Australia
US Democrat Senate wins push stocks higher despite Capitol chaos
Clean sweep by Democrats allows them to enact big-spending policies likely to benefit the economy, investors say. Global stock markets rose and bonds nursed losses on Thursday in anticipation of a big-borrowing and big-spending Democratic administration driving growth, following runoff elections that gave the party control of both houses of the United States Congress. On Wednesday, US Treasury bonds had suffered their steepest selloff in months after Democratic Party victories in two races in the state of Georgia handed them narrow control of the Senate and the power to pass their agenda. US S&P 500 futures rose 0.6 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.9 percent as markets seemed to shake off a late fade that pulled Wall Street indexes back from fresh record peaks when chaotic protest...
FIFA increases Africa’s women’s world cup slot to 6
FIFA has increased Africa’s slots at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand from three to six. The decision was one of the major decisions the Bureau of FIFA Council took on Thursday, December 24, when it met to discuss the fate of upcoming FIFA competitions. Africa in time past had three direct slots, which were given to the top three performing teams at the Africa Women’s Championship. The new decision, which is due to the expansion of the competing teams from 24 to 32 teams, will mean that Africa will have four direct slots and two others fighting in play-offs. The two host countries, Australia and New Zealand, will automatically qualify for the 2023 World Cup and their slots have been taken directly from the quotas allocated to their confederations, nam...
Chinese embassy says Australia ‘misread’ offending social media post
China’s embassy in Australia said politicians there had “misread” a tweet showing a digitally-altered image of an Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife to the throat of an Afghan child, and were trying to stoke nationalism. Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday called the tweet posted by China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, “truly repugnant”, and called for an apology. On Tuesday the tweet was pinned to the top of Zhao’s social media account, and China’s Global Times newspaper, known for nationalistic views, interviewed the Chinese artist who created the image. “The rage and roar of some Australian politicians and media is nothing but misreading of and overreaction to Mr Zhao’s tweet,” the Chinese embassy in Canberra said in a statement on Tuesday. Australia...
Tokyo reports record daily virus cases, outbreak locks down Australian state
Daily coronavirus cases in Tokyo and South Korea hit fresh highs on Wednesday, as pollution-cloaked New Delhi struggled with rising cases and Australia reported a highly contagious virus strain which forced a state-wide lockdown. The post Tokyo reports record daily virus cases, outbreak locks down Australian state appeared first on TODAY. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Andrey Arshavin: Moses is a strong character for Russian championship
Former Russian attacking midfielder Andrey Arshavin says Victor Moses’ arrival has strengthened Spartak Moscow and expects him to help the club this season. Moses scored his first goal in Russian football as Spartak Moscow thrashed their hosts Krasnodar 3 – 0 last weekend. The former Nigerian international was also involved in the Moscow derby against CSKA eight days ago. Speaking on the impact of Moses on Spartak Moscow since his arrival, Arshavin who also played for the club during his days, said Moses is a strong character for the Russian championship and has improved the team. “I think it was clear that this is a strong footballer for our championship. Moses has strengthened the necessary position for Spartak.” Andrey Arshavin said “I remember how he played for Wigan against us. He pla...
European Union backs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for WTO role
The European Union has endorsed former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next director-general of the World Trade Organisation, Bloomberg reported. The business news outlet cited anonymous officials familiar with the matter that all the 27 EU member countries agreed on Monday in Brussels to support Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala. Bloomberg also reported that the United States has decided to back Yoo Myung-hee, South Korea’s trade minister, for the role. The position has been fiercely contested amongst candidates of different countries since Roberto Azevedo resigned in August. Last month, Okonjo-Iweala and Myung-hee were selected as the last two candidates in the contest. The EU’s endorsement is seen as a significant boost for Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy, with the final winner expected...
