Australian
Robert Whittaker’s Saturday victory brightens rematch with Nigeria’s Israel Adesanya
In the main event of Saturday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Vegas 24, Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker, the New Zealand-born Australian professional mixed martial artist, scored a convincing 50-45 win on all three judges’ scorecards against Kelvin Gastelum, American professional mixed martial artist in the Middleweight division at the Apex facility in Las Vegas. In the early exchanges, Gastelum was aggressive and took control of the center of the Octagon. It was not what Whittaker wanted, so he quickly countered Gastelum, sending a message with a strong head kick that landed squarely. From then on, Whittaker established some of his dominance in the clash. Not long after, he showed he actually held the wrestling advantage as he took down the former collegiate wrestler and held him dow...
Australia’s competition chief claims victory after Facebook standoff
The architect of Australian media reforms being watched around the world claimed victory on Wednesday, even as critics said concessions to the laws forcing Big Tech to pay for news content have given Facebook and Google a get-out clause. The Australian government made late changes to the laws after Facebook last week blocked news content in Australia, escalating a dispute over the proposed legislation and catching international attention. The amended legislation is expected to pass the Senate this week, despite opposition from some minor opposition parties and independent politicians who argue it disadvantages smaller news companies. Rod Sims, the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), told Reuters the bargaining power imbalance he was tasked with correcting...
Australia premier vaccinated as rollout begins
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has received the coronavirus vaccine as the country prepares to start inoculations this week. His jab was televised on Sunday in order to help boost confidence in the vaccine rollout across Australia. Vaccinations officially begin on Monday and at least 60,000 doses are expected to be administered next week. On Saturday, small crowds of anti-vaccination demonstrators gathered to protest against the launch. Mr Morrison was part of a small group of people vaccinated on Sunday along with some frontline health workers and care home residents. Australia’s chief nurse Professor Alison McMillan and Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly were also immunised. Speaking at ahead of his vaccination, Mr Morrison said: “Tomorrow our vaccination programme star...
U.S. threatens to take action against detainers of Myanmar’s president, others
The U.S. has threatened to take action against those responsible for the detention of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as President Win Myint in Myanmar. “The United States is alarmed by reports that the Burmese military has taken steps to undermine the country’s democratic transition, including the arrest of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian officials in Burma (Myanmar). “President (Joe) Biden has been briefed by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan,” White House Spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a statement. Earlier, Western media reported that Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were detained along with other members of Myanmar’s ruling party in an early morning military raid on Monday. “We continue to affirm our strong support for Burma’s democratic ins...
US Democrat Senate wins push stocks higher despite Capitol chaos
Clean sweep by Democrats allows them to enact big-spending policies likely to benefit the economy, investors say. Global stock markets rose and bonds nursed losses on Thursday in anticipation of a big-borrowing and big-spending Democratic administration driving growth, following runoff elections that gave the party control of both houses of the United States Congress. On Wednesday, US Treasury bonds had suffered their steepest selloff in months after Democratic Party victories in two races in the state of Georgia handed them narrow control of the Senate and the power to pass their agenda. US S&P 500 futures rose 0.6 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.9 percent as markets seemed to shake off a late fade that pulled Wall Street indexes back from fresh record peaks when chaotic protest...
Chinese embassy says Australia ‘misread’ offending social media post
China’s embassy in Australia said politicians there had “misread” a tweet showing a digitally-altered image of an Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife to the throat of an Afghan child, and were trying to stoke nationalism. Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday called the tweet posted by China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, “truly repugnant”, and called for an apology. On Tuesday the tweet was pinned to the top of Zhao’s social media account, and China’s Global Times newspaper, known for nationalistic views, interviewed the Chinese artist who created the image. “The rage and roar of some Australian politicians and media is nothing but misreading of and overreaction to Mr Zhao’s tweet,” the Chinese embassy in Canberra said in a statement on Tuesday. Australia...
New Zealand mass stranding leaves nearly 100 whales dead
About 100 pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins have died in a mass stranding on the remote Chatham Islands, about 800km (497 miles) off New Zealand’s east coast, officials said. Most of them were stranded during the weekend but rescue efforts have been hampered by the island’s remote location. New Zealand’s Department of Conservation on Wednesday said a total of 97 pilot whales and three dolphins died in the stranding, adding they were notified of the incident on Sunday. “Only 26 of the whales were still alive at this point, the majority of them appearing very weak, and were euthanised due to the rough sea conditions and almost certainty of there being great white sharks in the water which are brought in by a stranding like this,” said DOC Biodiversity Ranger Jemma Welch. Mass strandings a...
Vulnerable marsupial released into predator-free enclosure in Australia
More than a century since they were declared extinct in the Australian state of New South Wales, the bilby, a vulnerable marsupial with rabbit-like ears, has been reintroduced into a large, predator-free area in a remote desert park 1,200 kilometers northwest of Sydney. The release is part of a new breeding program at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in New South Wales state. The release of 10 bilbies is a bold attempt to turn back the clock to a time in Australia when native animals weren’t savaged by feral cats and foxes. Since European colonization, the bilby population has fallen by 80%. Rabbits, another invasive species, also compete with the marsupials for food and shelter. They face other threats from land clearing and bushfires. Bilbies survive in the wild only in parts of central and we...
China running hundreds of detention centres in Xinjiang – researchers
China is running hundreds of detention centres in northwest Xinjiang across a network that is much bigger than previously thought, according to research presented Thursday by an Australian think tank. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) said it had identified more than 380 “suspected detention facilities” in the region, where China is believed to have held more than one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking residents. The number of facilities is around 40 per cent greater than previous estimates, the research said, and has been growing despite China’s claims that many Uighurs have been released. Using satellite imagery, eyewitness accounts, media reports and official construction tender documents, the institute said “at least 61 detention sites have seen new ...
ICC recommends rule to ban use of saliva on balls
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has recommended rules to ban the use of saliva to shine cricket balls in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. A statement on ICC website on Tuesday said that the age-old trick of using saliva to shine a cricket ball could be a thing of the past when the sport resumed due to the recommendation by ICC executive committee. The committee, chaired by Anil Kumble, a former Indian spinner unanimously agreed to recommend a ban on saliva while, allowing players to use their own sweat to try and achieve the fabled ‘reverse swing’. Cricketers have for long used saliva and sweat to shine one side of the ball while allowing the other to become increasingly scuffed over the course of an innings. The technique alters the aerodynamics of the ball, allowing pace bow...
Australian anti-lockdown protesters receive backlash
Australia Medical community representatives on Monday, accused protesters who broke the law of social distancing restrictions, of jeopardising an early relaxing of restrictions. Hundreds of demonstrators hit the streets in the state of Victoria on Sunday, calling for an end to the lockdown. However, Head of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Tony Bartone, told ‘The Today Show’ that the protesters, in fact, risked prolonging social distancing laws by potentially spreading the disease, describing it as an “incredibly disappointing”, and “bizarre” incident. “By that grouping of those protests over the weekend, we just need one person to be positive and spread the virus, and then we’re on the backward step already,’’ Bartone said. “If we have to isolate again and (implement) those measures...
