Google on Friday threatened to make its search engine unavailable in Australia if the government went ahead with plans to make tech giants pay for news content. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison quickly hit back, saying “we don’t respond to threats.” “Australia makes our rules for things you can do in Australia,” Morrison told reporters in Brisbane. “That’s...
Category: <span>Latest</span>
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Which jobs are tipped to prosper in 2021?
Workers looking for job security in 2021 should consider Australia’s “largest and fastest growing” industry, broadly known as the care economy. As well as frontline healthcare, fields such as social work, counselling and child and aged care are tipped to be in demand this year, LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise report says. The special edition...
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Gaming firms fined nearly £7m for restricting European sales
Valve, owner of online PC gaming platform Steam, and five other publishers have been fined a total of €7.8m (£6.9m) for restricting cross-border sales of PC video games. So-called geo-blocking means games are locked, so that a cheaper licence intended for less well-off European countries cannot be used elsewhere. That stopped gamers “shopping around” for...
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Why Norway’s reports of deaths in Pfizer vaccine recipients will help the TGA assess the drug
Reports out of Norway that up to 30 “frail patients” have died after receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will ultimately help Australian health authorities determine the best way to safely administer the drug, experts say. Norwegian health authorities sparked concerns when they announced “common adverse reactions” to the vaccine “may have contributed to a fatal...
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Singer Diana Holt runs away to join the circus after COVID-19 ruins international work
Toowoomba singer Diana Holt was one of countless Australians working in the entertainment industry when the coronavirus pandemic threw it into turmoil as restrictions shut down shows and income dried up. The Chinchilla-born performer found herself adrift after losing a gig onboard a cruise ship in the United Kingdom. In the midst of one of...
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COVID-19 vaccine in Australia and international travel on national cabinet agenda
Australians seeking to return from overseas now face mandatory tests and masks on flights, as the nation seeks to keep new strains of COVID-19 at bay. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and state and territory leaders will be briefed by experts at a virtual national cabinet meeting on the new travel protocols which come into play...
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China says it is a ‘victim’ after Twitter locks embassy account
China says that it is a “victim” of misinformation after Twitter restricted the account of the Chinese embassy in the United States. The retort comes after Twitter (TWTR) temporarily locked the account of the Chinese embassy over a tweet it posted defending Beijing’s treatment of Uyghurs. The post, which was made earlier this month, claimed...
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Rising tennis star Paula Badosa tests positive for COVID before Australian Open
Rising Spanish star Paula Badosa has become the first Australian Open player to announce she has tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the season’s first grand slam. The 23-year-old has been isolating in Melbourne in mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine after two co-passengers on a tournament-chartered flight from Abu Dhabi subsequently tested positive. She was on...
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US President Joe Biden signs coronavirus measures
Deep in the deadliest coronavirus wave and facing worrisome new mutations, President Joe Biden will kick off his national COVID-19 strategy to ramp up vaccinations and testing, reopen schools and businesses and increase the use of masks — including a requirement that Americans mask up for travel. Biden also will address inequities in hard-hit minority...
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Twin Bombings in Baghdad kill at least 32
At least 32 people have been killed after two men blew themselves up in an attack that targeted a street market in central Baghdad, Iraq’s health ministry says. The updated death toll makes it the most serious attack to hit the Iraqi capital in about three years. About 110 people were injured, including 36 who...