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A view of Chevron-operated Gorgon project on Barrow Island, Australia, as seen in this undated handout image obtained by Reuters on September 8, 2023. “Unfortunately, following numerous meetings and conciliation sessions with the Fair Work Commission, no agreement has been reached as the unions are asking for terms significantly above the market," a Chevron spokesperson said in a statement. "Until we have some case law, until we get some Fair Work Commission decisions on how the laws work, we don't know (how long the process will take)," said Shae McCrystal, a professor of labour law at the University of Sydney Law School. A subsidiary of airline Virgin Australia made the only other application under these laws in June, local media reported. No talks are scheduled between unions and Chevron, according to the FWC website.

Persons: Shae McCrystal, Roushni Nair, Lewis Jackson, Jamie Freed, Michael Perry Organizations: Reuters, Chevron, Handout, REUTERS, Fair, University of Sydney Law School, Virgin Australia, Offshore Alliance, Thomson Locations: Chevron, Barrow Island, Australia, Chevron Australia, Melbourne, U.S, Bengaluru, Sydney

The Osprey is an especially complex aircraft with a troubled history. With two rotor blades above extended wings, it takes off like a helicopter and can fly like a fixed-wing aircraft — which means that pilots need expertise in both. Last year, nine Marines were killed in two separate crashes. One Osprey aircraft crashed in June during a training mission near Glamis, Calif., killing five. Another crashed in a valley in Beiarn, Norway, killing all four on board.

Persons: Peter Dean, “, Dean Organizations: Marine Corps, Ospreys, Marines, Osprey, United States Studies, University of Sydney Locations: North Carolina, Glamis, Calif, Beiarn, Norway

☆ Australia closes dual-study visa loophole for foreign students
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Students walk past stalls during the orientation week at The University of Sydney, in Camperdown, Australia February 15, 2023. International students can undertake additional courses along with their core studies called the "concurrent study" rule, which is designed to help prepare them for the job market through short courses. But the government said recent investigations have identified that many were misusing this rule to ditch their university courses and permanently switch to cheaper courses. The government will also increase the amount of savings international students will need in order to get a student visa. From Oct. 1, foreign students will need to show evidence of A$24,505 ($15,693) in savings, up 17% increase on current levels, to take into account higher living expenses.

Persons: Stella Qiu, Jason Clare, Clare, Renju Jose, Michael Perry Organizations: The University of Sydney, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Camperdown, Australia, Sydney

☆ After Thais Vote to Move Forward, the Old Guard Just Shifts Its Grip
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Sui-Lee Wee | More About Sui-Lee Wee | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia and an ally of the United States, Thailand was once a powerful player in the region. More recently it has suffered from a period of prolonged economic stagnation, brought about by nine years of military rule under Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the general who seized power in a coup in 2014. For the first time, disaffected young Thais questioned publicly the relevance of the country’s powerful monarchy, a topic previously considered taboo. Move Forward capitalized on this anti-royalist, anti-military sentiment, which became the bedrock of the party’s progressive platform. It announced more than 300 policy proposals, including shrinking the military budget and breaking up big business.

Persons: Prayuth Chan, Prayuth, Thais, “, It’s, ” Organizations: University of Sydney Locations: Southeast Asia, United States, Thailand, Australia

☆ Watch the last billion years of Earth's tectonic plate movement in just 40 seconds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Aylin Woodward | Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In 2021, geologists animated a video that shows how Earth's tectonic plates moved over the last billion years. But in 2021 a group of geologists offered up an easily digestible peek at 1 billion years of plate tectonic motion. Building a better model of Earth's platesThe Earth's plates move in a variety of ways and can cause earthquakes, mountains, and canyons. The top layer — between 5 and 50 miles thick — is the crust, which is fragmented into tectonic plates that fit together. The jigsaw puzzle of Earth's continents hasn't stopped shifting, of course.

Persons: Sabin Zahirovic, Pangea, Joshua Stevens, Dietmar Müller Organizations: Service, University of Sydney, U.S . Geological Survey, Geologists, NASA Locations: Antarctica, U.S, Sandwell, Africa, Europe

☆ Point of no return: Australians fight for the right to work from home permanently
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

You can actually finish work at five, rather than finishing at five spending 45 minutes trying to get home." When you have a jolt, you never return to the way the world was," said John Buchanan, head of the University of Sydney's Health and Work Research Network. That same week, the public sector union struck a deal the which lets Australia's 120,000 federal employees request work-from-home an unlimited number of days. By comparison, Canada's federal workers ended a two-week strike in May with a wages agreement that came without the WFH protections they wanted. Among employees with WFH experience, 19% wanted to return to the office full-time, the survey found.

