Suez (Egypt): Salvage teams on Monday finally freed the colossal container ship stuck for nearly a week in the Suez Canal, ending a crisis that had clogged one of the world's most vital waterways and halted billions of dollars a day in maritime commerce.
A flotilla of tugboats, helped by the tides, wrenched the bulbous bow of the skyscraper-sized Ever Given from the canal's sandy bank, where it had been firmly lodged since March 23.
The tugs blared their horns in jubilation as they guided the Ever Given through the water after days of futility that had captivated the world, drawing scrutiny and social media ridicule.
We pulled it off! said Peter Berdowski, CEO of Boskalis, the salvage firm hired to extract the Ever Given. I am excited to announce that our team of experts, working in close collaboration with the Suez Canal Authority, successfully refloated the Ever Given thereby .....
Perth: The latest vision for the WACA Ground Improvement Project has been unveiled today, which will transform the iconic East Perth venue into a community, sporting and tourist hub.
The designs released today mark a major milestone for the WACA Ground Improvement Project, following the $30 million funding commitments from both the Australian and Western Australian governments, $11 million from WACA plus a $4 million contribution from Cricket Australia.
The final design illustrates how the original home of cricket in WA will become a sustainable boutique community and sporting venue, capable of hosting 10,000 people to bring vibrancy to the East Perth precinct while honouring the rich history of the Ground.
In a major boost to the East Perth area, the facility will support community use year-round, adding much-needed amenity for the growing CBD population.
The development wil.....
Beijing: The foreign ministers of China and Russia displayed unity at their meeting Tuesday amid criticism and Western sanctions against them over human rights.
Wang Yi and Sergei Lavrov rejected outside sniping at their authoritarian political systems and said they were working to further global progress on issues from climate change to the coronavirus pandemic.
At their initial meeting in the southern Chinese city of Nanning on Monday, Wang and Lavrov accused the US of interference in other countries' affairs and urged it to rejoin the Iran nuclear agreement, something that President Joe Biden's new administration has approached cautiously. Russia and China both maintain close relations with Tehran.
The two officials continued that rhetoric at a news conference on Tuesday, where Wang sharply criticized coordinated sanctions brought by the European Union, Britain, Canada and th.....
London: A large trial in the US and two South American countries of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has shown 79 per cent efficacy rate at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and 100 per cent effectiveness in stopping severe disease and hospitalisation, the biotech firm said on Monday.
A Phase III study of the vaccine, developed by Oxford University and produced by AstraZeneca was conducted by AstraZeneca plc in the US, Chile and Peru and reaffirmed that the vaccine is safe and highly effective , adding to previous trial data from the UK, Brazil and South Africa.
The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is also being produced as part of a tie-up by the Serum Institute of India.
The vaccine's efficacy was consistent across ethnicity and age, and in participants aged 65 years and over, its effectiveness was 80 per cent.
These results are great news as they show the remarkable efficacy of the .....
Adelaide: Forty South Australian government schools will have the chance to share in $200,000 in funding to reduce bullying in schools.
The new funding initiative will provide grants to improve and promote protective physical environments in schools that reduce bullying.
The grants are being announced to mark the 11th year of the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA), with a record 500 South Australian public, catholic and independent schools registered to take part this year.
Schools will be provided with a range of ideas to help transform school grounds to protective physical environments including:
Grouped seating to increase social interaction
Signage with positive messaging
Fluorescent vests for teachers on yard duty
Mirrors and sensor lighting to improve visibility and reduce blind spots; and
Landscaping to revamp the school yard and increase na.....
Canbarrra: The future of Victoria’s Portland aluminium smelter has been secured after an electricity deal was struck with the nation’s biggest energy retailers backed by support from the Morrison Government support announced in December.
Today’s announcement that Alcoa will keep the smelter operating until 2026 will protect around 500 jobs and many others in the region that rely on the plant’s continued operation. The smelter accounts for 14 percent of jobs in the Portland area.
The Morrison Government will provide up to $76.8 million over four years to secure Portland’s participation in the Reliability and Emergency Reserve Trader (RERT) scheme and help Victoria keep the lights on at times of peak demand.
