Tim Cook defends Apple's removal of Hong Kong map app
Tim Cook has sent a letter to Apple employees defending the company's decision to remove an app used by Hong Kong protesters to coordinate actions and avoid police-focused applications.
However, the Chief Executive has been criticised for the fact that the Hong Kong Police's claims are “taking at face value" and are inconsistent with the experience of local international observers.
8AM Zedlines
Jess and Kate with your Tuesday's 8AM Zedlines
Calls for age kids become criminals to be lifted
Crossbench MPs are pushing for legislative changes that would lift the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14.
Centre Alliance’s Rebekha Sharkie says current laws allowing 10-year-olds to be held criminally responsible for their actions are inconsistent with international laws, where the average age of criminal responsibility is 14.
The law does not take evidence about children’s mental capacity into consideration, as they often do not understand what they are doing is a crime, Ms Sharkie said.
PM Scott Morrison's drought strategy facing criticism
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is facing criticism from farmers who say his government’s three-pronged drought response strategy lacks a comprehensive policy, but Morrison insists it is sufficient.
President of the National Farmers’ Federation, Fiona Simson, shared her concerns yesterday, saying “Australia can go no further without a strategic and sophisticated approach to drought”.
Mr Morrison is defending the coalition’s strategy, saying it focuses on supporting rural communities, immediate action and long-term preparedness.
Singapore becomes the first country to ban advertising for sugary drinks
Singapore will be the first country in the world to ban high-sugar unhealthy beverage ads, the latest move in Singapore's ongoing fight against diabetes.
The ban will apply to the "most unhealthy" sugary drinks, and the ban will cover all media platforms, including print, broadcast and online media.
The ministry said in a press release that soft drinks, juices, yogurt drinks, and instant coffee will all be affected by the new regulations.
Uber began its pilot phase of vessel service in Nigeria
As part of its expansion into Africa, Uber Technologies, a global travel company, piloted a taxi boat service in Lagos, a commercial center in Nigeria, on Friday.
Uber will work with the Lagos State Water Authority (LASWA) and the local vessel operator Texas Connection Ferries for a two-week pilot phase of the vessel service.
‘Gumby Gumby’ copyright disagreement
A pair of business owners from Queensland have applied to copyright the term ‘gumby gumby’, a native Australian plant first named gumby gumby by Indigenous people.
In 2008 Katja Amato and Klaus-Otto Von Gliszczynski, owners of GumbyGumby.com, successfully patented the medicinal use of extracts from the gumby gumby leaf.
Wiradjuri Ngemba woman Roxanne Smith says her family has used gumby gumby, a native apricot, “for probably centuries”.
New Queensland Anti-Protest Law
New anti-protest laws being suggested to deal with the increased disruption from protesters have been backed by Aurizon.
Senior police say that protesters attached themselves to conveyor belts, hydraulic rams, roads and bridges, often with devices that make it difficult and dangerous for them to be removed.
Aurizon executive Michael Riches says that their actions on train lines were unsafe, even though protesters made phone calls to stop the trains.
ARSE: Safe Word
- ARSE! It’s just fun to say, as the little old ladies -seated around the mostly empty foodcourt- look at you out of the corner of their eyes and clutch their fake pearls. The Sydney three-piece relish that part of their craft.
Richard Dawson: 2020
- With his plunking acoustic guitar stabs and rough balladeer vocals, Richard Dawson has become a darling of experimental folk music, taking pastoral whimsy into noisy and abrasive territory. His new record 2020 chronicles the malaise of British society with an almost forensic eye for specific detail. This, perhaps, is what explains the decision for Dawson to plug in and showcase a wider range of musical scope, including garage rock, psychedelia and post-punk.