Persons: David Gray, SYDNEY, Nicholas Coomber, Coomber, Jamie Dimon, Elon Musk, John Buchanan, We're, Jones Lang Lasalle, Melissa Donnelly, WFH, Mathias Dolls, Jim Stanford, Stanford, Byron Kaye, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, JPMorgan Chase, Twitter, University of Sydney's Health, Work Research, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, NAB, European Union, Community, Public Sector Union, CBA, ifo, Macroeconomics, Stanford University, Workers, Centre, Australia Institute, Thomson Locations: Melbourne, Southbank, Australia, New Zealand, Tokyo, New York, JLL.N, Hamburg

☆ How lifestyle exercise can lower your cancer risk, according to a new study
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Madeline Holcombe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —As little as one or two minutes of vigorous exercise a day could lower your cancer risk, according to a new study. Participants reported not regularly exercising in their leisure time, and they wore accelerometers to track their VILPA, or vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity, the study said. Adults who incorporated about 4½ minutes of vigorous activity in short one- or two-minute bouts had more than 30% lower incidence rates of cancer, the study found. “The large majority of middle aged and older adults, more than 70-80% in most countries, are not regular exercisers in leisure time, or simply never do any exercise,” Stamatakis said via email. “Previous early-stage trials (showed) that VILPA leads to rapid improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness,” Stamatakis said in an email.

Persons: Emmanuel Stamatakis, “, ”, Stamatakis, Charles Perkins, Dana Santas, ” Stamatakis, Glenn Gaesser, Gaesser, Keith Diaz, Diaz, ” Gaesser, Santas, It’s, ’ ” Organizations: CNN’s, CNN, Charles, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Columbia University Irving Medical Locations: Australia, New York City

☆ Quantum Tech Intended for National Security Is Testing U.S. Alliances
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Damien Cave | More About Damien Cave | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s critical technology tracker, China appears to be lagging more in quantum computers — which perform many calculations in one pass, making them faster than today’s digital computers that perform each calculation separately — while narrowing the gap in quantum sensing for navigation, mapping and detection. Chinese scientists have even said they are building a quantum-based radar to find stealth aircraft with a small electromagnetic storm, though quantum specialists outside China have questioned their claims. He and his start-up, with offices in Sydney, Los Angeles, Berlin and Oxford, are among a cutting-edge group of global quantum leaders who see hyperbole and statecraft in many Chinese quantum announcements and hope to capitalize on what technology-sharing partnerships like the AUKUS security agreement represent. “AUKUS, for us, is exceptionally important,” said Professor Biercuk, noting that Q-CTRL works on sensors and quantum computing. The company’s main software product, which “stabilizes the hardware against everything that goes wrong in the field,” Professor Biercuk said, is already being used by quantum developers in the United States, Canada and Europe, where precise sensor technology is also advancing.

Persons: Michael Biercuk, “ AUKUS, ”, Biercuk Organizations: Australian, University of Sydney Locations: China, American, Australia, Sydney , Los Angeles, Berlin, Oxford, United States, Canada, Europe

☆ Break Out the S’mores: This Star Is Cooler Than a Campfire
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When you sit at a campfire and look up at the stars, even the tiniest pinpricks of light that you see are massive furnaces, producing intense heat. But hidden among these infernal embers are celestial bodies so dim that they’re invisible to the naked eye. One such star, a brown dwarf smaller than Jupiter, recently became the coldest star ever to be detected with a radio telescope. At a paltry 797 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s cooler than the average campfire: an ideal star for roasting marshmallows. The existence of brown dwarfs was hypothesized 60 years ago, but “they were very hard to find, because they’re not very bright,” Dr. Murphy said.

Persons: Don’t, graham, Kovi Rose, ”, Tara Murphy, Rose, “, they’re, Dr, Murphy Organizations: University of Sydney

☆ Time appeared to move 5 times slower in the early days of the universe, scientists found
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A new study found that time appeared to move five times slower in the early days of the universe. Scientists used quasars — enormously bright supermassive black holes — to arrive at their findings. The researchers used quasars — supermassive black holes that feed on gas and are among the brightest known celestial objects — to arrive at their finding. Quasars "are crucial to understanding the early universe," one astronomer said in 2018. Albert Einstein, in his general theory of relativity, predicted that we live in an expanding universe, where time was slower in its early years, and now the researchers in this study observed that.

