Author: Press Room

A Victoria University researcher is working to help artificial intelligence understand and use irony, one of the foundations of humour.Applied linguistics lecturer Stephen Skalicky has received a Marsden Grant to model the qualities and patterns that make up irony, a concept he says is notoriously difficult to define.”What I want to do is teach that concept to artificial intelligence,” Skalicky said. Tech companies are under commercial pressure to improve AI’s understanding of irony and sarcasm, which appear frequently in social media posts and customer reviews.An example: “This is the best” could be sincere praise or cutting sarcasm, depending on context…

A second popular swimming spot in Marlborough will be closed this summer due to flood repair works.Marlborough District Council announced that Ferry Bridge would be closed until June 2027 as long-awaited stopbank repairs get under way.Council’s infrastructure and services manager Richard Coningham said that with large machinery operating on both sides of the Wairau River disturbing the river’s silt, it had been judged too hazardous for swimming.”This is not a decision taken lightly. It is for the safety of the public and to allow us to progress this important flood control work for the protection of the Spring Creek community,”…

The Labour Party would offer doctors and nurse practitioners low-interest loans to set up new practices or buy into existing ones, if elected next year.Leader Chris Hipkins made the announcement at the party’s annual general meeting in central Auckland on Sunday afternoon.He said Labour would provide up to 50 loans each year, prioritising areas that had no general practitioners, or practices with closed or partially closed books.Doctors could apply for loans of up to 90% of the cost of buying into a practice, capped at $500,000.The loans would only be available for owner-operated general practices, with corporate-owned clinics excluded.They would…

There could be further flight cancellations as A320 jets are grounded globally for an urgent software upgrade. About 6000 Airbus A320 aircraft around the world are affected by a recall for a software upgrade. Airline passengers around New Zealand have been caught up in cancellations.Jetstar expected to have all its affected aircraft ready overnight, and Air New Zealand anticipated its aircraft would be back in service by Sunday evening.Disruptions will likely continue, though, as airlines deal with a backlog of flights.Air New Zealand’s chief safety and risk officer Nathan McGraw said about 20 flight cancellations were expected, with the flight…

1News weather expert Daniel Corbett sets out what we can expect from the first month of summer.Here comes summer! Are you ready for what it might throw at us?Summer is officially here tomorrow and this one could keep you on your toes.Temperatures have been continuing to warm not just in the air but also the seas around New Zealand. That coupled with a shift in weather patterns could have some of us reaching for the raincoats more often this month in the run up to Christmas.This summer could have a different look to last year in some parts of the…

New Zealanders generally like to lock in for the cheapest home loan rates on offer.But some commentators say it could pay off to try something different now.When the Reserve Bank cut the official cash rate this week, to 2.25%, it made it clear that it thinks it is likely that may be as low as the OCR goes this cycle.Wholesale interest rates lifted a little in response, and some market commentators have already turned their attention to when rates might start to rise again.Economists at the country’s biggest bank, ANZ, said it was worth borrowers considering whether a longer-term fix…

Powerball has rolled over to $10 million for Wednesday’s draw after the Lotto jackpot wasn’t struck last night.The winning numbers last night were 08 11 19 29 33 37 Bonus 03 Powerball 03Seventeen tickets were successful in Second Division last night, with $15,522 won each.Winning locations included through MyLotto, Auckland’s Meadowlands Lotto, Hilltop Superette and Royal Oak Mall Lotto, Hamilton’s Shop Rite Dairy, Four Square Ōhope Beach, Taranaki’s Ōpunake Supermarket, Kāpiti Knitting and Lotto, Fresh Choice Prebbleton and Paper Plus Alexandra.The Powerball jackpot was $8 million yesterday night.”Powerball was not struck yesterday evening and has rolled over to Wednesday night,…

More than a hundred people gathered to catch a rare glimpse of a pod of orcas that entered Napier’s inner estuary this morning.Project Jonah NZ, a marine mammal protection organisation, said they were alerted to the situation just before 10am.”We’re currently working with the Department of Conservation and local iwi to monitor a pod of orca that have entered the inner estuary in Napier,” a spokesperson said.Moment orca pod delights onlookers in rare visit to Napier estuary – watch on TVNZ+”This area is made up of very shallow channels and sand flats and while orca are known to explore New…

An ACT MP says it’s time to remove licensing trusts’ monopoly rights over certain alcohol licences in parts of Auckland and Southland — but to do so through changing the law, rather than a community referendum. Simon Court, a list MP based in West Auckland, said he was shocked he couldn’t buy alcohol at the supermarket when he moved to the area 25 years ago.”There’s almost nowhere to go [locally] to watch a band or hang out with our names and have a beer on a Friday or Saturday night.”New Zealand established its first licensing trusts in the 1940s, with…

A 20-year-old man has been arrested after a shot was fired near a popular Thames swimming hole yesterday evening. Police were called to Kauaeranga Valley Rd around 5pm Saturday following reports that a man had threatened members of the public and fired a shot from a firearm into the air.The man allegedly threw the weapon into nearby vegetation before leaving in a vehicle with another party. The Police Eagle helicopter found the vehicle a short time later, and both occupants were taken into custody. The firearm was seized at the original scene. The man is due to appear in Hamilton…