Saturday, February 28

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More than 40 percent of employees worried about job security, survey shows
Business

More than 40 percent of employees worried about job security, survey shows

The number of people feeling stressed due to job insecurity is on the rise, the survey showed. Photo: RNZ Employers are checking in with staff about their mental health as a growing number report feeling more concerned about job security. The nib Insurance and the Employers and Manufacturers Association's workplace wellbeing survey showed 44 percent of respondents were worried about their job security, up from 33 percent in 2022. It found two thirds were anxious about money and more than a third had been affected by business restructuring given the tough economic times. EMA head of advocacy Alan McDonald said since the pandemic employers had become more aware of the mental and physical stresses in the workplace. "You see a growing number of employers looking at things like flexible work...
Here’s how silent stroke can dent your brain health
Health

Here’s how silent stroke can dent your brain health

While silent strokes may not be fatal as a normal brain stroke, it can still affect brain health and lead to cognitive issues such as memory and attention problems, said experts on Monday.  Silent stroke, also known as silent cerebral infarction, can go undetected for years. It does not have symptoms such as sudden weakness, speech difficulties, or facial drooping. It occurs when cerebral blood flow is transiently disrupted, leading to ischemic damage without overt clinical symptoms. However, “the condition can result in subtle neurocognitive deficits, such as memory issues and difficulties with attention, and increased risk of subsequent overt strokes, which are more severe and easily recognisable,” Dr Deepak Yadav, consultant, Neurology, Amrita Hospital, Faridabad, said. “Depending o...
Donald Trump didn’t want The Apprentice released before the US election. It’s coming to cinemas this week
World News

Donald Trump didn’t want The Apprentice released before the US election. It’s coming to cinemas this week

Photo: Madman Entertainment By Velvet Winter of the ABC Around the time Ali Abassi was first offered Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice in 2018, the Iranian-born Danish director couldn't actually enter the US due to Trump's infamous travel ban. Warning: This story contains language some readers may find offensive. After jumping through numerous hoops, Abassi was granted entry - temporarily. "I thought it was quite funny having gone through all this, and I was saying, 'If I leave the country, I can't get in again'," Abassi told The Screen Show's Jason Di Rosso. "So maybe I can do this on Zoom. The first feature directed from Zoom." The Apprentice is the semi-biographical story of Donald Trump's ascension through New York's real estate scene in the 80s, and his relationship with lawyer/me...
Israel deploys fourth army division in south Lebanon offensive, says senior Hezbollah official probably dead
World News

Israel deploys fourth army division in south Lebanon offensive, says senior Hezbollah official probably dead

By James Mackenzie and Maya Gebeily, Reuters An image grab taken from a UGC video posted on social media on shows Israeli soldiers raising an Israeli flag in Lebanon's southern border village of Maroun al-Ras. Photo: AFp/Screenshot Israel's military said it had deployed a fourth army division into south Lebanon, signalling an expanding ground offensive against Hezbollah, and said the successor to the Iran-backed group's slain leader appeared to have been "eliminated". Defence Minister Yoav Gallant made the announcement about Hashem Safieddine, in what would be the latest shock to Hezbollah's hierarchy, as Israel began ground operations in southwest Lebanon, extending its incursions to a new zone. As Hezbollah's deputy leader left the door open to a negotiated ceasefire, the Israeli m...
‘Evacuate now’ Biden tells those in Hurricane Milton’s path
World News

‘Evacuate now’ Biden tells those in Hurricane Milton’s path

Contractors put plywood over windows of a building in Tampa on 8 October 2024 ahead of Hurricane Milton’s expected landfall. Photo: AFP US President Joe Biden urged those who have been ordered to leave before Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida to "evacuate now", saying it was a matter of life and death. "This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century, and God-willing it won't be, but it's looking like that right now," Biden said. Biden added that he has approved pre-landfall emergency declarations in Florida and is calling on airlines to accommodate evacuations and not engage in price-gouging. Hurricane Milton was expected to enlarge on Wednesday as it grinded past Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula en route to Florida's Gulf Coast, where more than 1 million people were ...
Banks prepare for home loans going bad
Business

