Breaking News, Business, Financial and Economic News, World News from EconoTimes

Become a contributor

Bookmark Econotimes

Fri, Dec 05, 2025 03:20 PM All times are UTC

Follow Series

©Econometrics LLC . All Rights Reserved.

Nicole Lee

Associate Professor at the National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University

Nicole Lee is Adjunct Associate Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (NDRI) Curtin University and Director of 360Edge (www.360edge.com.au) a specialist evaluation and training consultancy for the alcohol and other drugs and mental health sectors.

She is a practicing psychologist, and has worked in the alcohol and drug and mental health fields for 25 years as clinician, trainer, researcher and manager.

Her main areas of expertise are in methamphetamine policy and practice, alcohol and other drug dependence, and co-occurring mental health and substance use. She has significant experience in evidence based practice and policy development.

Nicole is Past National President of the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy (AACBT), and Deputy Editor of the Drug and Alcohol Review journal. She has previously served on the boards of the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs (APSAD) and the Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia (ADCA).

Drugs don't affect job seeking, so let's offer users help rather than take away their payments

Sep 10, 2019 20:36 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

The Morrison government is having another shot at getting its proposal to drug test people on welfare through the Senate. Welfare, health and drug treatment experts have consistently opposed the proposal since it was...

Testing festival goers' pills isn't the only way to reduce overdoses. Here's what else works

Jul 08, 2019 23:40 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

The NSW inquest into recent drug deaths at music festivals is due to start this week. So focus is turning to how to make music festivals safer by reducing drug-related incidents. We know that prohibition doesnt work to...

Did you look forward to last night's bottle of wine a bit too much? Ladies, you're not alone

Feb 25, 2019 04:47 am UTC| Insights & Views Life

This month, close to 40,000 people, mostly women, have given up alcohol for FebFast and many others will be participating in Dry July. These events began as fundraisers for various social causes. But the main reasons...

How does ecstasy kill?

Jan 23, 2019 12:56 pm UTC| Health

MDMA (Methylenedioxymethamphetamine), commonly referred to as ecstasy, was manufactured as a potential pharmaceutical early last century. It had some limited use in the 1970s as a therapeutic aid in trauma treatment and in...

Prisoners need drug and alcohol treatments but AA programs aren't the answer

Sep 09, 2018 20:44 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

Prisons and drug use are closely linked. Two-thirds of Australian prisoners report using illicit drugs in the 12 months before they entered prison, compared with 12% of the general population in the previous 12 months....

What makes it so hard to quit drugs?

Dec 12, 2016 11:05 am UTC| Health

Most people who use alcohol and other drugs do so infrequently and never become dependent (or addicted as its sometimes called). On average about 10% of people who use alcohol or other drugs are dependent. The rate is...

1 2

Economy

Gold Prices Edge Higher as Markets Await Key U.S. PCE Inflation Data

Gold prices moved higher in Asian trading on Friday, supported by a weakening U.S. dollar and strong expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its upcoming December 910 meeting. Spot gold rose 0.5%...

Asia’s IPO Market Set for Strong Growth as China and India Drive Investor Diversification

Asias equity capital markets are poised for another strong year as a surge of high-profile IPOs from China and India attracts global investors seeking diversification beyond U.S. assets. In 2025, Asian ECM...

Spain’s Industrial Output Records Steady Growth in October Amid Revised September Figures

Spains industrial sector posted a moderate yet encouraging rise in October, with industrial output increasing 1.2% compared to the same month last year, according to new data released by the National Statistics Institute...

European Stocks Rise as Markets Await Key U.S. Inflation Data

European stock markets edged higher on Friday as investors looked ahead to the delayed release of the Federal Reserves preferred inflation metric, a key indicator ahead of next weeks policy meeting. By early European...

European Oil & Gas Stocks Face 2026 With Cautious Outlook Amid Valuation Pressure

European oil and gas equities are entering 2026 on a more cautious footing as J.P. Morgans latest EU Oils Outlook highlights tightening valuations and growing concerns over a projected global oil oversupply. Despite Brent...

Politics

Taiwan Opposition Criticizes Plan to Block Chinese App Rednote Over Security Concerns

Taiwans political landscape heated up after the government announced a plan to suspend access to the Chinese social media platform Rednoteknown as Xiaohongshufor one year. The interior ministry said the proposed ban stems...

China’s Expanding Maritime Military Presence Alarms Taiwan and Japan

Taiwan and Japan expressed growing concern on Friday over Chinas expanding military activity across East Asian waters, following a Reuters report revealing Beijings largest maritime deployment to date. According to...

Honduras Election Turmoil Intensifies as Nasralla Blames Trump for Shift in Results

Honduran presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla says last-minute interference by former U.S. President Donald Trump undermined his chances in the countrys tightly contested election. Speaking with Reuters, Nasralla, a...

Australia and Japan Strengthen Defence Cooperation Amid Rising Regional Tensions

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles will travel to Japan on Saturday for high-level defence talks with his counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, as both nations deepen security cooperation in response to growing regional...

U.S. Justice Department Orders Intensified Probe Into Antifa and Domestic Extremist Groups

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has directed federal law enforcement agencies to significantly ramp up investigations into the antifa movement and other groups deemed potential domestic extremist threats, according to an...

Science

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Breakthrough Success With First NASA Mission

Blue Origins massive New Glenn rocket marked a major milestone as it completed its first mission for paying customers, sending two NASA satellites toward Mars and successfully landing its reusable booster at sea. The...

Cogent Biosciences Soars 120% on Breakthrough Phase 3 Results for Bezuclastinib in GIST Treatment

Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ: COGT) shares skyrocketed over 120% after the biotech company announced groundbreaking results from its Phase 3 PEAK trial evaluating bezuclastinib in combination with sunitinib for patients with...

Trump and Merck KGaA Partner to Slash IVF Drug Costs and Expand Fertility Coverage

U.S. President Donald Trump and German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA have announced a groundbreaking deal aimed at lowering the cost of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments while boosting access to fertility care in...

Technology

EU Prepares Antitrust Probe Into Meta’s AI Integration on WhatsApp

The European Commission is reportedly preparing to launch a new antitrust investigation into Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) over the companys recent rollout of artificial intelligence features within WhatsApp....

Sam Altman Reportedly Explored Funding for Rocket Venture in Potential Challenge to SpaceX

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly explored raising significant capital to acquire or partner with a rocket company, a move that could have created direct competition with Elon Musks SpaceX. According to a report from the...

Wikipedia Pushes for AI Licensing Deals as Jimmy Wales Calls for Fair Compensation

Wikipedia is seeking additional licensing deals with major technology companies to address the growing financial burden caused by artificial intelligence firms heavily scraping its platform, according to co-founder Jimmy...

Firelight Launches as First XRP Staking Platform on Flare, Introduces DeFi Cover Feature

Firelight reaches 25M XRP deposit cap within hours of launch; ushers in a new era for decentralized XRP staking. A new XRP staking platform, Firelight, has officially launched on the Flare blockchain, marking the first...

OpenAI Moves to Acquire Neptune as It Expands AI Training Capabilities

OpenAI has confirmed plans to acquire Neptune, a startup known for its advanced tools that help companies track, monitor, and optimize AI model training workflows. Although the company did not release the financial details...