Author: Press Room

Auckland Council is urging beach-goers to exercise caution after swimmers report itching, rashes, or red spots after entering the water.The council’s environmental health technical specialist Darryl Thompson said it was seabather’s eruption, a rash caused by stings from the nematocysts – or stinging cells – of certain sea anemones and thimble jellyfishes.However, NIWA emeritus researcher Dr Dennis Gordon told RNZ the rash could be caused by sea lice, a completely different type of organism, instead.Gordon said the rashes — known as seabather’s eruption — in Auckland were likely to be caused by a siphonophorae.”Divers call it the long, stringy, stingy…

Lithuania’s government says it will boost security on its power grids with Poland ahead of planned decoupling from Russian energy system next month. ADVERTISEMENTLithuania says it’s ramping up security around the country’s electricity link with Poland ahead of their planned disconnection from the Baltic region’s power systems, a Soviet-era grid shared with Russia and Belarus.Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas says the government has asked police forces to protect the power link shared with Warsaw.After recent incidents and suspected sabotage in the Baltic Sea, Vilnius believes it’s crucial to ensure security measures around the LitPol Link are intensified.Last month, the former…

Businesses in Northland’s Kaipara District say they’re frustrated by a 13-hour internet outage that forced many shops to close or switch to cash-only transactions for a day.Dargaville Community Development Board manager Sue Curtis said Wednesday’s fibre outage meant eftpos terminals and ATMs stopped working, and banks closed.As a result, anyone who didn’t have cash on hand before the 8am cable break could not spend money at the town’s businesses.Spark has confirmed the outage was caused when a culvert was being dug near Tangowahine, between Whangārei and Dargaville.The digger hit the main fibre-optic cable providing broadband internet to Dargaville, Maungaturoto, Paparoa…

The owners of a large carving that washed up on a Northland beach have been found — but how it ended up in the sea remains a mystery.The wheku, a carved representation of a human face, was discovered at Omakiwi Cove, at Te Rāwhiti in the Bay of Islands, last Friday.The finder alerted Arana Rewha, a kaitiaki [guardian] for the hapū Ngāti Kuta, who was mystified by how such a large, heavy carving came to be in the water.The wheku measures about 600mm long by 300mm wide and is almost 100mm thick.Its good condition showed it had not been in…

North Canterbury schools are continuing to back NCEA level 1, despite calls to scrap the certificate.Rangiora High School board of trustees presiding member Simon Green said the qualification is “robust” and provides a “benchmark” for student achievement.In November, Education Minister Erica Stanford said she was open to NCEA level 1 being scrapped, following an Education Review Office report.The report said NCEA level 1, which was overhauled last year, was not fair or reliable, it confused families, and more than a quarter of schools did not offer it.But Green and Rangiora High School principal Bruce Kearney defended the qualification.”There is zero…

Home loan borrowers should see rates below 5% before too long, one mortgage expert says.The official cash rate is expected to be lowered by another 50 basis points in February, and further cuts are predicted later in the year.Wholesale rates have fallen since the last OCR cut, and the two-year swap rate is down 20 basis points from the time of the last gross domestic product (GDP) release, which showed New Zealand had been through another recession.David Cunningham, chief executive of mortgage broking firm Squirrel, said it meant there was at least 20 basis points to come off home loan…

New Zealanders travelling to or through the UK will need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to enter the country from this week on.They cost £10 – just over NZ$22 to apply for, are valid for two years, allowing multiple journeys for stays of up to six months at a time, and are required by all travellers except British and Irish citizens.The British High Commission said in a statement it would take only a few minutes to apply through the app.Deputy British High Commissioner, John Pearson, said it would enable a smooth experience for the millions of people who pass through…

An Invercargill brewery’s owners are feeling frustrated and fear for the future of their business after restrictions they consider “anti-competitive” were imposed for their new off-licence shop located within a licensing trust area. Gadoochi Brewery owners Nicola McGilvray and Chris Ellenden will appeal the decision from the Invercargill District Licensing committee (DLC) which allowed them to sell their own products as well as cider and beer from Southland and Otago region only — but the committee’s chairman guaranteed the decision had nothing to do with the Invercargill Licensing Trust and they were just following the rules of the Act. Ms…

A bottlenose dolphin that became entangled in a net in Auckland waters has now been freed.On Tuesday the Department of Conservation (DOC) appealed for sightings of the subadult, or juvenile, dolphin which was travelling with a fully grown dolphin.It was first reported to DOC’s hotline on December 29.DOC operations manager Kirsty Prior said the team found the dolphin and its companion at 12.50pm yesterday.”The disentanglement team were able to get a working line with grapnel and floats on the animal. This allowed the team to bring the dolphin close to the boat and work carefully with specialist knives to cut…

Chinese companies are investing massively in Hungary. ADVERTISEMENTA factory for Chinese electric cars “made in Europe” is in the planning stage. And in 2025 in Debrecen, Europe’s largest battery factory will go into operation – a €7 billion project of Chinese worldwide market leader CATL. While supporters of such mega-factories highlight economic growth and job creation, critics warn of environmental risks, a jostling for subsidies, and Hungary’s growing dependence on China and Russia as energy supplier.Currently, battery factories for electric cars are under construction all over Europe, not just in Hungary. China’s CATL already has a battery factory in the…