Author: Press Room
A Victoria University academic has apologised after making public comments suggesting dairy industry leaders should be hanged.Dr Mike Joy, a senior research fellow at the Wellington university and freshwater advocate, took to LinkedIn last month suggesting the dairy industry was putting babies and adults at risk with nitrate contamination of drinking and groundwater.He then said, “How about we bring back hanging for industry CEOs?”The post referred to an article about Minnie Dean, who was hanged for killing a child in 1895.Federated Farmers dairy chair Karl Dean said the comments were extreme, violent and dangerous and he had written to the…
Published on 03/09/2025 – 15:00 GMT+2 •Updated 15:39 ADVERTISEMENT Last year was catastrophic for Giannis´ olive trees. Olives were so small that they were referred to the oil market, much less lucrative, he says. This year seems only slightly better. By the day we film, not a single rain drop has fallen here in two months. “Due to the climate crisis, this olive variety has faced many serious issues. Mainly due to lack of water, but also due to increased winter temperatures, which don´t provide trees with the hours of cold they need to become fruitful. This results in too…
West Coasters will soon be able to find out online if their property or one they’re thinking of buying is at risk from liquefaction – or a host of other damaging events.However, a regional councillor has warned, “you can’t stop stupid” as developments happen in risky areas.Under new government rules, regional councils must now share all the information they gather on natural hazards, and district councils must list the risks in plain language, on every property’s LIM report (Land Information Memorandum).At the West Coast Regional Council’s Resource Management meeting this week, staff reported they were aiming to have a hazards…
ADVERTISEMENT More than 6% of people in the EU aged 16 or older reported being unable to access dental care in 2024, according to the latest Eurostat figures. The highest rates of unmet dental care needs were reported in Greece at 27.1%, Latvia at 16.5%, and Romania at 16.2%. By contrast, the lowest shares were observed in Malta at 0.4%, Germany at 0.9%, and Croatia at 1.1%. The share of people at risk of poverty who reported unmet dental care needs in 2024 was substantially higher, at 13.7%, than that of those not at risk of poverty, at 5.1%. This…
A Christchurch high school student has been admitted to hospital with meningococcal meningitis after attending a rugby tournament in Dunedin.In a letter to parents, Shirley Boys’ High School headmaster Tim Grocott said the student was now well, “alert, moving and talking” after being taken to hospital on Tuesday.”Our thoughts are with the student and his family as he recovers from the infection,” he said.”The student had been in Dunedin at a school rugby tournament and had stayed and travelled with other students from Shirley Boys’ High School. We have alerted the tournament organisers and the accommodation.”Yesterday afternoon we held a…
By Julian GOMEZ & Damaso JAIVENOIS Published on 03/09/2025 – 17:28 GMT+2 ADVERTISEMENT The highest share of users was recorded in the Netherlands (94.8%), followed by Ireland (90.6%) and Denmark (87.0%), according to Eurostat. By contrast, the lowest shares were in Poland (46.1%), Bulgaria (50.8%) and Romania (56.6%). Internet-connected TVs were by far the most used IoT devices in 2024, as reported by 57.9% of individuals. This was followed by smart wearables, such as smartwatches and fitness trackers (29.9%). One-fifth of people reported using games consoles and internet-connected home audio systems. 16.0% of people reported using a virtual assistant in the form of…
A business customer who was told it could take two months and $7500 to decommission gas is one of a number who complained to complaint resolution provider Utilities Disputes (UDL) about gas disconnection issues.UDL said most of the complaints it received related to disconnections were due to payment arrears, when a disconnection and reconnection fee could apply.But fees that were sometimes substantial were also charged when a gas supply was permanently stopped, it said.UDL received 35 complaints in the past six months about gas disconnection, compared to 11 in the previous six.The number of complaints about decommissioning had been increasing…
Published on 04/09/2025 – 11:15 GMT+2 ADVERTISEMENT Portugal and other parts of Europe have been at the centre of one of the continent’s worst wildfire seasons since records began in 2006, which has also turned into a breeding ground for misinformation. A post appeared on Instagram in August, alleging that immigrants receive €910 in benefits, compared to volunteer firefighters, who the user alleged receive no stipends. The account that published the picture is a self-professed supporter of the far-right Chega party and has more than 16,000 followers. The post has received 10,000 likes and has prompted other similar posts elsewhere…
History has been made in Aotearoa New Zealand. Amy Geue, a teacher with 15 years’ experience in Australian Deaf education, is the first Deaf person to become a principal in more than 100 years of Deaf education in New Zealand.The Deaf community has been crying out for Deaf representation at the leadership level, as revealed in a recent exposé of the problems faced by Deaf students, teachers and parents in a TVNZ+ report. It found that only two of the 12-strong leadership at Ko Taku Reo, the school that oversees Deaf Education, were either Deaf or had lived Deaf experience…
ADVERTISEMENT President Donald Trump said the United States will keep a robust military presence in Poland during a meeting on Wednesday with Karol Nawrocki, the new president of the American ally in Europe. Trump had taken the unusual step of endorsing Karol Nawrocki in the presidential election earlier this year and as the leaders sat in the White House, Trump said the US-Polish relationship has always been strong but “now it’s better than ever.” When asked by a reporter whether the US planned to continue placing troops in Poland, Trump said it would and that “we’ll put more there if they…