Sunday, April 26

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Australian transgender woman wins landmark case against female-only app
World News

Australian transgender woman wins landmark case against female-only app

Roxanne Tickle's exclusion from female-only app was unlawful, Australia's Federal Court has ruled. (File image) Photo: 123RF By Jamie McKinnell, ABC News The exclusion of a transgender woman from a female-only app constituted unlawful discrimination due to gender identity, according to a landmark Federal Court ruling in Australia. Roxanne Tickle downloaded the Giggle for Girls social networking platform, which was designed to be an "online refuge" for women, in February 2021. Users provided a selfie to be assessed by artificial intelligence software to verify they were a woman. Tickle's photo was accepted, but later that year her account was restricted after a manual override. The court case she initiated is the first to claim discrimination on the basis of gender identity since changes...
Spark reports big drop in profit
Business

Spark reports big drop in profit

Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Telecommunications company Spark has reported a 72 percent drop in full year net profit, with revenue down 14 percent. The company's underlying profit was down a third and fell short of its most recent guidance, despite growth in tech products, data centres, with mobile service revenue surpassing $1 billion for the first time. Key numbers for the year ended June compared with a year ago: Net profit $316m vs $1.14b Underlying profit $1.16b vs $1.72m Revenue $3.86b vs $4.49b Underlying profit margin 30.1 percent vs 38.3 percent Final dividend 27.5 cents a share vs 27 cps Spark's financial results for this financial year are cycling significant revenue and net profit gains declared in FY23 following the TowerCo and Spark Sport transactions. Spark chair Justine ...
Fletcher subsidiary Winstone Wallboards to be charged over customer rebates
Business

Fletcher subsidiary Winstone Wallboards to be charged over customer rebates

The Commerce Commission intends to file legal proceedings against Fletcher Building subsidiary Winstone Wallboards. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson The regulator is prosecuting a Fletcher Building subsidiary over rebates It says now discontinued customer rebates for wall boards were anti-competitive Fletcher Building says IT will "vigourously defend" the case The Commerce Commission intends to file legal proceedings against Fletcher Building subsidiary Winstone Wallboards following an investigation into the use of customer rebates. The commission considered Winstone Wallboards' use of the volume rebates, which were discontinued by the company in 2022, breached the Commerce Act. In a market statement, Fletcher said it would vigorously defend itself against the commission's charges,...
Kamala Harris caps convention with call to end Gaza war, fight tyranny
World News

Kamala Harris caps convention with call to end Gaza war, fight tyranny

By Nandita Bose, Jeff Mason and Doina Chiacu, Reuters Harris accepts party's nomination, assails Donald Trump Candidate confronts Gaza war up front, denounces tyranny Speech caps four-day Democratic National Convention Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president on Friday with a rousing call to end the war in Gaza and to fight tyranny around the world, drawing a sharp contrast with Republican Donald Trump. "In the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs," Harris said, accusing Trump of bowing down to dictators. On the final, and most anticipated, night of the four-day Chicago convention, Harris, 59, sought to redefine herself for America as she and Trump, 78, enter the fin...
Have weddings been a victim of the economic downturn?
Business

Have weddings been a victim of the economic downturn?

A mass wedding in Hong Kong. Photo: PETER PARKS/AFP Kylie Springford, owner of Cheers Party Hire in Whangarei, has noticed weddings have become smaller, and less frequent in recent years. "I bought Cheers five weeks before Covid hit. Although the business is doing way better than its previous numbers, definitely the number of weddings we do has decreased and got smaller as well." She said the closure of the Brynderwyn hills, the main route between Northland and Auckland, had been a factor, as had Covid lockdowns and the tougher economic environment. Bookings for the next season were looking better, she said, but weddings did not seem to be getting any bigger. Data from Stats NZ shows that the number of marriages happening has not fully recovered from the Covid hit. The 2022 and 2023 an...
Body of UK tech entrepreneur removed from sunken yacht
World News

Body of UK tech entrepreneur removed from sunken yacht

Italian divers search the wreck of the sunken yacht. Photo: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP By Giselda Vagnoni and Guglielmo Mangiapane, Reuters The body of British tech magnate Mike Lynch was retrieved on Thursday from the wreck of his family yacht that sank this week off the coast of Sicily during a violent storm, a senior Italian official said. Lynch's 18-year-old daughter Hannah is still unaccounted for, interior ministry official Massimo Mariani told Reuters after being briefed by the emergency services. The British-flagged Bayesian, a 56-metre-long superyacht carrying 22 passengers and crew, was anchored off the port of Porticello, near Palermo, when it disappeared beneath the waves in minutes after bad weather struck early Monday. Mike Lynch's body has been retrieved from the yacht owned ...
Retail sales down in June quarter
Business

Retail sales down in June quarter

Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King Retail sales fell in the June quarter, reflecting the pressure rising prices and high interest rates are putting on consumers' wallets. Stats NZ data shows retail sales, adjusted for inflation, were down 1.2 percent in the three months to June. The drop continues the downward trend seen for two years. Sales for electronic goods, motor vehicles, hospitality and clothing were down, while supermarket sales were up. Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young said the data shows how challenging it has been for retailers. But she said with the Reserve Bank cutting the official cash rate and promising more cuts will follow there is hope the economy will pick up. "We are all hoping that last weeks OCR cut and the recent tax cuts will help kick start the economy and...
Bullets found in bodies of Israeli hostages retrieved from Gaza
World News

Bullets found in bodies of Israeli hostages retrieved from Gaza

People gather for a rally in Times Square demanding Hamas free Israeli hostages on 19 October 19, 2023 in New York City. Photo: VANESSA CARVALHO / AFP Bullets were found in the bodies of the six Israeli hostages retrieved from Gaza this week, the Israeli military and the Hostage Families Forum campaign group said on Thursday. The military told Reuters it retrieved another four bodies alongside its hostages, presumed to be Hamas militants, and that those bodies did not show signs of bullet wounds. The comments came a day after US President Joe Biden pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the urgency of sealing a deal for a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants there. A total of 109 hostages are believed to remain in...
All Australian tomato imports temporarily suspended
Business

All Australian tomato imports temporarily suspended

Tomato brown rugose fruit virus. Photo: Tomatoes NZ Biosecurity New Zealand has temporarily suspended all Australian tomato imports, to be reviewed in seven days, after the detection of tomato brown rugose fruit virus. The Ministry for Primary Industries had previously paused some Australian exports but was still allowing tomatoes in from Queensland, where the virus is not present, and was testing seeds which can also contain the virus. Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV) which effects affects tomatoes, capsicums, and chillies, has been found in two properties in South Australia. The virus causes spotting, discolouration and deformities, impacting the fruits market value - it has no impact on human health. Tomatoes NZ chairperson Barry O'Neil told RNZ greenhouse tomato growers were...
Watch: Kamala Harris delivers pivotal Democratic convention speech
World News

Watch: Kamala Harris delivers pivotal Democratic convention speech

After a whirlwind month in American politics, new Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has formally reintroduced herself in a highly anticipated speech on the final day of the convention in Chicago. US Vice President Harris, 59, is the first Black woman and South Asian woman to ever be a party's presidential nominee. Just a few months ago, such a scene would have been unthinkable, but after Biden had a dismal debate performance in late June he ended up withdrawing as a candidate last month, and Democrats quickly lined up to endorse Harris. She will face former president, Republican Donald Trump, in the 5 November election in a match quite unlike any in recent American history. Follow our liveblog of the speech here: Source link