Tag: International

Over 300 COVID-19 Papers Withdrawn for Not Meeting Standards of Scientific Soundness

Research journals have withdrawn well over 300 articles on COVID-19 due to compromised ethical standards and concerns about the publications’ scientific validity. Retraction Watch has provided a running list of withdrawn papers on COVID-19 ranging from “Acute kidney injury associated with COVID-19” to “Can Your AI Differentiate Cats from COVID-19?” A total of 330 research…


Wagner Boss Excoriates Moscow, Says Ukraine Invasion Fell Short of Objectives

The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has sharply rebuked leaders in Moscow on May 23 saying Russia’s 15-month-long invasion of Ukraine had failed to achieve its primary aims. A private military company with close ties to the Kremlin, the Wagner Group has led much of the fighting in Ukraine, especially in the eastern…


UN Rapporteur Speaks Out Against Censorship of Women’s Rights Advocates

The UN special rapporteur for Violence Against Women and Children, Reem Alsalem, has continued calls for law enforcement to protect gatherings of women rallying against transgenders entering female-only spaces. “I am concerned by the shrinking space in several countries in the Global North for women and feminist organisations and their allies to gather and/or express themselves…


Cleaning Up after Dogs and Root Canals: What Australians Would Rather Deal With Than Their Taxes

A new survey of over 1,000 Australians has highlighted the stress and barriers they face during tax time, with almost one in three finding the end of the financial year and tax submission time to be stressful, and a fifth preferring to pick up their pooches poop than complete their tax return. When asked to…


Root Canals and Cleaning Dog-Doo: What Australians Would Rather Do Than Their Taxes

A new survey of over 1,000 Australians has highlighted the stress and barriers they face during tax time, with almost one in three finding the end of the financial year and tax submission time to be stressful, and a fifth preferring to pick up their pooches poop than complete their tax return. When asked to…


5,000 Australians Expected in ‘Nutbush’ World Record Attempt to Honour Tina Turner

In potentially Australia’s biggest tribute to Tina Turner, who passed away on May 24, Australians are preparing to set a new world record for the most people dancing the Nutbush, a line dance based on the semi-autobiographical song of the American-born singer. Music festival organisers are hoping to reach 5,000 dancers on July 6 this…


Feds Advise Canadians Travelling to Jamaica and Colombia to Exercise ‘High Degree of Caution’

The federal government is advising Canadians travelling to Jamaica and Colombia to exercise a “high degree of caution” while there and to avoid certain areas in both countries due to rising rates of crime and kidnappings in those vicinities. The government’s warnings come shortly after the U.S. State Department called on U.S. citizens to “reconsider travel” to Jamaica and…


F-16 Fighters for Ukraine Unlikely to Turn Tide of Battle, Say Experts

Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine 15 months ago, the West, with the United States at the lead, has provided Kyiv with increasingly sophisticated—and costly—weapons. First, it was HIMARS rocket launchers, then advanced battle tanks and, most recently, American-made Patriot air-defense systems. Each time, the new weapons were touted as “game-changers,” sure to turn…


‘Different Rights’ Based on Race: Former Australian PM Warns Against Indigenous Voice

Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has spoken out against embedding the Indigenous Voice to Parliament into the country’s Constitution. Federal MPs are debating the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) Bill 2023, which will lock in a referendum for Australians to decide whether to include The Voice in the country’s founding legal document….


Facebook Owner Meta Slashes Business Operations Staff in Final Round of Mass Layoffs

Meta Platforms Inc., owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, slashed jobs across its business and operations units on Wednesday as part of a plan announced last fall to eliminate 10,000 jobs in the course of a broader restructuring program. Dozens of Meta employees from enterprise engineering, marketing, corporate communications, site security, program management, and content…