Latest Top Scoops Headlines
The Gili Islands: a community earthquake recovery effort
Wednesday, 16 January 2019, 4:09 pm | Joseph Cederwall
Joseph Cederwall travelled to the Gili Islands in October 2018 to talk to locals about their experiences of the event and witness the impact and the rebuild efforts on this unique ecotourism destination. More >>
Trump, Bolton and the Syrian Confusion
Wednesday, 16 January 2019, 3:23 pm | Binoy Kampmark
It’s a messy, though typical picture. US President Donald Trump wants to pull out forces in Syria. When announced in December, jaws drooped and sharp intakes of breath were registered through the Washington establishment. Members of the military industrial ... More >>
Japan Opts Out of the IWC: The Downfall of Whaling?
Wednesday, 16 January 2019, 3:05 pm | Centro de Conservacion
On December 26, just between the Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the government of Japan announced its intention to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) with the aim of resuming commercial whaling operations in its jurisdictional ... More >>
The World Will End in Fire
Wednesday, 16 January 2019, 3:00 pm | David Swanson
Proclaiming that the end is nigh has now become the labor of the very opposite of a deluded religious devotee. And the question framed by Robert Frost of whether the world will end in fire or ice is no longer in dispute. The world will soon end in ... More >>
Top 10 Reasons Not to Love NATO
Wednesday, 16 January 2019, 2:51 pm | David Swanson
Judging by comments in social media and the real world, millions of people in the United States have gone from having little or no opinion on NATO, or from opposing NATO as the world’s biggest military force responsible for disastrous wars in places ... More >>
Gordon Campbell on the Brexit Vote Aftermath
Wednesday, 16 January 2019, 11:35 am | Gordon Campbell
S o, what happens next? Normally when a major policy like this gets so crushingly rejected – by 230 votes, when Theresa May had reportedly been hoping for a defeat by “only” 70- 100 votes – the PM would resign and/or a fresh election called. ... More >>
Pike River recovery operation enters critical phase
Wednesday, 16 January 2019, 9:53 am | RNZ
Work to flush explosive gases out of the Pike River mine tunnel is set to begin today as the operation to re-enter the mine drift enters a critical phase. More >>
Australian PM heads out to Pacific "backyard"
Wednesday, 16 January 2019, 9:34 am | RNZ
A visit by Australia's prime minister to Vanuatu and Fiji this week is the first by an Australian prime minister in more than a decade. More >>
MBIE ethics code may see contracts lost: lobby group
Wednesday, 16 January 2019, 9:31 am | RNZ
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is implementing its own code of conduct for businesses that supply goods and services to the government, and Business NZ warns some may forgo contracts if the code is too stringent or has ... More >>
Cryptocurrency security breach investigated
Wednesday, 16 January 2019, 9:27 am | RNZ
"Significant" losses of cryptocurrency after a security breach at Christchurch-based trader Cryptopia are under investigation by police. More >>
Drop in skilled immigrants: 'Employers need these people'
Tuesday, 15 January 2019, 4:55 pm | RNZ
Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says he is looking at ways of encouraging more skilled immigrants to become residents - after a drop of several thousand in one year. More >>
Taranaki mayor censures councillor 'ashamed' of Māori anthem
Tuesday, 15 January 2019, 4:37 pm | RNZ
New Plymouth mayor Neil Holdom has distanced himself from comments made by a district councillor who says he is "ashamed" of singing the te reo Māori part of the national anthem. More >>
Recycling centres struggling with increased volumes
Tuesday, 15 January 2019, 4:31 pm | RNZ
It's the hottest, busiest, smelliest time of year for recycling centres - and, one year after China stopped taking our plastics, some are still struggling to move thousands of tonnes of waste. More >>
Water quality still dropping and tourists aware - scientist
Tuesday, 15 January 2019, 4:25 pm | RNZ
A freshwater scientist says New Zealand is losing the battle when it comes to water quality. More >>
