It's been over a year since Covid-19 began spreading around the world. Since then, amazing progress has been made on getting the virus under control. But tackling the coronavirus quickly is still important, since the virus is also changing.
Published in “Australasia”
Australia's parliament is considering a bill that would force the search website Google to pay for showing links to Australian news websites. Google says if the bill isn't changed, the search company will stop working in Australia.
On December 31, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison announced that the words to the country's national anthem would be changed slightly. The move is meant to show more respect for the groups of indigenous people who lived in Australia long before Europeans arrived.
Among the more unusual news stories recently…Sarah Fuller becomes the first woman to score in a Power 5 football game, scientists report that kangaroos can communicate with humans, and an artist takes an eight-year photo with a beer can - by accident.
Today NFK looks at several strong storms around the world. Yesterday, Fiji was hit by Cyclone Yasa, a strong snowstorm in the US Northeast dumped heavy snow across a wide area, and massive snows in Japan left over 1,000 cars stuck on a highway.
Among the more unusual news stories recently…breakdancing becomes an Olympic event, a New Zealand company upsets people when it tries to give away money, and some cricket umpires in Australia will now have ads - in their armpits.
Among the more unusual news stories recently…protesting lawmakers throw pig guts in Taiwan's parliament, an elephant is pulled out of a well with a crane in India, and a New Zealand city is forced to replace exploding parking sensors.
Scientists mapping the bottom of the sea around Australia have discovered an underwater coral tower near the Great Barrier Reef that's taller than New York's Empire State Building. It's the tallest underwater structure discovered in over 120 years.
In today's news roundup, a strong earthquake hits Greece and Turkey, Melbourne comes out of lockdown after 112 days, and the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series for the first time in 32 years.
Fifty countries have now officially approved a treaty banning nuclear weapons, which means it will become international law. The treaty, which is set to become active on January 22, passed even though most countries with nuclear weapons don't like it.
Over the weekend, elections were held in several countries around the world. Today, NFK looks at the elections in New Zealand, Guinea, and Bolivia.