Persons: Albert Einstein's, —, Geraint Lewis, Albert Einstein Organizations: Service, Privacy, CNN, University of Sydney's School of Physics, Sydney Institute for Astronomy

☆ CTE: Heather Anderson, first professional female athlete to be diagnosed with degenerative brain disease
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CTE is a neurodegenerative disease that can occur after repeated traumatic brain injuries or hits to the head, with or without a concussion, and to date it has only been diagnosed in professional male athletes. In Australia, lawyers representing dozens of former professional AFL players have filed a class action suit against the Australian Football League (AFL), seeking compensation for injuries caused by alleged negligence. The AFL has acknowledged a link between head trauma and CTE and says it’s committed to mitigating the risks. The AFL Player’s Association, which represents the athletes, is pushing for greater support for current and former players, many of whom are living with the impact of successive brain injuries. Buckland said what’s most needed is a shift in attitudes, so that it’s no longer encouraged or even acceptable to expose children to activities where repeated head injuries are part of the game.

Persons: Heather Anderson, “, ”, neuropathologist Michael Buckland, …, Buckland, Anderson, CTE, James Elsby, It’s, it’s, what’s Organizations: Australia CNN — Scientists, Australian Football League, Sports Brain Bank, University of Sydney, AFL, league –, AFL Club, Adelaide Crows, Australian Defence Force, Australian Sports Brain Bank, US Centers for Disease Control, Boston, NFL, AFL Player’s Association, Boys ’ Locations: Brisbane, Australia, Darwin, United States

☆ Quasars reveal the early universe moved slower than it does now
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Scientists have peered into the early days of the universe, when it was about 1 billion years old, and discovered that things moved in slow motion compared with now. Unlocking what happened during the early days of the universe can help scientists tackle the biggest mysteries about its origin, how it evolved and what the future holds. “This expansion of space means that our observations of the early universe should appear to be much slower than time flows today. While very bright, supernovas become much harder to observe at greater distances from Earth, which means that astronomers needed another source that would be visible deeper in the early universe. “What we have done is unravel this firework display, showing that quasars, too, can be used as standard markers of time for the early universe.”

Persons: Albert Einstein’s, ”, Geraint Lewis, Einstein, ” Lewis, Brendon Brewer Organizations: CNN —, University of Sydney’s School of Physics, Sydney Institute for Astronomy, University of Auckland

☆ Ferocious black holes reveal 'time dilation' in early universe
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Scientists made that point anew on Monday in a study that used observations of a ferocious class of black holes called quasars to demonstrate "time dilation" in the early universe, showing how time then passed only about a fifth as quickly as it does today. The observations stretch back to about 12.3 billion years ago, when the universe was roughly a tenth its present age. Quasars - among the brightest objects in the universe - were used as a "clock" in the study to measure time in the deep past. Quasars are tremendously active supermassive black holes millions to billions of times more massive than our sun, usually residing at centers of galaxies. The explosion of individual stars cannot be seen beyond a certain distance away, limiting their use in studying the early universe.

Persons: Albert Einstein, Dr, Geraint Lewis, Lewis, today's, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: University of Sydney, Thomson Locations: Australia

☆ Opioids may not work for back pain, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The authors found that in terms of effects on back and neck pain, opioids weren’t any more helpful than the placebo. More people in the opioid group had ongoing pain at weeks 26 and 52 than in the placebo group. The opioid group had worse mental health scores and more reports of nausea, dizziness and constipation than the placebo group. Opioids and painThe study authors and experts who weren’t involved in the new study have theories on why opioids weren’t found to be more helpful than the placebo. “The good news is most people with acute low back pain and neck pain recover within 6 weeks naturally.”The authors studied nonspecific back or neck pain, which is pain with an unknown cause.

Persons: haven’t, ”, Christine Lin, Lin, Naloxone, ” Lin, weren’t, Mark D, Sullivan, Jane C, Ballantyne, ” Sullivan, ” Dr, John Finkenberg, wasn’t, don’t, Finkenberg, ” Finkenberg Organizations: CNN, American Spine Society, University of Sydney, University of Washington Locations: Australia, Sydney, San Diego

☆ Scientists spot a planet that shouldn’t exist
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A Jupiter-like planet located 520 light-years from Earth may be an unlikely survivor after its host star had a temper tantrum. The gas planet is known as 8 UMi b and was named Halla after its initial discovery by Korean astronomers in 2015. The exoplanet orbits a giant star larger than our sun named Baekdu, located in the Ursa Minor, or “Little Bear,” constellation. Halla orbits Baekdu at a distance about half that between the Earth and the sun at 0.46 astronomical units, or 42,759,659 miles (68,815,020 kilometers). While our solar system only has one star, many stars across the universe exist in binary pairs.

