Author: Press Room

Thousands of nurses at two of New York City’s largest hospitals went on strike Monday morning after a weekend of negotiations over pay and staffing failed to produce a deal for a new contract. More than 7,000 nurses at the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan were expected to participate in the walkout, the New York State Nurses Association, the largest union representing registered nurses in the state, said in a news release Monday.Nurses at two facilities within Mount Sinai’s health care system tentatively agreed to contracts Sunday, according to an announcement from…

CNN  —  President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats have moved quickly to appoint scores of judges during the past two years, outpacing former President Donald Trump, but they have stalled in the South. The dearth of nominees offered in southern states, notably where both US senators are Republican, threatens to undercut Biden’s large-scale effort to counteract Trump’s effect on the federal judiciary, particularly to bolster civil rights and ensure voter protections. The Biden team’s well-documented diversification of the courts – nominees have been overwhelmingly women and people of color, such as Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, and offered professional…

Japan is grappling with the biggest drop in living standards in nearly a decade as inflation continues to soar. The world’s third largest economy reported its worst real-wage decline in more than eight years on Friday, a day after its leader asked businesses to hike workers’ pay at a level above inflation. Japan saw a 3.8% year-on-year fall in inflation-adjusted wages in November, data published by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed. It’s the biggest fall since May 2014, when a consumption tax hike at the time caused a 4.1% decline, according to data published by the ministry.…

TAIPEI, Taiwan: China’s health care authorities declined to include Pfizer’s COVID-19 treatment drug in a national reimbursement list that would have allowed patients to get it at a cheaper price throughout the country, saying it was too expensive. Paxlovid, an oral medicine developed by New York-based drugmaker Pfizer, has been widely sought after in China since the country began phasing out its “zero-COVID” restrictions and a surge of infections started sweeping through the country. Although it is supposed to be prescribed by medical professionals, that has not stopped people scrambling to purchase it on their own through any means at…

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has strongly condemned the supporters of former Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro who stormed the country’s Congress and Supreme Court on Sunday.In a move compared to Donald Trump actions following his loss to Joe Biden in 2020, Mr Bolsonaro refused to publicly concede defeat in the days following last year’s razor tight election loss to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, commonly referred to as Lula.Mr Bolsonaro’s supporters have rejected the election loss and thousands wrapped in the nation’s green and yellow colours stormed the Congress – and other government buildings – in the capital Brasilia, on Sunday.Stream…

With the political fallout, BN is expected to team up with the state’s main opposition party – Parti Warisan Sabah led by Mr Shafie Apdal which occupies 19 seats – and other smaller parties to form the next state government. At the same time, five BN assemblymen have broken ranks and publicly announced their support for Mr Hajiji. Free Malaysia Today on Sunday reported that the five have signed statutory declarations extending support to Mr Hajiji as the chief minister. WHY THE POLITICAL CRISIS? Mr Bung Mokhtar, who is also the state’s deputy chief minister, stated that BN pulled its…

The government is under renewed pressure to fund both sides of the Voice to Parliament referendum debate, with Liberal Senator Jane Hume and Nationals leader David Littleproud calling on the government to revisit it’s decision.The Albanese government has decided not to fund both sides of the referendum debate and instead finance a “public education campaign”, in a decision that departs from how referendums have previously been conducted.The government’s legislation to enable the Voice referendum – set to be debated when parliament resumes – would also suspend legal requirements for Yes and No pamphlets to be created and distributed to all…

Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt says the Disaster Recovery Allowance can now be accessed by residents in Western Australia who are unable to work due to extreme flooding in the Kimberley region.“That money can be available now to people through the Services Australia website and hotline,” he said during a media conference in Broome on Monday afternoon. Source: Sky News

BOGOR: The development of Indonesia’s new planned capital Nusantara in eastern Kalimantan will benefit Malaysia’s Borneo states, Sabah and Sarawak, said Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Monday (Jan 9). Speaking at a press conference on the second day of his official visit to Indonesia, Mr Anwar said that Malaysia plans to take a more positive and aggressive effort in the development of Nusantara. Mr Anwar met Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo at the presidential palace in Bogor, West Java during his first official overseas visit since assuming office in November.  The two leaders witnessed the handing over of 11 letters…

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has commended those assisting with the floods in Western Australia’s Kimberley region. “At the worst of times … Australians show the best of their character,” he said during a media conference in Broome on Monday afternoon. “They pitch in to help their fellow Australians, and that is what we are seeing here.” Source: Sky News