Advice to students with disappointing NCEA: 'Don't panic'
Tuesday, 15 January 2019, 4:23 pm | RNZ
The wait is over for more than 165,000 students across the country with the final NCEA results released this morning. More >>
White Rabbit Hole
Tuesday, 15 January 2019, 2:19 pm | Bill Grigsby
The Trump White House is starting to resemble what might happen if a branch of government took too much acid. It’s like a freakout, and apparently it’s affected everyone, because no one seems to know how to at least create any sort of outward appearance ... More >>
Stolen $55k gnome statue turns up, with note
Tuesday, 15 January 2019, 1:07 pm | RNZ
A statue of a gnome stolen from a central Auckland art gallery has been found. More >>
Anthony Cabraal: Tackling a broken culture of work
Monday, 14 January 2019, 4:00 pm | RNZ
Click a link to play audio (or right-click to download) in either MP3 format . More >>
Nelson could use crowdfunding to buy $16m Pepin Island
Monday, 14 January 2019, 2:00 pm | RNZ
The mayor of Nelson wants the public to buy back Pepin Island, just as it bought a beach in the Abel Tasman National Park. More >>
Silver Ferns well beaten by England
Monday, 14 January 2019, 12:01 pm | RNZ
The Silver Ferns have been beaten 54-41 by England in their opening Quad Series game in Liverpool. More >>
Lower Hutt brawl: Residents scared after gang fight
Monday, 14 January 2019, 11:55 am | RNZ
A Stokes Valley resident who witnessed yesterday's gang brawl says she no longer feels safe in the suburb. More >>
China intelligence law a 'known concern' in Huawei 5G ban
Monday, 14 January 2019, 11:51 am | RNZ
Huawei is again calling on the government to come to the table and explain why, following a Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) assessment last year, it has been barred from helping Spark build a 5G data network . More >>
Junior doctors strike tomorrow, DHBs say they're prepared
Monday, 14 January 2019, 11:17 am | RNZ
The needs of acute patients will be met during tomorrow's junior doctor strike, a DHB spokesperson says. More >>
Ice Matters: A Meditation on Snow
Monday, 14 January 2019, 10:44 am | Binoy Kampmark
Most speak of floods in the age of climate change, when the cooked and the roasted take precedence over the snowed in and the freezing, and the parliaments of lost islands shall be convened in the sea. Comparatively cruel fates should never be entertained, ... More >>
Gordon Campbell on the ongoing carnage in Gaza
Monday, 14 January 2019, 10:35 am | Gordon Campbell
T he past month has devoted a lot of space to the best music and films of 2018, and far less to the past year’s human rights violations. The under-reporting on the ongoing carnage in Gaza has been a case in point. As of 12 January 2019, some ... More >>
Road warnings after long dry spell
Monday, 14 January 2019, 10:09 am | RNZ
Drivers are being warned of slippery roads as much of the North Island is due for rain after more than a fortnight of dry weather. More >>
Dances of Disinformation
Monday, 14 January 2019, 9:12 am | Binoy Kampmark
Is there such a plane of blissful, balanced information, deliberated and debated upon? No. Governments mangle; corporations distort. Interest groups tinker. Wars must be sold; deception must be perpetrated. Inconsistencies must be removed. There ... More >>
John W. Whitehead: Beware the Emergency State
Thursday, 10 January 2019, 5:40 pm | John W Whitehead
Beware the Emergency State: Imperial, Unaccountable and Unconstitutional By John W. Whitehead January 8, 2019 More >>
Ramzy Baroud: When Bolsonaro and Netanyahu Are ‘Brothers’
Thursday, 10 January 2019, 3:57 pm | Ramzy Baroud
When Bolsonaro and Netanyahu Are ‘Brothers’: Why Brazil Should Shun the Israeli Model By Ramzy Baroud More >>
Binoy Kampmark: Donald Trump, Mexico and the Democrats
Thursday, 10 January 2019, 3:54 pm | Binoy Kampmark
New year occasions, given the pleasant fiction it entails, are times to change. Resolutions are made by that delightful species Homo sapiens, hope packaged for quick delivery to those who promise change. The weak will become stronger; the strong will show ... More >>
Ehrlich: Saudi Teen Renounces Islam, Tweets To Safety
Thursday, 10 January 2019, 3:52 pm | Richard S. Ehrlich
