Wellington: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday that Australia will join the U.S. in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Games over human rights concerns.
Morrison said it should come as no surprise that Australian officials would boycott the event after the nation's relationship with China had broken down in recent years.
I'm doing it because it's in Australia's national interest, Morrison said. It's the right thing to do.
He said Australian athletes would still be able to compete.
As well as citing human rights abuses, Morrison said China had been very critical of Australia's efforts to have a strong defense force in the region particularly in relation, most recently, to our decision to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.
He said his government was very happy to talk to China about their differences.
There's been no obstacle to that occurrin.....
New Delhi: Six different COVID-19 boosters are safe and elicit strong immune response in people who have previously received a two-dose course of AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines, according to a study published in The Lancet journal.
Two doses of AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines have shown 79 per cent and 90 per cent protection, respectively, against hospitalisation and death after six months in several studies, the researchers said.
However, protection against COVID-19 infection wanes over time, which has driven consideration of boosters to protect the most vulnerable and lessen pressure on health services.
The latest study looked at safety, immune response and side-effects of seven vaccines when used as a third booster jab.
The vaccines studied were AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Novavax, Janssen, Moderna, Valneva, and Curevac.
"The side effect data show all seven vaccines a.....
Manila: World Health Organisation officials in the Western Pacific say border closures adopted by some countries may buy time to deal with the omicron coronavirus variant, but measures put in place and experience gained in dealing with the delta variant should remain the foundation for fighting the pandemic.
While a few regional countries are facing surges, COVID-19 cases and deaths in many others have decreased and plateaued, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific Dr. Takeshi Kasai told reporters Friday in a virtual news conference broadcast from Manila, Philippines.
Border control can delay the virus coming in and buy time. But every country and every community must prepare for new surges in cases," Kasai said. The positive news in all of this is that none of the information we have currently about omicron suggests we need to change the directions of our response."
Much.....
The Australian Parliament will put big tech under the microscope as it examines toxic material on social media platforms and the dangers this poses to the well-being of Australians.
The inquiry, which will be chaired by Robertson MP Lucy Wicks, was announced today by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP.
Prime Minister Morrison said the inquiry builds on the world-leading legislation the Government announced earlier this week to unmask anonymous online trolls.
“Mums and dads are rightly concerned about whether big tech is doing enough to keep their kids safe online,” The Prime Minister said. “Big tech created these platforms, they have a responsibility to ensure their users are safe.
“Big tech has big questions to answer. But we also want to hear from Australians; parents, te.....
New Delhi: India’s GDP growth slowed to 8.4% in the second quarter of 2021-22, mainly due to the waning low base effect but the economy has surpassed the pre-pandemic level, official data showed on Tuesday.
The GDP growth in the April-June quarter of this fiscal stood at 20.1%. The Indian economy had contracted by 24.4% in April-June last year.
The gross domestic product (GDP) had contracted by 7.4% in the corresponding July-September quarter of 2020-21, according to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
The government had imposed a nationwide lockdown at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
This year, a massive second wave of the pandemic hit the country in the middle of April, which forced states to impose fresh restrictions.
However, the economy has now surpassed the pre-COVID-19 level.
In value terms, the GDP stood at Rs 35,73,451 crore .....
The Australian Parliament will put big tech under the microscope as it examines toxic material on social media platforms and the dangers this poses to the well-being of Australians.
The inquiry, which will be chaired by Robertson MP Lucy Wicks, was announced today by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP.
Prime Minister Morrison said the inquiry builds on the world-leading legislation the Government announced earlier this week to unmask anonymous online trolls.
“Mums and dads are rightly concerned about whether big tech is doing enough to keep their kids safe online,” The Prime Minister said. “Big tech created these platforms, they have a responsibility to ensure their users are safe.
“Big tech has big questions to answer. But we also want to hear from Australians; parents, te.....
In a world-leading move, the Morrison Government will introduce new court powers to force global social media giants to unmask anonymous online trolls and better protect Australians online.