Persons: Halla, “, ”, Dan Huber, Marc Hon, ” Huber, Tim Organizations: CNN, Ursa, Australian Research, University of Sydney, Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Keck Observatory, Halla, Star Wars Locations: South Korea, Manoa, Canada, France, Hawaii, Mauna Kea

☆ The Titan tragedy will join the Byford Dolphin accident as one of the most gruesome deep-sea incidents in history
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Titan tragedy joins the Byford Dolphin accident in history's most gruesome deep-sea incidents. It joins the Byford Dolphin accident of 1983 — another deep-sea chamber compression incident but with a very different set of circumstances that killed five and injured one. The Byford Dolphin incidentOn November 5, 1983, four divers — Edwin Coward, Roy Lucas, Bjørn Bergersen, and Truls Hellevik — returned from a deep-sea commercial mission near the Byford Dolphin oil rig. Graphic showing the layout of the living chambers and the diving bell where the Byford Dolphin accident happened. Unlike the divers near the Byford Dolphin oil rig, the Titan passengers didn't have any excess nitrogen in their blood.

Persons: — Edwin Coward, Roy Lucas, Bjørn Bergersen, Hellevik —, IFLScience, William Crammond, Giertsen, it's, Crammond, Martin Saunders, Stefan Williams, uncrewed submersibles, James Cameron, Cameron, It's, Williams Organizations: Titan, Service, Obscura, Divers Alert, of Forensic Medicine, Science Times, Daily Science, University of Sydney, Good Morning America, ABC News, Eiffel, NBC

He told reporters on Thursday the debris was consistent with "a catastrophic implosion of the vehicle." British Titanic explorer Dik Barton paid tribute to the work of his friend Nargeolet but noted issues raised with the design and maintenance of the craft. "Everyone's wise after the event, but as we're hearing before, unfortunately there were many red flags flying here," he said. He said sonar buoys used in the water for more than three days had not detected an implosion. The Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg on its first voyage, killing more than 1,500 people aboard.

Persons: moviemaker Cameron, John Mauger, Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman, Paul, Henri Nargeolet, OceanGate, Dawood, Shahzada, Suleman Dawood, Dik Barton, Nargeolet, OceanGate's, Guard's Mauger, Moviemaker James Cameron, we've, Cameron, Stefan Williams, Michael Guillen, Joseph Ax, Steve Gorman, Charlotte Greefield, Edmund Blair, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Titan, U.S . Coast Guard, Stockton Rush, OceanGate Expeditions, British Asian Trust, University of Strathclyde, U.S . Navy, Navy, Wall Street, British, Reuters, University of Sydney, Thomson Locations: North Atlantic, North, U.S, Scotland, British, Greece, Canada, France, Britain, submersibles, Cape Cod , Massachusetts, St, John's, Newfoundland

☆ Serving 'lunch' before midnight — and other ways airlines can help reduce jet lag
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Monica Pitrelli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

They also kept a daily health log before, during and for two weeks after test flights, it said. It means you start reducing the jetlag straight away," he said in a statement after the first test flight was conducted. For now, Postnova said, travelers shouldn't wait until they land to combat jet lag — rather, they should start the process as soon as their flight departs. An onboard 'wellbeing zone'The jet lag research is being conducted while Qantas awaits 12 Airbus 350 aircraft it ordered in May 2022. Passengers exercise during a Qantas test flight from New York to Sydney on Oct, 19, 2019.

Persons: University of Sydney's Charles Perkins, David Gray, Svetlana Postnova, Postnova, Alan Joyce, James D, Peter Cistulli, Joyce Organizations: Qantas, University of Sydney's, University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre, Volunteers, Flight, Getty, CNBC, Morgan, University of Sydney, New, Flyers, Airbus Locations: Sydney, New York City, London, New York

☆ The IRS could recover $12 for every $1 spent on scrutinizing the ultra-wealthy's taxes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Economists find that every extra dollar spent on auditing the top 10% of taxpayers yields $12 in revenue. A new paper from economists at the Department of Treasury, Harvard University, and the University of Sydney looks at the return on investment from IRS audits from 2010 through 2014. They find that while it's much more expensive to audit the wealthiest tax payers, it's still a hearty return on investment. Auditing the top 1% yields $4.25 per dollar spent, and that number soars to $6.29 when auditing the top 0.1%. The findings illustrate how much money might be sitting untapped in what the IRS calls the tax gap — the chasm between taxes owed and taxes paid.