BANGKOK, Thailand -- The United Nations granted refugee status on January 9 to a Saudi teenager who fled her country and barricaded herself in Bangkok's international airport, claiming she would be executed for renouncing her belief in Islam, disobeying ... More >>
Richard S. Ehrlich: China's Seaports in Israel
Thursday, 10 January 2019, 3:49 pm | Richard S. Ehrlich
BANGKOK, Thailand -- China is constructing seaports at two sites where the U.S. 6th Fleet deploys, in Haifa next to Israel's main naval base and Ashdod near Tel Aviv, prompting concerns about China's military potential in the Mediterranean Sea and ... More >>
Gordon Campbell on MBIE’s social media scam
Thursday, 10 January 2019, 10:57 am | Gordon Campbell
B ack in December 2017, MBIE signed a three year contract worth $112,000 with the Wellington private security firm ZX Security Ltd, to train large numbers of its staff on how to create and maintain false identities on social media - in order to harvest ... More >>
Campervan inspections loophole: Call for Govt oversight
Wednesday, 9 January 2019, 5:07 pm | RNZ
The lack of a government agency to oversee how campervans are gaining their self-contained status has the New Zealand Motor Caravan Association worried. More >>
Binoy Kampmark: Gabon and Coup Mania
Wednesday, 9 January 2019, 3:00 pm | Binoy Kampmark
The news so far, if one dares trust it, suggests that a coup was put down in the African state with the loss of two lives. More >>
Binoy Kampmark: Oaked Christmas in Serbia
Wednesday, 9 January 2019, 2:58 pm | Binoy Kampmark
They set out early in the morning, men with axes, boys in tow and, for some, the odd girl champing at the bit. The woods are some way from Bujanovac, but these columns of individuals resembled statues who have moved off their plinths, heading to the ... More >>
Chinese construction workers banned from accomodation
Wednesday, 9 January 2019, 1:18 pm | RNZ
Out-of-work Chinese construction workers who were removed from their accommodation in South Auckland last night had all their belongings seized, a union spokesperson says. More >>
Lime scooters ready to roll on Dunedin streets
Wednesday, 9 January 2019, 1:16 pm | RNZ
The Dunedin City Council has met with the Lime scooter company as it prepares to roll-out its e-scooters in the city. More >>
MBIE seeks training on managing fake online personas
Wednesday, 9 January 2019, 1:04 pm | RNZ
A government department has hired a security firm to train staff in using fake online personas to gather intelligence and build profiles on citizens. More >>
Gordon Campbell on our history of selling out the Kurds
Tuesday, 8 January 2019, 11:04 am | Gordon Campbell
F or the past 100 years, the West has sold out the Kurds over and over again. So much so that it came as a surprise yesterday when US National Security advisor John Bolton appeared to walk back the latest act of betrayal. Before Christmas, US President ... More >>
Gordon Campbell on the reactionary politics of fear
Monday, 7 January 2019, 10:34 am | Gordon Campbell
F ear has become such a routine part of the political toolkit that it hardly gets noticed anymore, for what it is. For 15 years or so for instance, the prospect of the Greens being in government was portrayed as a sure path to ruin – those crazy ... More >>
Adrian Maidment Cartoon: Back to Work
Monday, 7 January 2019, 9:46 am | Adrian Maidment
Back to Work Cartoon by Adrian Maidment *** More >>
Cyclone Mona becomes a category two storm in Fiji
Friday, 4 January 2019, 4:28 pm | RNZ
Cyclone Mona, which is travelling through Fiji waters, has become a category two storm. A few hours ago Mona was situated about 300 kilometres northwest of Labasa. More >>
Robert J. Burrowes: Reflections on 2018, Forecasting 2019
Friday, 4 January 2019, 3:41 pm | Robert J. Burrowes
In many ways it is painful to reflect on the year 2018; a year of vital opportunities lost when so much is at stake. More >>
Police charge man in 10-hour standoff over Terrace Tunnel
Friday, 4 January 2019, 9:57 am | RNZ
A man who yesterday sparked a 10-hour standoff with police on top of Wellington's Terrace Tunnel has been charged. More >>
Road still closed as man stands over Terrace Tunnel
Thursday, 3 January 2019, 6:04 pm | RNZ