The reforms will be some of the strongest powers in the world when it comes to tackling damaging comments from anonymous online trolls and holding global social media giants to account.
The reforms will ensure social media companies are considered publishers and can be held liable for defamatory comments posted on their platforms. They can avoid this liability if they provide information that ensures a victim can identify and commence defamation proceedings against the troll.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the rules that exist in the real world should exist online too.
“Social media can too often be a cowards’ palace, where the anonymous can bully, harass and ruin lives without con.....
పూర్తి క్రియాశీలంగా ఉంటూ, మరెంతో కాంతివంతంగా ప్రకాశించే ఒక పాలపుంతను (గెలాక్సీని) భారతీయ ఖగోళ శాస్త్రవేత్తలు కనుగొన్నారు. ఎన్నో గ్రహాలు, నక్షత్రాలు, నీహారికలు, విశ్వధూళి వంటి అన్నిరకాల ఖగోళ పదార్థాలు కలిగిన ఈ గెలాక్సీ,. సాధారణ స్థాయికంటే పదిరెట్ల మేర ఎక్స్ కిరణాలను వెదజల్లుతోంది. పదివేల లక్షల (10 ట్రిలియన్ల) రెట్ల సూర్యగోళాలకంటే ఎక్.....
రెండు దేశాల మధ్య ఆర్థిక సంబంధాన్ని తదుపరి ఉన్నత స్థాయికి తీసుకెళ్లాలన్న తమ నిబద్ధత ను భారత్ - అమెరికా ఈ రోజు పునరుద్ఘాటించాయి. వాణిజ్య , పరిశ్రమల శాఖ మంత్రి శ్రీ పీయూష్ గోయల్ , యు ఎస్ టిఆర్ రాయబారి కేథరీన్ తాయ్ మధ్య సమావేశంలో ఈ వైఖరిని స్పష్టం చేశారు.
రంగాల వారీగా ఆర్థిక వ్యవస్థలను ఏకీకృతం చేసి రెండు వ్యూహాత్మక భాగస్వామ్య, ప్రజాస్వా.....
Four new research and industry hubs will lead Australia’s breakthroughs in critical national manufacturing priorities.
The Morrison Government’s new $242.7 million Trailblazer Universities initiative will see the best minds in our universities and industry work together to develop the technologies, products and businesses Australia needs for the challenges we face.
Each centre or hub will focus their efforts on the national priority areas set out in the Modern Manufacturing Strategy, including defence, space, resources technology, food and beverage, clean energy and medical products.
“We’re putting our best minds to the task,” the Prime Minister said.
“We’re focusing our researchers and business leaders on Australia’s national priorities to help secure our economic recovery.
“The Trailblazer Universities will be a platform for our best researchers to find.....
Australia continues to take further steps to safely reopen to the world, with additional changes to our international border arrangements coming into effect on 1 December.
Consistent with the National Plan to safely reopen Australia, these changes will ensure we continue to protect the health of Australians, while reuniting families and securing our economic recovery by opening our border to skilled and student visa holders.
From 1 December 2021, fully vaccinated eligible visa holders can come to Australia without needing to apply for a travel exemption. Eligible visa holders include skilled and student cohorts, as well as humanitarian, working holiday maker and provisional family visa holders.
Under these arrangements, travellers must:
Be fully vaccinated with a completed dosage of a vaccine approved or recognised by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
.....
నాటకాలు సమాజంలోని పరిస్థితులను, వాస్తవ స్థితిగతులను ప్రతిబింబిస్తాయని, అలాంటి నాటకాలను కాపాడుకోవాల్సిన అవసరం ఉందని భారత ఉపరాష్ట్రపతి శ్రీ ముప్పవరపు వెంకయ్యనాయుడు పేర్కొన్నారు. సినిమారంగంతో సమానంగా నాటకరంగానికి ప్రాధాన్యత కల్పించాల్సిన అవసరం ఉందని ఆయన సూచించారు.
శుక్రవారం హైదరాబాద్ లోని స్టేట్ ఆర్ట్ గ్యాలరీ సమావేశ మందిరంలో .....