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Trump briefed on alleged assassination threats by Iran, his campaign says

25Sep

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World News

Trump briefed on alleged assassination threats by Iran, his campaign says

By Kanishka Singh, Reuters Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Photo: Brandon Bell / Getty Images via AFP Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was briefed on Tuesday by US intelligence officials on alleged threats from Iran to assassinate him, Trump's campaign said. "President Trump was briefed earlier today by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence regarding real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilise and sow chaos in the United States," the campaign said in a statement. The campaign said that intelligence officials have identified that Iranian threats have "heightened in the past few months" and US government officials were working to protect Trump and ensure the elections were not impacted. Iran has previous...

Mānawa Bay: Traffic jams causes delays at Auckland Airport

25Sep

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Business

Mānawa Bay: Traffic jams causes delays at Auckland Airport

Photo: RNZ / Lucy Xia An aviation industry group says traffic congestion around a new outlet mall, a stone's throw from Auckland Airport, is frustrating airlines and causing some delays. Mānawa Bay, which is owned by Auckland International Airport, is less than three kilometres from the airport and has attracted some huge crowds since it opened late last week, causing traffic chaos. The mall owner expects traffic volumes will ease in the coming weeks. Auckland Council said the mall had to meet several conditions relating to access, parking and traffic circulation and there was a detailed transport assessment as part of the consent process. However, the board of Airline Representatives said baggage handlers and crew had already been caught in the traffic bottle neck. Executive director Ca...

US charges suspected Trump gunman with attempted assassination

25Sep

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World News

US charges suspected Trump gunman with attempted assassination

Ryan Routh. Photo: AFPTV / AFP The man accused of staking out Donald Trump's Florida golf course with a rifle was indicted on Tuesday (local time) on a charge of attempted assassination of a political candidate as prosecutors alleged he intended to kill the former US president, federal prosecutors said. Ryan Routh, 58, was already facing two gun-related charges after authorities said he pointed a rifle through a fence at Trump's golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida on 15 September while the Republican presidential candidate was golfing there. He has been ordered to remain in jail to await trial. A federal prosecutor said on Monday that the US Justice Department would ask a grand jury to approve the more serious attempted assassination charge, which carries a maximum of life in prison. ...

25Sep

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Business

KPMG cuts 50 consulting roles

KPMG's Auckland office (file image). Photo: Supplied / Google Maps KPMG has made almost 50 staff redundant as part of changes to the structure of its consulting business. Chief executive Jason Doherty said it had been "progressively evolving" its consulting services for some years. "The changing needs of our clients and of the consulting landscape means that we need to fundamentally reshape that part of our business - the time has come to move from evolution to transformation, to ensure this area of our business is fit for the future," he said. He said KPMG had last year outlined a plan for the consulting business to 2027 but clients' requirements and buying patterns were changing more quickly than expected, in New Zealand and overseas. "Given the pace of change in our clients' requirem...

New alluvial gold mine likely to be partly running in Millers Flat by October

25Sep

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Business

New alluvial gold mine likely to be partly running in Millers Flat by October

Hawkeswood Mining operations manager Simon Johnstone says he hopes to have some staff trained and the dredge running in about six weeks. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton Another mining company is going for gold in Central Otago, with hopes an alluvial gold mine will be a boon for the business and local communities. The appeal process for the Millers Flat mine lapsed earlier this month and Hawkeswood Mining expected to have the mine partly running by the end of next month. But it has been far from smooth sailing - it took more than two years to get consents and an abatement notice was issued when they started mining before the consents were approved. On the banks of the Clutha River, over the iconic blue bridge, sits the small Millers Flat community that is home to less than 200 people and a no...

When is the Tim Walz-JD Vance vice-presidential debate and how to watch it in New Zealand

25Sep

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World News

When is the Tim Walz-JD Vance vice-presidential debate and how to watch it in New Zealand

By Doina Chiacu, Reuters Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Republican nominee Senator JD Vance of Ohio. Photo: AFP Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance will face off next week in the only scheduled US vice presidential debate, a chance for each man to reinforce his running mate's message to voters just weeks before the 5 November election. Here are some details about the event: When and where is the debate? The 90-minute debate, hosted by CBS News, will take place on 1 October at 9pm ET (2pm NZT 2 October, after daylight savings time begins here this weekend) in New York City, a Democratic stronghold that is the former home of Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate running against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. Who are the mo...

25Sep

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Business

59 jobs to go at GNS Science

The confirmed cuts amounted to around 10 percent of GNS's workforce. Photo: Supplied / GNS An employee who has lost his job in cuts at GNS Science says looking for a new job is a scary prospect. Fifty-nine jobs are set to go at GNS Science as part of public sector job cuts. It is a small reduction from the 66 net roles GNS Science proposed cutting in July. GNS said 96 positions would be disestablished in total, of which 28 are currently vacant, and 37 new roles would be established. It said as a result of feedback to its proposed cuts, 29 changes were made to the proposals, including retaining seven roles that were initially proposed to be disestablished. The Public Service Association said the cuts include principal and senior scientists, geologists, geophysicists, geochemists, technic...

Study finds 200 chemicals linked to breast cancer in food packaging materials

25Sep

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Health

Study finds 200 chemicals linked to breast cancer in food packaging materials

A team of researchers has identified nearly 200 potential breast carcinogens in food packaging materials, including plastics, paper, and cardboard highlighting widespread exposure despite existing regulation. The findings, published in `Frontiers in Toxicology` on Tuesday, underscore an urgent need for stronger preventative measures to reduce these chemicals in everyday products. "This study is important because it shows that there is a huge opportunity for prevention of human exposure to breast cancer-causing chemicals," said Jane Muncke, Managing Director of the Food Packaging Forum and co-author of the study. "The potential for cancer prevention by reducing hazardous chemicals in your daily life is underexplored and deserves much more attention," she added. Breast cancer is the sec...

Missouri man Marcellus Williams executed despite prosecutor’s opposition

25Sep

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World News

Missouri man Marcellus Williams executed despite prosecutor’s opposition

By Joseph Ax, Reuters This photo obtained 22 August 2017 courtesy of the Missouri Department of Corrections shows death-row inmate Marcellus Williams. Photo: HANDOUT / AFP A Missouri man was executed today, according to the man's legal team, even though the prosecutor's office that secured his murder conviction 21 years ago expressed doubts about the integrity of the case. The US Supreme Court, the last body that could have halted the execution, declined to intervene in the case on Tuesday. Marcellus Williams, 55, was put to death by lethal injection shortly after 6pm local time at a prison in Bonne Terre, according to The Innocence Project, whose lawyer worked with Williams. His death came a day after both Missouri Governor Mike Parson and the state's highest court also rejected his...

Exporters feel more confident, but still struggle with rising costs

25Sep

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Business

Exporters feel more confident, but still struggle with rising costs

Nearly 90 percent of exporters reported higher costs in a new survey. File photo. Photo: 123rf New Zealand exporters are more upbeat about their prospects in the coming year, but continue to be beset by higher costs and market disruptions. The latest ExportNZ-DHL export barometer shows expectations of improved exports next year have risen to 58 percent of respondents, from 42 percent in last year's survey. But that has been tempered by nearly 90 percent reporting higher costs, with 55 percent facing supply chain and logistics issues, the high cost of doing business in New Zealand, and the value of the NZ dollar. DHL NZ vice president Selina Deadman said costs have risen by up to 49 percent for the vast majority of local exporters, but firms were looking for new ways to do business and i...