Blog

Inspector-General Brendan Horsley. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson A group of lawyers is calling for a first-of-its-kind inquiry into whether New Zealand spy agencies are helping Israel's war in Gaza. In a letter to the inspector-general of intelligence and security (IGIS) on Thursday, they said the country was in danger of aiding international crimes. Inspector-General Brendan Horsley confirmed he was considering the request. Horsley has previously said he would look into conflict-related spying this year. One of the three lawyers who made the call, University of Auckland associate professor Treasa Dunworth, said the IGIS was thorough and she thought he would appreciate their argument that Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) and Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) intel...

By Byron Kaye for Reuters Apps for social media services including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Threads, Telegram and others. Photo: Victor Okhrimets / 123RF Australia said it will fine internet platforms up to 5 percent of their global revenue for failing to prevent the spread of misinformation online, joining a worldwide push to rein in borderless tech giants but angering free speech advocates. The government said it would make tech platforms set codes of conduct governing how they stop dangerous falsehoods spreading, to be approved by a regulator. The regulator would set its own standard if a platform failed to do so, then fine companies for non-compliance. The legislation, to be introduced in parliament on Thursday, targets false content that hurts election integrit...

By Mawunyo Gbogbo, ABC Eminem performs on stage during the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena on September 11, 2024 in Elmont, New York. Photo: Michael Loccisano / Getty Images for MTV / AFP It was déjà vu when Eminem opened the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) with a bunch of look-alikes in blonde wigs, Eminem wearing one too before switching to a baseball cap. It was a call back to his performance at the 2000 VMAs when he walked in with scores of "Slim Shady" characters dressed like him. It wasn't the only throwback with host Megan Thee Stallion dressing up like Britney Spears during her 2001 VMA performance of 'Slave 4 U' during which she carried a live snake. It didn't take long for Megan Thee Stallion to discard her reptile friend. VMA iconic moments that shaped the earl...

By Joey Roulette, Reuters Polaris Dawn astronauts Anna Menon (L), Scott "Kidd" Poteet (2L), Jared Isaacman (2R) and Sarah Gillis (R). Photo: SpaceX/AFP A group of private astronauts is set to carry out the first private spacewalk in orbit on Thursday from a SpaceX capsule, testing a new line of spacesuits in the company's riskiest mission yet. A billionaire entrepreneur, a retired military fighter pilot and two SpaceX employees have been orbiting Earth aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon since their pre-dawn launch from Florida on Tuesday for the Polaris Dawn mission, the Elon Musk-led company's latest and riskiest bid to push the boundaries of commercial spaceflight. The spacewalk is slated to begin at 2:23am ET (0623 GMT / 6.23pm NZT) at 700km in altitude, with two astronauts venturing out...

People wade through flood waters on a boat in Hanoi on September 12, 2024, as heavy rains in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi brought flooding to northern Vietnam. Photo: NHAC NGUYEN / AFP Several Hanoi districts remained inundated on Thursday with the weather agency forecasting little change in the water levels of the Red River over the next 24 hours, as floods and landslides continued to affect areas in northern Vietnam. Vietnam is still reeling from the impact of Typhoon Yagi, the strongest storm to hit Asia this year, which made landfall on Saturday. At least 197 people have been killed and 128 missing since the storm struck, according to the government's disaster management agency. Some 800 people have been injured. "High flooding water levels have flooded riverside and low-lying area...

By Helen Coster, Reuters Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. Photo: AFP / SAUL LOEB The US presidential debate between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump attracted 57.5 million television viewers across seven TV networks, according to preliminary Nielsen data on Wednesday. Tuesday night's event was the first time the candidates in the 5 November presidential election had met face to face. The viewing figure tops the roughly 51 million people who watched Trump debate then-candidate President Joe Biden in June. It does not capture the full extent of online viewing, which has grown in popularity as traditional TV audiences decline. Nor does it reflect viewers who watched the debate in bars and restaura...