England Women cancel Germany friendly after positive test
England Women have cancelled Tuesday’s friendly in Germany following a positive coronavirus test. The fixture, which was due to take place behind closed doors at the Brita-Arena in Wiesbaden, was to be England’s first competitive fixture since the SheBelieves Cup in March. Phil Neville and the squad met up for a training camp at St George’s Park this week are were set to fly to Germany on Sunday but those plans have been shelved at the last minute. As hosts of the delayed 2021 European Championships, which will now take place in July 2022, England have not had any qualifying games to play. England have been set a target of winning the World Cup or European Championship by 2024 and have been keen to return to competitive action. Neville’s side disappointed at the SheBelieves Cup earlier thi...
Australia’s Live Industry Welcomes Fine for Viagogo
In one example, the ACCC said the total price for two Cat Stevens (aka Yusuf Islam) tickets was found to increase from A$450.00 ($357) to A$579.95 ($460), a rise of 29%, when the A$125 ($100) booking and A$4.95 ($4) handling fees were added. Justice Burley described one category of representations as having been made on “an industrial scale”. The company’s business practices were “unacceptable,” says ACCC Chair Rod Sims. “Viagogo misled thousands of consumers into buying tickets at inflated prices when they created a false sense of urgency by suggesting tickets were scarce and when they advertised tickets at a lower price by not including unavoidable fees.” The federal court’s stiff penalty is meant as a warning to other companies that breached consumer protections. The court also or...
Super Eagles forward Struggles as AC Milan beat Crotone away
Simy Nwankwo struggled as Crotone fell to a 2-0 home defeat against AC Milan at the Stadio Ezio Scida on Sunday. Nwankwo was in action for the entire duration of the game. The forward, who failed to register a shot on target in the contest is yet to open his goal for the season. The Nigeria international scored 20 goals to emerge top scorer in Serie B last season. Frank Kessie put AC Milan ahead from the spot on the dot of half-time. Brahim Diaz made the points save when he netted the second goal five minutes after the break. Crotone will face Sassuolo in their next Serie A game on Saturday. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet B...
Vulnerable marsupial released into predator-free enclosure in Australia
More than a century since they were declared extinct in the Australian state of New South Wales, the bilby, a vulnerable marsupial with rabbit-like ears, has been reintroduced into a large, predator-free area in a remote desert park 1,200 kilometers northwest of Sydney. The release is part of a new breeding program at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in New South Wales state. The release of 10 bilbies is a bold attempt to turn back the clock to a time in Australia when native animals weren’t savaged by feral cats and foxes. Since European colonization, the bilby population has fallen by 80%. Rabbits, another invasive species, also compete with the marsupials for food and shelter. They face other threats from land clearing and bushfires. Bilbies survive in the wild only in parts of central and we...
Aston Villa interested in signing Liverpool youngster
Aston Villa are interested in signing the Liverpool youngster Rhian Brewster this summer. The 20-year-old striker was on loan at Swansea City last season and he managed to score 11 goals for them. Brewster needs to leave the club in order to play regular first-team football and it will be interesting to see if the likes of Villa can agree on a fee with Liverpool in the coming weeks. According to Independent, Sheffield United are keen on signing the young striker as well and they have already spoken to the Reds regarding a move. Liverpool value the young striker at £25 million and they are hoping to insert a buy-back clause in the contract if Brewster is sold this summer. Such a deal would be ideal for Liverpool as it would allow the player to develop with the regular first-team football el...
U.S. warns Pacific islands about Chinese bid for undersea cable project
The United States has warned Pacific island nations about security threats posed by a Chinese company’s cut-price bid to build an undersea internet cable, two sources told Reuters, part of an international development project in the region. Huawei Marine, which was recently divested from Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and is now majority-owned by another Chinese firm, submitted bids along with French-headquartered Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), part of Finland’s Nokia, and Japan’s NEC, for the $72.6 million project backed by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB), the sources with direct knowledge of the project details said. The project is designed to improve communications to the island nations of Nauru, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and Kiribati. Washington sent a diploma...