Persons: —, it's, Amy Hanauer, Hanauer, what's Organizations: Service, Department of Treasury, Harvard University, University of Sydney, Treasury Department, Taxation, Economic, Republican, IRS, Office

☆ Trying to cure jet lag? Try chili, chocolate, and stretching.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Australian airline Qantas is conducting test flights to find a cure for jet lag on long flights. Researchers for the Australian airline Qantas are working to find a cure for jet lag — and the answer may be on your plate. Project Sunrise flights offered "specific menu items including fish and chicken paired with fast-acting carbohydrates, as well as comfort foods like soups and milk-based desserts. The aim was to promote the brain's production of the amino acid tryptophan ('Tryp') to help passengers drift off more easily." Insider previously reported eating tart cherries, watermelon, and cucumbers may help air passengers sleep and wake easier and fight jetlag.

Persons: —, University of Sydney's Charles Perkins, Alan Joyce, James D Morgan, jetlag, Peter Cistulli, Cistulli Organizations: Australian, Qantas, Service, University of Sydney's, University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre, Sunrise, Qantas Passengers, Passengers, Sleep, University of Sydney Locations: New York, London, Sydney, Australia

☆ Australia’s ‘Trial of the Century’ Stains Its Most Decorated Soldier
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The case had been called Australia’s trial of the century. And though it centered on a claim of defamation, it grappled with a more consequential question: Was the country’s most decorated living soldier a war criminal? The judgment was a rare victory for the news media in a country whose notoriously harsh defamation laws have been criticized for favoring accusers. “Australia has a reputation for being very plaintiff friendly,” said David Rolph, a professor of media law at the University of Sydney. “Here we’ve got a comprehensive victory for the newspapers — that’s not something that you see in every defamation case in Australia.”

Persons: Ben Roberts, Smith, Roberts, ”, David Rolph, we’ve Organizations: “, University of Sydney Locations: Australia, Afghanistan, “ Australia

☆ Malaysia investigating possible looting of World War II British shipwrecks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Police, the Malaysian Marine Department and the National Heritage Department would investigate to see if the shells are from World War II, according to the report. Authorities are investigating whether shells found on the ship are from World War II, Malaysian state media said. Murky lawSalvaging of sunken World War II wrecks around the Pacific is not a new problem. In 2017, Dutch, British and US authorities reported that naval vessels sunk in the World War II Battle of the Java Sea had been salvaged without permission. Steel from World War II shipwrecks can have special value because it is was produced before the first nuclear explosions on Earth.

☆ In Australian defamation court, a proxy 'war crimes trial' nears judgement
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The accusations are at the heart of Australia's costliest and second longest-running defamation lawsuit for which a judgement is scheduled on Thursday. Legal experts say that while the civil hearing focused on reputational damage brought by a series of 2018 articles, it effectively played out as the country's first war crimes trial. No soldiers were named in the redacted report but about two dozen current and former Australian soldiers were referred for potential criminal prosecution. Roberts-Smith, one of just 101 soldiers to receive the Victoria Cross, sued the newspapers in 2020, saying they falsely accused him of being complicit in war crimes. He seeks compensatory damages, aggravated damages and damages for future economic loss, although his lawyers did not give a total amount sought.

☆ How can you tell if someone isn’t really into doing you a favor?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Every two minutes or so, all over the world, someone asks someone else for a small favor. But what happens in those rare instances when someone declines to do a favor? Even when humans decline a request for a favor, they almost never say the word no out loud. Now, maybe that's true, and if they keep doing it, pretty quickly you won't be that person's friend anymore." "When our responses to crises work well, we're doing things like evoking a specific social identity.

LOS ANGELES, May 3 (Reuters) - Hollywood writers have for decades penned sci-fi scripts featuring machines taking over the world. The Writers Guild of America is seeking to restrict the use of artificial intelligence in writing film and television scripts. A spokesperson for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which is negotiating the contract on behalf of the studios, did not comment. The dispute over AI is one of several issues that led Hollywood’s film and TV writers to strike Monday, marking the first work stoppage in 15 years. Screenwriter John August, a member of the WGA negotiating committee, said writers have two concerns regarding AI.

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