Friday, December 19

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‘Supermarkets have got to lift their game’ – Customers respond to price errors
Business

‘Supermarkets have got to lift their game’ – Customers respond to price errors

It is time for supermarkets to step up over repeated pricing errors that may be making a big dent in pocketbooks for many, customers say. It comes after Consumer NZ found 65 percent of shoppers were noticing pricing inaccuracies at the supermarket and 12 percent were spotting them rather frequently. In Nelson, the shoppers RNZ spoke to were in the habit of checking their receipts. Liza recently took something back to the supermarket after she was charged the wrong price for it. "It was just something that had been reduced and I bought it for that reason, and I was fortunate enough to get a refund." But she said supermarkets could be doing more - especially given how expensive it was to get by these days. "My personal opinion is that people are doing it tough here in New Zealand and the [...
Monkeypox: Why has the WHO declared mpox a global health emergency?
World News

Monkeypox: Why has the WHO declared mpox a global health emergency?

By Olivia Willis of ABC Mpox virus particles. Photo: SERGII IAREMENKO/SCIENCE PHOTO L The rapid surge of mpox in multiple African countries has prompted the World Health Organization to sound its highest level of alert. On Wednesday, the UN agency declared a global health emergency in response to a severe outbreak of the viral disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has spread to at least four neighbouring countries where it has not been reported before. The WHO announcement follows a decision earlier this week by the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to also declare mpox a public health emergency. More than 15,600 mpox cases and 537 deaths have been detected in the DRC this year, a situation the WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Gebrselassie...
Tokyo braces for Typhoon Ampil as homes evacuated, flights cancelled
World News

Tokyo braces for Typhoon Ampil as homes evacuated, flights cancelled

Haneda Airport with few passengers in Tokyo, Japan, 16 August 16, 2024. Photo: NORIAKI SASAKI / Yomiuri / The Yomiuri Shimbun via AFP Japan grounded hundreds of flights and advised nearly 10,000 households to evacuate in some areas near Tokyo on Friday, as a strong typhoon caused power blackouts in the middle of a major summer holiday week. Typhoon Ampil, categorised as "very strong" by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), was situated off the Pacific coast of Japan's main island at 8.50am (11.50am NZ time). The agency has two higher categories - "very strong" and "violent". The typhoon is expected to head towards the eastern region of Kanto, which includes the capital, on Friday afternoon. Ampil has wind speeds of 45 metres per second with maximum gust of 60 metres per second (216km/...
Is this the end for the magnetic stripe?
World News

Is this the end for the magnetic stripe?

By Chris Baraniuk of BBC That murky brown strip of plastic usually made with polluting heavy metals may not be around for much longer. Photo: GOLUBOVY As he slipped the key card into the reader on his hotel room door and tried the handle - to no avail - he realised what he had done. For years, Steven Murdoch, a security researcher at University College London, had taken care not to put tickets or cards with magnetic stripes in his pocket next to his smartphone. This is because the magnets in smartphones are sometimes strong enough to wipe the data on magnetic stripes. But so-called magstripe hotel key cards are rare these days, increasingly superseded by contactless cards with radio frequency identification (RFID) chips inside them. As such, during his hotel visit in January this yea...
Auckland bottle shops fear stricter new rules will shut them down
Business

Auckland bottle shops fear stricter new rules will shut them down

Photo: 123rf Auckland bottle shops are concerned they could go out of business if forced to close their doors at 9pm. The council has proposed stricter alcohol sale times for supermarkets and liquor stores across the region. It would also implement a freeze on new liquor stores in the central city and 23 other "priority areas" mostly in south and west Auckland for the next two years. The changes are part of a new Local Alcohol Policy for the city. The policy has been in the works since 2008 after South Auckland liquor store owner, Navtej Singh, was shot while working, dying in hospital the next day. A Karangahape Road business owner strongly opposed to the rule change said: "I don't think it's a good idea. Many customers want a drink on the weekend. If we close early it's going to be so ...
Ex-PM’s daughter picked as youngest ever Thai leader
World News

