. It is shaping up to be an Olympics unlike any other. COVID-19 has already infected or isolated about 65 athletes and other personnel from various countries. There are still doubts about whether the competition should go ahead. Fans are also barred from watching the competitions live, so the bleachers will be eerily silent. Assuming the schedule proceeds according to plan, Israel’s initial event will take place on opening day…
CANBERRA, Australia — Australian producer and actor John’ Strop’ Cornell, also regarded as a “classic Australian character,” has died after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. Cornell was surrounded by his family, including his wife and television personality Delvene Delaney and children, when he died aged 80 at his home in the southeastern Australian city, Byron Bay, in New South Wales. In a statement, his family paid tribute to the “true egalitarian.” “A classic Australian character, John Cornell made the lives he touched much richer, not only through donations, but also through his generosity of spirit, humor, humility, and honor,” they…
A team of Germans has unveiled the first effort to convert a 58-year-old French aircraft carrier into a luxury yacht, complete with golf course. The Foch was the second Clemenceau-class aircraft carrier to serve with the French Navy from 1963 to 2000, after which it was sold to Brazil and renamed São Paulo. The historically important vessel, which carried 40 modern aircraft, was decommissioned in 2018. Since then, it has been used for scraping recyclable materials. A Turkish company bought it in March 2021 for $1.86 million in order to dismantle the ship. Several medium-sized German companies from Düsseldorf have…