Facebook Blocks News in Australia in Response to Proposed Legislation
The Australian government is considering legislation that would require social media companies to pay news outlets for content that is linked on their platforms
The first digital vaccine certificate is set to be launched by the world's airlines this month as part of a four-step plan for summer holidays being considered by the Department for Transport (DfT). The Travel Pass app, developed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), will allow passengers to present pre-departure test or vaccine certificates on arrival at their destination, enabling them to sidestep quarantine or other restrictions. IATA is in talks with the DfT over the app, to which immunity certificates for those who have had Covid but have not been vaccinated could be added. It will be trialled by 10 airlines including IAG, which owns BA, Qantas and Singapore Airlines, starting initially with pre-test data but ready to be adapted to include vaccine certificates once they are digitised. At present, most countries are using paper to confirm people's inoculations, which the airlines are concerned could delay the introduction of a travel pass with both vaccinations and test data and lead to lengthy queues at airport immigration desks. The app is part of a four-stage approach IATA has proposed to the DfT that would see international travel restart in May, with pre-departure testing or vaccines being used for entry to a country before the eventual removal of all restrictions to allow free travel between "green list" countries. It proposes three tiers of countries including a "red list", where there may still be quarantine and pre-departure testing, an "amber list" where quarantine is replaced by tests or vaccine certificates, and a "green list" where travel corridors between low-risk countries could allow unrestricted travel.
Nicola Sturgeon is facing calls to resign after two witnesses in the Alex Salmond scandal corroborated his version of key events and provided damning evidence she repeatedly misled parliament. In a potentially devastating development for the First Minister, ahead of her appearance before a Holyrood inquiry on Wednesday morning, a pair of former special advisers contradicted her claims about two meetings in 2018. Ms Sturgeon has told parliament she only found out about the allegations when Mr Salmond visited her home on April 2, 2018 and but she refused to intervene. Last week she denied during First Minister's Questions the identity of one of the women was shared with Geoff Aberdein, Mr Salmond's chief of staff, "to the best of my knowledge". But Duncan Hamilton, a former SNP MP and junior counsel, said the name of a complainant was given to Mr Aberdein by a senior official shortly after Mr Salmond was informed of the government's investigation into sexual misconduct claims on March 7, 2018.
We watch as businesses and lives are being ruined by Brexit – and yet not a single apology from those who championed the cause
A directive from the Catholic church body says the J&J vaccine was produced with abortion-derived cell lines
The residents of the largest US state will not follow the mask mandate from 10 March
$10bn was set aside by Congress to help care providers pay for staffing, protective gear, care for uninsured individuals, and vaccine distribution
Piers Morgan has declared he’s ‘done seeing naked, pregnant celebrities’ and claims women are doing it ‘just for clicks’ after seeing Emily Ratajkowski’s naked bump pics. The Good Morning Britain host was back on a rant this morning, noting Emily’s latest Instagram naked photos of her baby bump progress. While Susanna Reid looked on the photo favourably, saying that the model was ‘celebrating her body’, Piers took a far more dim view of the pics, saying she was using her pregnancy ‘for clicks’.
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Dutch police on Wednesday said a coronavirus testing centre north of Amsterdam appeared to have been intentionally targeted after an explosion went off at the facility before it opened. The blast in the town of Bovenkarspel, 55 km (35 miles) north of the capital, shattered windows but caused no injuries, police from the province of North Holland said in a statement. The incident comes shortly before national elections on March 17 widely seen as a referendum on the government's handling of the pandemic.
The For the People Act – also known as HR1 – aims to make voting in federal elections easier
A Biden aide puts the campaign strategy as: ‘You put your dumb uncle in the basement’
Comment goes further than ‘roadmap’ - which said review will decide, based on progress over next three months
After a study called it a Chinese cyber-sabotage attempt, India said outage was caused by ‘human error’
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Former White House press secretary branded a ‘serial liar’ by critics
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Seven government figures blocked from accessing financial assets in the US
Britain will extend its huge job-protecting furlough programme by five months until the end of September and expand parallel support for the self-employed, finance minister Rishi Sunak is due to announce in a budget speech on Wednesday. Workers covered by the furlough scheme - currently about one in five private-sector employees - will continue to receive 80% of their salary for hours not worked. "Our COVID support schemes have been a lifeline to millions, protecting jobs and incomes across the UK," Sunak was due to say in his budget speech to parliament, according to excerpts sent to media by the finance ministry.