Australian Tax Office warns against tax return scam

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has warned against a fraudulent email claiming to be from the ATO. The email, which is similar to previous scams, uses the ATO logo and has the subject line of ‘Notification – Please read’, ‘Australian Taxation Office – Please read’ or other variations. The email directs …

Toyota accused of misleading public over recalls

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Toyota has been accused by a U.S. House of Representatives committee with misleading the public and investigators over its recent recalls. The accusations, in a statement from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, claim that Toyota both relied on a flawed study in its assessment of the issue of sticking accelerator …

Four suspects arrested for assault on Oslo synagogue

Wednesday, September 20, 2006 The Norwegian police have arrested and charged four men, aged between 20 and 30 for an assault on a synagogue in Oslo at 2:30 am on Sunday, September 17th. The four arrested are from different ethnic backgrounds and can be detained up to three days before appearing in front of a …

Zimbabwe submits to popular pressure: foreign currencies now legal tender

Thursday, January 29, 2009 Zimbabwe has decided to abandon its currency, the Zimbabwean dollar, in favour of other currencies. Acting Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa announced today that Zimbabweans will be allowed to make transactions in other currencies along with the local currency. “In line with the prevailing practices by the general public, [the] government is …

Zimbabwe cancels education year for 4.5 million after political and economic troubles

Thursday, October 9, 2008 Zimbabwe’s 4.5 million students will not receive what was once the golden standard of education in Africa—or any education at all this school year. Political violence during the country’s recent presidential elections hit schools hard with strikes, murder and violence against teachers, and looting. Some schools were turned into places of …

Doha round of trade talks suspended after negotiations fail

Tuesday, July 25, 2006 The director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Pascal Lamy, suspended negotiations in the Doha round of trade talks on Monday, after a meeting of six “core” negotiators India, Brazil, the United States, European Union, Japan, and Australia in Geneva failed to make any headway in reconciling differences over agricultural trade …

Polish drug company Jelfa ordered to shut-down over mislabelled drugs

Wednesday, November 8, 2006 Polish Prime Minister Jaros?aw Kaczy?ski has ordered the pharmaceutical company Jelfa to halt production following revelations that Jelfa had placed mislabelled medication on the market, whose use could be potentially fatal. Jelfa distributed vials labelled as Corhydron, a hydrocortisone used to treat allergies and inflammation, but in fact containing Suxamethonium chloride, …

News briefs:January 03, 2008

Please note: there may be minor variations between this script and the associated recording. Contents 1 Introduction 2 Kenya election struggles continue 3 Three truck drivers killed in Australian woodland fire 4 USAID diplomat dies in Sudanese shooting 5 South Australian premier demands apology from former Guantanamo detainee 6 Croatia abolishes military service 7 Cyprus …

U.S. appeals court upholds Honolulu aerial ad ban

Thursday, May 25, 2006 The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled that Honolulu‘s ban on aerial advertising is constitutional and rejected the arguments of a pro-life/anti-abortion group that contended that the ban restricts free speech. In a unanimous ruling, the court ruled that the city’s ban on aerial advertising is not pre-empted …