Wellington police are still negotiating with a man in a distressed condition following a two-vehicle crash at the city-end mouth of The Terrace Tunnel. More >>
Cyclone Mona forms near Fiji
Thursday, 3 January 2019, 3:50 pm | RNZ
Cyclone Mona forms in the South Pacific on Thursday. It is forecast to intensify in the coming days and head south to Fiji (bottom pink outline). Photo: US National Weather Service More >>
2018 was NZ's warmest year on record - climate scientist
Thursday, 3 January 2019, 3:32 pm | RNZ
New Zealand has just had its warmest year since records began more than 150 years ago, according to one climate scientist. More >>
Eastern areas bake as mercury hits summer heights
Thursday, 3 January 2019, 11:37 am | RNZ
Temperatures soared in towns across eastern parts of New Zealand today [Wednesday 2], registering as one of the hottest days of summer so far. More >>
Experts flag 'high risk' of train collision and deaths
Thursday, 3 January 2019, 11:28 am | RNZ
There is a "high risk" of two trains crashing in Wellington, which could lead to deaths, experts have found, reiterating earlier calls for more safety measures on the back of four investigations into passenger trains that almost crashed. More >>
Testing shows MDMA pills laced with bath salts
Thursday, 3 January 2019, 11:20 am | RNZ
A drug-testing group has issued a warning about a potentially-fatal drug concoction found in party pills over the New Year. More >>
The State of the Pākēhā Nation
Wednesday, 2 January 2019, 12:31 pm | Network Waitangi Whangarei
Treaty education group Network Waitangi Whangarei has commissioned annual reflections on the State of the Pakeha Nation since 2006. Founding member the Rev. Joan Cook passed in 2010 and the essays since that time commemorate her pioneering Treaty and ... More >>
Cooking Books and Limiting Responsibility: Goldman Sachs
Wednesday, 26 December 2018, 5:21 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Managing a bank will always be a more lucrative criminal enterprise than raiding one but this Brechtian styled analysis only goes so far. A closer look at the extraordinary nature of Goldman Sachs and its operations reveals not merely a bank but a flesh-eating ... More >>
The Misuses of History: The Christmas 1914 Truce
Monday, 24 December 2018, 10:45 am | Binoy Kampmark
All memorialised events, when passing into mythology, must be seen critically. In some cases, there should be more than a hint of suspicion. The Christmas Truce of 1914 remains one sentimentalised occasion, remembered less to scold the mad mechanised ... More >>
Orbán’s Latest Dance
Saturday, 22 December 2018, 8:58 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Viktor Orbán of Hungary is not to be hectored to. Arching with fury at the EU’s September motion to sanction Hungary for bad behaviour under the Article 7 process, he was resolved to ratchet things up. The motion, while getting 448 votes concerned ... More >>
Leaving Syria: President Trump’s Withdrawal
Friday, 21 December 2018, 8:53 pm | Binoy Kampmark
“The President announced an apparently impulsive decision that shook the world, showed little sign of nuanced consideration, confounded top advisers and by the end of the day left Washington in chaos and confusion.” So goes a typical contribution ... More >>
Blockbusters both Beethoven and Handel
Friday, 21 December 2018, 2:11 pm | Max Rashbrooke
Beethoven 9 and Messiah New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Reviewer: Max Rashbrooke Friday, 23 November and Saturday, 8 December More >>
On the Lam: Hundreds of lambs escape following crash
Thursday, 20 December 2018, 4:35 pm | RNZ
Hundreds of lambs are on the loose in the Marlborough Sounds after a stock truck crashed earlier this week. More >>
Agreed Rules, COP24 and Climate Change Protest
Thursday, 20 December 2018, 4:24 pm | Binoy Kampmark
“If children can get headlines all over the world just by not going to school, then imagine what we can all do together if we really wanted to.” Greta Thunberg at COP24, Dec. 2018 More >>
Superbug found in two patients at Middlemore Hospital
Thursday, 20 December 2018, 4:07 pm | RNZ
Some wards at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital have been declared a transmission risk area after a superbug was found in two patients. More >>
