A group of US Democrats have come together to introduce a new bill they’re calling the Stopping Grinch Bots Act. The bill would crack down on bots that scalp in-demand items so the user may sell them for a higher price. Just in time for Christmas, the US has its eyes on stopping Grinches in…
Game developer Ubisoft will introduce NFTs to its games in a system they’re calling “Digits”. Digits will be available as one-of-a-kind in-game items. As NFTs continue their global ascent, the video game industry has its eyes on getting a piece of the pie. NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are completely unique, non-interchangeable virtual tokens or assets.…
Switzerland’s medical review board has approved Sarco suicide pods. The coffin-like pods are large enough for a person to enter and voluntarily end their lives. As conversations around voluntary assisted dying and euthanasia ramp up, Switzerland has medically approved Sarco suicide pods. The 3D-printed pods, if distributed widely, could be used for those hoping to…
Canada and the United Kingdom have joined a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games hosted in Beijing, China. They join the United States, Lithuania, and Australia in boycotting on the grounds of “ongoing human rights abuses”. This week has seen major developments in the relationship between allied nations and China. As the 2022…
New Zealand is taking dramatic measures to meet their goal of being smoke-free by 2025. Among a series of new proposals, lawmakers are considering prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after 2004. Today, 11.6 per cent of New Zealanders over the age of 15 smoke cigarettes daily. This has decreased from 18…
A third accuser has testified against Ghislaine Maxwell as the high-profile trial continues. The accuser, ‘Carolyn’, said her “soul is broken” by her experiences with Maxwell. Read the testimony from Maxwell’s first accuser here, and her second accuser here. The seventh day of the trial against Ghislaine Maxwell has ended, with three out of four…
Queensland has not only identified its first Omicron case, but also an unusual “Omicron-like” case. The state has declared the discovery of the sub lineage to be a “world first”. It was only a matter of time. Two weeks after the COVID-19 Omicron variant was discovered by South African scientists, Queensland has joined the ranks…
Meta Platforms Inc, the corporation formerly known as Facebook, is being sued by Rohingya refugees in a class-action lawsuit. The refugees, who hail from Myanmar, are alleging that Meta failed to act on hate speech and incitements of violence on their social media platforms. The Rohingya people of Myanmar are a primarily Islamic Indo-Aryan ethnic…
The Australian Government plans to introduce a “considered regulatory framework” for cryptocurrencies, according to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. The treasurer said the regulations would introduce “appropriate transparency” to the inherently volatile cryptocurrency system. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the Australian Government’s regulatory proposals for cryptocurrencies would be “the most significant reforms to our payments system in 25…
Australia will not send officials or delegates to the Beijing Winter Olympics as part of a diplomatic boycott. After the US announced this week they would boycott the games, other allied nations are expected to consider following suit. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced today that Australia will join the US in their formal boycott of…