Hundreds of people descend on Westfield for Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch release
Thousands of people have flooded shopping centres in Sydney and Melbourne to try and get their hands on a rare, limited-edition watch. Shoppers woke up at the crack of dawn in the hopes of snagging the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch….
Chinese smart technology poses increasing threat to Australia, report warns
China’s increasing dominance in smart cars, home devices and other “internet-of-things” technologies poses a growing risk to Australia’s economy, a new report warns. There were an estimated 12 billion “intelligent” internet-connected devices worldwide last year, and that figure could be…
Australia considering new laws for Apple, Google, WeChat digital wallets
SYDNEY: The Australian government is considering new laws that would tighten the regulation of digital payment services by tech giants such as Apple and Alphabet’s Google. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he would “carefully consider” that and other recommendations from a…
The 5,000-year-old man was the ‘oldest plague victim’
Scientists have identified a brand new contender for “patient zero” within the plague that caused the Black Death. A man who died over 5,000 years ago in Latvia was infected with the earliest-known strain of the disease, in line with…
Oxford vaccine trial resumes
The much-anticipated coronavirus vaccine being developed in the UK will resume human trials after being deemed safe. The trials were paused last week when a patient reported a side effect which required investigation to see if the problem was related to…
TikTok suicide video: It’s time social media platforms collaborated to limit disturbing content
A disturbing video purporting to show a suicide is reportedly doing the rounds on the popular short video app TikTok, reigniting debate about what social media platforms are doing to limit circulation of troubling material. According to media reports, the video…
Free coronavirus vaccination to be made available throughout 2021, if trials prove successful, says Federal Government
Free vaccinations for COVID-19 will be made available next year in Australia, depending on the outcome of “promising” drug trials, the Australian Government is expected to announce on Monday. In a statement released late on Sunday, the Federal Government said…
Google writes open letter to Australians, opposing government plans to make it pay for news
Google has warned Australians to expect “dramatically worse” services if the Federal Government follows through with plans to make it pay for Australian news content. Two weeks ago the Federal Government released a draft code of conduct for digital platforms and…
Australian deal a big step forward in hunt for COVID-19 vaccine
Australian scientists hope to produce up to 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2021 as Queensland researchers sign a major partnership with pharmaceutical giant CSL. A deal between the University of Queensland, CSL and the…
Coronavirus patients to be treated with plasma from recovered donors
Australians who have beaten COVID-19 are being asked to donate their plasma to help patients who are seriously ill with the virus. Recovered donors’ plasma is thought to contain high levels of protective antibodies that could be harnessed to fight…
