Australia received 300,000 doses of the AstraZeneca PLC vaccine on Sunday, more than doubling the amount of all vaccines shipped to the country so far and allowing the government to ramp up its COVID-19 immunisation drive. Mass vaccinations for Australia’s 25 million people began on Monday after the arrival of a first batch of more… Read More Australia receives 300,000 doses of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine
Facebook Inc ended a one-week blackout of Australian news on its popular social media site on Friday and announced preliminary commercial agreements with three small local publishers. The moves reflected easing tensions between the U.S. company and the Australian government, a day after the country’s parliament passed a law forcing it and Alphabet Inc’s Google… Read More Facebook signs content deals, restores news services in Australia
The World Health Organization’s global vaccine-sharing scheme COVAX delivered its first COVID-19 shots on Wednesday, as the race to get doses to the world’s poorest people and tame the pandemic accelerates. Almost a year after the WHO first described the novel coronavirus as a global pandemic, a flight carrying 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine… Read More Ghana receives first delivery of coronavirus vaccines through COVAX programme
Facebook said on Tuesday it will restore Australian news pages after negotiating changes with the government to a proposed law that forces tech giants to pay for media content displayed on their platforms. Australia and the social media group have been locked in a standoff for more than a week after the government introduced legislation… Read More Facebook to restore news services in Australia following amendment of content laws
The United States officially rejoined the Paris climate agreement on Friday, reinvigorating the global fight against climate change as the Biden administration plans drastic emissions cuts over the next three decades. Scientists and foreign diplomats have welcomed the U.S. return to the treaty, which became official here 30 days after President Joe Biden ordered the… Read More U.S. officially rejoins the Paris climate agreement
Facebook Inc will restrict publishers and users in Australia from sharing or viewing news content in response to a proposed law that would require it and Alphabet Inc’s to pay publishers for content, the company said in a blog post on Wednesday. The law “fundamentally misunderstands” the relationship between tech platforms and publishers, Facebook said,… Read More Facebook restricts publishers and users in Australia from sharing news content
Bitcoin charged to a record high on Wednesday, a day after the cryptocurrency vaulted the $50,000 hurdle, even as analysts warned about the sustainability of such prices amid elevated volatility. The world’s biggest digital currency, which has a market capitalisation of over $900 billion, hit a record $51,721 price, fuelled by signs that it is… Read More Bitcoin hits all-time record exchange rate above $50,000
Three months after the Trump administration rejected her, former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala received unanimous backing on Monday to become the first woman and first African director-general of the World Trade Organization. A self-declared “doer” with a track record of taking on seemingly intractable problems, Okonjo-Iweala will have her work cut out for her… Read More Nigerian finance maven Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala makes history as first woman and African to become WTO director-general