Under the agreement with the Morrison Government, the Alcoa-operated facility will see Portland reduce its energy demand at peak times, making more electricity avail.....
Washington: The US House of Representatives has passed two key bills that would create a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, some migrant farmworkers and children whose parents immigrated legally to the country, like those under the H-1B visa programme.
The passage of the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021, by the House on Thursday by 228-197 votes, was welcomed by the President Joe Biden, who described it as a critical first step in reforming the country's immigration system.
It will provide much-needed relief to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and Dreamers, young people who came here as children and know no other country, Biden said.
"I support this bill, and commend the House of Representatives for passing this important legislation," Biden said in a statement.
Dreamers are basically undocumented immigrants who enter the US as chil.....
South Australia’s strong economic rebound from COVID-19 continues to gather momentum, with latest ABS data showing the state has retained its nation-leading status for total jobs growth since the depths of the pandemic.
And SA outperforms every other state and territory, except Western Australia, for the total value of employee wages paid since the COVID low point (April 18, 2020) – rising 9.8 per cent, compared to 7.8 per cent nationally.
Total employee jobs in SA increased by a nation-leading 11.3 per cent in the ten months since April 18 - above the national average of 9 per cent, according to the ABS Labour Force: Single Touch Payroll data released this week.
Treasurer Rob Lucas welcomed the figures as another positive sign of a rebounding local economy – with business conditions and confidence also high in recent independent surveys.
“While monthly Labour Force .....
Brisbane: The Palaszczuk Government has extended financial support for Cairns tourism businesses.
Reef fleet operators at the Cairns Marlin Marina have received fee relief since February 2020, with the latest extension pushing that support out to mid-2022.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said continuing rebates until mid-2022 would amount to more than $10 million in financial assistance provided to reef fleet operators and port tenants since the pandemic began.
“Sectors of our economy are faring extremely well thanks to our strong health response but without international visitors, Queensland’s tourist industry will continue to need support,” the Premier said.
“More than 800,000 overseas visitors contributed more than $1 billion to the Far North economy before international borders shut due to COVID-19.
“With the Prime Minister set to cut off JobKeeper on March 28,.....
Beijing: China's exports surged 60.6 per cent over a year earlier in the first two months of 2021, after factories reopened and global demand started to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Exports rose to USD 468.9 billion, customs data showed Sunday, accelerating from December's 18.1 per cent gain and nearly double the growth expected by forecasters. Imports jumped 22.2 per cent to USD 365.6 billion, up from December's 6.5 per cent increase.
Chinese authorities combine trade data for the first two months to compensate for fluctuations due to the Lunar New Year holiday, which falls at different times each year in January or February. Factories shut down for up to two weeks, then restock after they reopen.
Exporters benefited from the relatively early reopening of China's economy after the ruling Communist Party declared victory over the disease last March while foreign compet.....
Washington: No news conference. No Oval Office address. No prime time speech to a joint session of Congress.
President Joe Biden is the first executive in four decades to reach this point in his term without holding a formal question and answer session.
It reflects a White House media strategy meant both to reserve major media set-pieces for the celebration of a legislative victory and to limit unforced errors from a historically gaffe-prone politician.
Biden has opted to take questions about as often as most of his recent predecessors, but he tends to field just one or two informal inquiries at a time, usually in a hurried setting at the end of an event.
In a sharp contrast with the previous administration, the White House is exerting extreme message discipline, empowering staff to speak but doing so with caution.
Recalling both Biden's largely leak-free campaign and the.....
New Delhi: India's services activity expanded at the fastest rate in a year during February, while employment fell further and companies noted the sharpest rise in overall expenses, a monthly survey said on Wednesday.
The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index rose from 52.8 in January to 55.3 in February, pointing to the sharpest rate of expansion in output in a year amid improved demand and more favourable market conditions.
The index was above the critical 50 mark that separates growth from contraction for the fifth month in a row during February as the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines led to an improvement in business confidence towards growth prospects.
While, new work intakes expanded for the fifth straight month, panellists continued to indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions curbed international demand for their services.
"New expo.....