Ex-PM’s daughter picked as youngest ever Thai leader

By Jonathan Head, Thanyarat Doksone and Kelly Ng of BBC Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Photo: JACK TAYLOR / AFP Thailand's parliament has picked Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of billionaire tycoon and former leader Thaksin, as prime minister. At 37, she will be the country's youngest PM and the second woman in the post, after her aunt Yingluck. Her selection comes just two days after former PM Srettha Thavisin was dismissed by a constitutional court. Both are from the Pheu Thai Party, which came second at the 2023 election but formed a ruling coalition. Paetongtarn faces the difficult task of reviving Thailand's stalled economy and avoiding the military coups and court interventions which have deposed four previous administrations led by her family. Paetongtarn, who received 319 endo...
‘Sacred ground’ in Anzac Cove under threat as fires rage across Türkiye, Australia’s PM says
World News

‘Sacred ground’ in Anzac Cove under threat as fires rage across Türkiye, Australia’s PM says

Fires have been raging across multiple areas of Türkiye. Photo: Supplied / @BekirKaracabeyOGM on Facebook Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has warned of the possibility fires raging towards Gallipoli may reach the graves of Australian soldiers at Anzac Cove. "Our thoughts today are also with our friends in Türkiye. We understand there are efforts underway to control fires that are burning on the Gallipoli Peninsula," Albanese said in a press conference on Friday. "Gallipoli is, of course, sacred ground to both of our countries. "Some 60,000 Australians served at Gallipoli during the eight-month campaign, and 8700 Australians lost their lives," he said, referring to the Gallipoli campaign of World War I. "Eighteen thousand were wounded during the campaign. And there were more t...
What is Alabama rush week?
World News

What is Alabama rush week?

Search "bama rush" on TikTok and this is what you get. Photo: TikTok Depending on the corners of TikTok you might inhabit, the curious American cultural phenomena of rush week might be filling your feed. (Not on TikTok? Proceed anyway. This is interesting). Rush week, and specifically rush week at the University of Alabama, is the pinnacle of over-the-top university life in the US that will leave many a New Zealander scratching their head. It's a massive drama that now plays out on social media where girls new to university vie for coveted invitations to a sorority, a house and organisation of female students that often provides a leg up in college social life and the career to follow. "The craziness is quite intense. You can feel down about yourself during rush week and rush week can s...
A2 Milk, Synlait settle year-long dispute over infant formula
Business

A2 Milk, Synlait settle year-long dispute over infant formula

Photo: 123RF Settlement looks to have met A2 Milk's major demands Synlait accepts loss of manufacturing exclusivity A2 Milk to participate in much needed Synlait capital raising Dairy companies Synlait Milk and A2 Milk have reached a conditional settlement of their dispute over the manufacturing and supply of infant formula. The companies have been in arbitration over the near year-long dispute caused by A2 Milk's (ATM) cancellation of a key part of their long running contract, which gave Synlait exclusivity in supplying infant milk formula products sold in China, Australia and New Zealand. Synlait's chief executive Grant Watson said settling the dispute was another step in the company's recovery. "With the disputes behind us, we are pleased to be able to confirm to our shareholder...
Christopher Luxon and Anthony Albanese discuss cybersecurity, 501s and AUKUS pillar two
World News

Christopher Luxon and Anthony Albanese discuss cybersecurity, 501s and AUKUS pillar two

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese have raised the issue that a cyberattack on one country could trigger a joint co-operation under trans-Tasman agreements. The discussion of cyber-warfare was one of the main issues raised by the two leaders at a joint press conference in Canberra on Friday. Luxon said the nature of modern warfare had changed, and while it would require a "pretty severe cyberattack" to trigger Article IV of the ANZUS Treaty, which recognises an "armed attack in the Pacific Area on any parties" would be dangerous to the others, it was now a factor that needed to be considered. Albanese said its military and signals defences were being tested by cyberattacks, which can now have "as great an impact as an attack from traditional me...