Shepherds bush

ADELAIDE, Australia: At Paradise Primary School, boxes and boxes of koalas are lined up on the floor of a gymnasium. Volunteers and veterinarians tend to the animals, all victims of damaging bushfires that swept through South Australia in late December. This makeshift emergency triage centre for wounded koalas has been a site of both tears and triumph over the past few weeks. Death has never been far away as the team at Adelaide Koala Rescue (AKR) has responded to hundreds of calls to help animals burnt, displaced and starving as a result of the fires. But for dozens of the koalas left here now, home is calling. There have been staggering losses to Australia’s wildlife this summer, as bushfires ripped through more than 10 million hectares of land. Experts predict that some 1.25 billion animals, including mammals, birds and reptiles, have been killed nationwide. The number reaches into the trillions when insects and other invertebrates, all essential to delicate … [Read more...] about Koala bushfire victims start to return home amid wider fears for Australia’s wildlife

SINGAPORE: Increasingly, Big Tech is throwing more money at improving its relations with politicians and government officials in the US. These include the five American tech giants – Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft – who are spending big money on advocacy and hiring people in front-facing public policy, government relations and public relations roles. PERSONNEL TOUCH Facebook, for example, has brought in Joel Kaplan, former deputy chief of staff to George W Bush, who is now its vice-president of global public policy. Facebook’s former general counsel, Ted Ullyot, was also a key aide to Bush. Apple has hired Lisa Jackson, Barack Obama’s former Environmental Protection Agency administrator, to be its vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives. Apple also has former US vice president Al Gore on its board of directors. Obama’s former press secretary James Carney is senior vice-president of global corporate affairs at Amazon. Microsoft had … [Read more...] about Commentary: Big Tech is showing some love to the US government – which comes as no surprise

NEW YORK: A panel of judges on Thursday (Sep 10) declared unlawful a directive from President Donald Trump to exclude people who are in the United States illegally from representation when apportioning congressional seats. The decision by a three-judge panel, which could be appealed to the US Supreme Court, is a victory for the 38 states, cities and counties, plus several immigrants rights nonprofits, that sued over the Jul 21 directive. The mostly Democratic-leaning plaintiffs, led by New York state, accused the Republican president of having a "xenophobic" purpose in pushing an unconstitutional directive that reflected "discriminatory animus" toward Hispanics and other immigrant communities. They said the directive could leave several million people uncounted and shift a few House of Representatives seats, with California, Texas and New Jersey most likely to suffer losses. In its 86-page decision, the panel said Trump exceeded his statutory authority in ordering the … [Read more...] about US judges reject Trump plan to exclude many immigrants from representation

NIGERA (AFP) - Humaira Mustapha made no effort to wipe away the tears rolling down her cheeks, as she spoke about her two kidnapped daughters. "Whenever I think about my daughters I'm filled with indescribable grief," Ms Mustapha told AFP. Seated against the plastered mud wall of her bare sitting room, her tears left damp spots on her navy blue hijab (Islamic veil). Hafsa and Aisha, 14 and 13 respectively, were among the 317 schoolgirls abducted by gunmen from their hostels in an all-girls boarding school in the Zamfara state's remote village of Jangebe. "Whenever I serve food to their younger sister, tears keep flowing from my eyes because I keep thinking about the hunger and thirst they are going through," said the 30-year-old mother of three. But she only serves her daughter. "I can't eat since the abduction," she said. "I'm appealing to the governor to do everything to rescue our daughters who are facing real danger to their lives," Ms Mustapha added. "As … [Read more...] about Tears, anxiety as kidnapped schoolgirls remain captive

SYDNEY: In 2017, the last car Australia built rolled out of a General Motors' plant in the city of Adelaide, ending seven decades of local automotive history and the belief that the country's factories could ever compete globally. Three years later, policymakers are once again looking to manufacturing to generate some growth as they scramble to drive the economy through the coronavirus and out of its deepest slump on record. While Australians are unlikely to buy millions of locally made cars, refrigerators and toasters as they did in the 20th century, a government push that puts manufacturing at the centre of its longer-term recovery plan has strong industry support and has kindled ventures that would have seemed far-fetched half a year earlier. Behind the pivot is a realisation that Australia has been too reliant on Asia for the supply of essential goods. A recent worsening in relations with China, Australia's biggest trading partner, has only strengthened that view. "If you … [Read more...] about Australia turns to idled factories to pull it out of COVID-19 slump

It’s hard to pinpoint the moment when the “I’m okay, you’re okay” philosophy of the seventies morphed into the “I’m okay, you’re not” thinking of the present day.  Back in the seventies, everyone smoked cigarettes, wore ugly polyester, ate Twinkies, and told cringe-worthy jokes. Nobody was in a position to judge. Now our betters know better how best to behave. Through virtue signaling, shaming, de-platforming, censoring, and outright coercion they intend to make others change their unacceptable views and ways. Take the Healthy Kid Meal Ordinance before the Aurora City Council which would foist new regulations on how restaurants advertise children’s meals, for example. The ordinance would require restaurants to make water or milk the default beverage for kid’s meals. Kids could still order any drink but restaurants could not list such drinks with the meal package. Restaurants that fail to comply will be fined or have their license suspended. Fortunately, the sponsor delayed the … [Read more...] about Kafer: Restaurants’ sugary drinks don’t need regulation