Banks prepare for home loans going bad

Interest rates may be falling - and relatively quickly - but that does not mean the end of New Zealand's mortgage stress, Corelogic is warning. Most borrowers are opting for short-term fixes, which will mean the effect of falling interest rates would be felt relatively quickly, property economist Kelvin Davidson says. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Property economist Kelvin Davidson said the percentage of "non-performing" loans, which are at least 90 days overdue or considered impaired, had lifted to 0.6 percent of all mortgages. That was the highest level in a decade. Davidson said while it was only about half the rate of 2009 and 2010, it was a concern and could continue to rise because unemployment was increasing. "Based on Reserve Bank figures, the trading banks themselves recently s...
The UK’s best country pubs with rooms
Life Style

The UK’s best country pubs with rooms

As the chill sets in and the English countryside reaches for its russet and ochre raincoat, the traditional boozer beckons with an amber glow. And why not? There’s the honest pub grub, gnarled beams and cosy, crackling fire, but also the smug convenience of scaling an 16th-staircase to bed after a hearty supper. Pubs-with-rooms are also the best way to peer into Britain’s rural soul as cosmopolitan voyeurs, where menus are lined with game and produce from local farms, and flagstones are still trodden by filthy labs and locals’ muddy wellies. Some are cool, with modern art perking up historic walls and furniture blending in with whimsically wonky bedrooms in some Hackney-On-The-Wold. But all cling to the proper pub idyll, where scruffy edges, country walks and a squire-like sensibility endu...
Chemotherapy, radiation for breast cancer may speed up biological ageing: Study
Health

Chemotherapy, radiation for breast cancer may speed up biological ageing: Study

While advances in cancer therapies have greatly improved survival rates for breast cancer, new research on Tuesday showed that common treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, may accelerate the biological ageing process in survivors.  The study led by a team from the University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences in the US suggests that the impact of breast cancer treatments on the body is more extensive than previously thought. The findings, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, showed that breast cancer survivors, regardless of the type of treatment received, had significantly increased markers of cellular ageing -- such as DNA damage response, cellular senescence, and inflammatory pathways. These ageing markers increased the risk of earl...
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ mum speaks out: My son is not a ‘monster’
World News

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ mum speaks out: My son is not a ‘monster’

Diddy (R) and his mother, Janice Combs attend the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at Prudential Center on September 12, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. Photo: Jason Kempin The mother of Sean 'Diddy' Combs says her son is not a "monster" and has likened the rapper's public downfall to a "public lynching". The music producer is currently in a Brooklyn jail awaiting trial on counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution after he was arrested on Septmber 16. He has pleaded not guilty. His defence lawyers tried to have him released on a US$50 million bond, but prosecutors told the judge that Combs was "extremely dangerous to the community" and he was denied bail. His next court date is set for Thursday (local time). Last week, lawyer Tony Buzbee told...
TVNZ signals further shrinkage in new cost-cutting measures
Business

TVNZ signals further shrinkage in new cost-cutting measures

TVNZ in Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Analysis - TVNZ has told its staff of a new cost-cutting reorganisation, which will further reduce the state-owned broadcaster's scope and scale. Mediawatch looks at the background to this - and asks if last year's scrapped media merger was a missed opportunity. On TVNZ's Q+A recently, ACT leader David Seymour said history would show charter schools had been a success. "In a decade's time, you'll be interviewing someone (about that) - and looking exactly the same," he told the youthful TVNZ host Jack Tame. "I think the future of the media is even bleaker than that for politicians," Tame replied with tongue-in-cheek ... sort of. After TVNZ announced big cuts to news in March, Jack Tame told listeners of his Newstalk ZB show "trying to save fr...