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It's a dogs life: Why are dogs so universally happy at the smallest of things? Photo: Rhonwyn Newson Ever wonder why dogs seem to be having so much fun all the time? Philosophy can tell us something about it - and why we're a bit different, an American academic says. In his new book, The Happiness of Dogs: Why the Unexamined Life Is Most Worth Living, Welsh author and philosopher, professor Mark Rowlands explores a dog's view of the world, and cites the likes of Camus, Dylan Thomas, Plato and Socrates. He argues a dog's capacity for joy underlies some key differences between us - and maybe why happiness is more difficult for people, in a conversation with RNZ. Rowlands' best-known work is his international best-seller The Philosopher and the Wolf, about a decade where he lived with Bre...

By Maria Sole Campinoti for CNN Extreme Cash is a scratch card scheme run by North Carolina Education Lottery. Photo: North Carolina Education Lottery When a North Carolina man headed to a convenience store on Tuesday, he had no idea luck was on his side. Jerry Hicks, a master carpenter from Banner Elk, found a US$20 bill (NZ$33) in the parking lot of the store, he said in a news release. He spent it on a scratch-off lottery ticket - and won US$1 million. Hicks used the money to buy an Extreme Cash scratch-off, according to the release. "They actually didn't have the ticket I was looking for so I bought that one instead," he said. Hicks claimed his prize on Friday at the North Carolina Education Lottery Headquarters. He chose to receive the prize as a lump sum of US$600,000 instead o...

By Nick Mulvenney for Reuters Newly elected Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has promised a new plan for Brisbane's Olympic stadium. (file photo) Photo: Bradley Kanaris The impassioned debate over the main stadium for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics looks set to be reignited in the wake of a change of government in the state of Queensland. David Crisafulli will be sworn in as the new Premier of the state on Monday after the victory of his Liberal National Party at the polls and he has already promised a new plan for the showpiece arena by early February. "I spent a considerable amount of time talking to the prime minister about that ... and I reckon we can get a good outcome," Crisafulli told reporters after a phone call with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday. "Within 100 days,...

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Photo: AFP / JIJI PRESS Yen currency hits three-month low Ruling coalition punished over scandals, inflation Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba due to speak at 6pm The make-up of Japan's future government was in flux on Monday after voters punished Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's scandal-tainted ruling coalition, leaving no party with a clear mandate to lead the world's fourth-largest economy. The uncertainty sent the yen currency to a three-month low as analysts prepared for days, or possibly weeks, of political wrangling to form a government and potentially a change of leader. That comes as the country faces economic headwinds, a tense security situation fuelled by an assertive China and nuclear-armed North Korea, and a week before US voters h...

The Colorado Department of Agriculture said that all subsamples from multiple lots of McDonald's brand fresh and frozen beef patties had tested negative for E. coli. Photo: SCOTT OLSON / AFP McDonald's on Sunday ruled out beef patties as a source of the E. coli outbreak linked to Quarter Pounder hamburgers, which has killed at least one person and sickened nearly 75 others. "We remain very confident that any contaminated product related to this outbreak has been removed from our supply chain and is out of all McDonald's restaurants," the fast-food chain's Chief supply chain officer Cesar Pina said in a statement. The Colorado Department of Agriculture said that all subsamples from multiple lots of McDonald's brand fresh and frozen beef patties had tested negative for E. coli, adding tha...

By Steve Holland, Jeff Mason and James Oliphant for Reuters US comedian Tony Hinchcliffe speaks during a campaign rally for former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York on 27 October 2024. Photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was set to lead a rally at New York's Madison Square Garden on Sunday local time that began with a series of vulgar and racist remarks by allies of the former president. Trump, a New York celebrity for decades, hoped to use the event at the iconic venue known for Knicks basketball games and Billy Joel concerts to deliver his closing argument against Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, even though the state last backed a Republican presidential candidate in 1984. "I...