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☆ China is trying to overcome weaknesses in its military by 'aggressively recruiting' Western pilots to train its aviators, Five Eyes intel allies warn
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewChina is "aggressively recruiting" Western military personnel to train its air force pilots and naval aviators, attempting to lure them in with "lucrative" contracts and promises of opportunities to fly "exotic aircraft," the US and its allies are warning. Related storiesChinese schemes target Western pilots, flight engineers, air operations center personnel, and technical experts knowledgeable about military tactics, techniques, and procedures. The Chinese military "wants the skills and expertise of these individuals to make its own military air operations more capable while gaining insight into Western air tactics, techniques, and procedures," the newly released bulletin said. Advertisement"The insight the PLA gains from Western military talent threatens the safety of the targeted recruits, their fellow service members, and US and allied security," it added. Despite efforts from Western governments to warn its veterans and military personnel about the Chinese poaching efforts, the recruitment continues to evolve, the bulletin noted.

Persons: —, New Zealand —, Michael Casey, Chen Jimin, Casey, Wang Jingtian Organizations: Service, New Zealand, NATO, People's Liberation Army, Business, PLA, US National Counterintelligence and Security, Zhuhai Air Show, China News Service, Getty, US, Job, US Marine Corps Locations: China, Canada, Australia, New, Beijing, Washington, Changchun, China's Jilin Province

☆ Allies Warn Former Fighter Pilots Not to Train Chinese Military Members
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | Helene Cooper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For years, U.S. officials have accused China of stealing American technology to design and build fighter planes. But while China learned how to build advanced fighters, its pilots could not fly them so well. U.S. and allied intelligence officials warned on Wednesday that Beijing was intensifying a campaign to entice former fighter pilots from Western nations to train Chinese pilots. “To overcome their shortcomings, China’s People’s Liberation Army has been aggressively recruiting Western military talent to train their aviators, using private firms around the globe that conceal their P.L.A. ties and offer recruits exorbitant salaries,” said Michael C. Casey, the director of the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center.

Persons: —, “, ”, Michael C, Casey Organizations: Liberation Army, U.S . National Counterintelligence and Security Center Locations: China, Beijing, United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand

☆ I earned a Guinness World Record for visiting all 193 countries alone. Here are my picks for 11 most beautiful countries in the world.
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Cassandra De Pecol | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

I cleared the record for "fastest time to visit all sovereign countries" and "fastest time to visit all sovereign countries (female)." These are my picks for the 11 most beautiful countries I've been to. South AfricaCape Town, South Africa where De Pecol ran her Iron man. UCGOver the last 10 years, I've been lucky enough to travel to South Africa for various reasons: a race, a convention, and my 196-country expedition. The very first time I visited Africa, the Cape of Good Hope,(located along the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa), was the first bit of awe I'd experienced.

Persons: Cassandra De Pecol, —, Guinness, I'm, I'd, Switzerland De Pecol, that's, De Pecol, benedek, I've, Dominica De, United States De Pecol, Matthew Micah Wright, it's, Pecol, Carl Court, It's, Costa Rica De Pecol, Peru De Pecol, Jorge Fernández, Jordan De Pecol, Jordan, Good Hope Organizations: Guinness, Records, Service, World Records, Rockies, Costa Rica De, Puerto, New Zealand, UNESCO, South Africa Cape Locations: Canada, Taiwan, Kosovo, Palestine, Mongolia, Pecol, Russian, Switzerland, AscentXmedia Switzerland, Banff, Toronto, Quebec, Vancouver, Alberta, Dominica, Dominica De Pecol, Bahamas, St, Lucia, United States, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, Vermont, Colorado, Arizona , California, Utah, Maldives, Costa Rica, Puerto Limon, Papagayo, Guanacaste, Peru, Machu Picchu, CAROLINA PAUCAR Peru, Picchu, New, New Zealand, Auckland, Queenstown, Jordan, Petra, Wadi Rum, South Africa, South Africa Cape Town , South Africa, Cape Town, Africa, Good

☆ Nepal bans TikTok because of ‘disruption’ to social harmony
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Sugam Pokharel | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London/Hong Kong CNN —Nepal has decided to ban TikTok because the popular short video app was disrupting social structures in the South Asian nation, government officials say. “Considering how TikTok is disrupting our social harmony, and the impact it’s having on our family and social structures, the cabinet has decided to ban TikTok for the moment,” Rekha Sharma, Nepal’s minister of communication and information technology, told a press conference on Monday. Purushottam Khanal, chair of the Telecommunications Authority, has asked internet service providers to cut access to the app, the country’s state-run Nepal Television said in a Monday report. In February, the White House told federal agencies that they had 30 days to remove TikTok from all government-issued devices. Australia announced in April that the app would have to be removed from federal government devices.

Persons: ” Rekha Sharma, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, ”, Purushottam Khanal, TikTok Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Monday, CNN, Telecommunications Authority, Nepal, WorldLink Communications, Reuters, —, New Zealand, White House, Australia Locations: Hong Kong, Nepal, India, Bhaktapur, United States, — Australia, Britain, Canada, New

☆ The ‘dupe’ trend hit travel in 2023. It's a good way to save on your next trip, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

For example, flight searches more than doubled for several "dupe" destinations internationally, according to Expedia data. watch nowLikewise, flight searches to the island Curaçao, a stand-in for St. Martin, were up 228% in the U.S. and 185% worldwide. "TikTok popularized the idea of dupes … and the concept is increasingly taking off in the world of travel," Expedia said in a report published Wednesday. Internet search traffic in the U.S. for travel dupes spiked throughout 2023, peaking in July, according to Google Trends data. It's more than just the flight priceHowever, Hopper flight data indicates that not all dupes will necessarily pay off for travelers.

Persons: Klaus Vedfelt, Martin, TikTok, dupes …, Expedia, Hayley Berg, Hopper, Ho, Jon Gieselman, dupes, Sara Rathner Organizations: Digitalvision, Getty, Sydney, Expedia Brands, Auckland , New Zealand — Locations: Taipei, Seoul, U.S, Pattaya, Thailand, Bangkok, St, Perth, Australia, Liverpool, England, London, Hanoi, Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Spain, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Barcelona, Phuket, Europe, Sydney, Nadi, Fiji, Auckland , New Zealand

☆ Storylines Residential Cruise Faces Backlash From Investors, Ex-Employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Kate Taylor | Brittany Chang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Storylines' first cruise ship was initially scheduled to launch in 2019; it's now set for December 2026. Nine former employees, consultants, and investors told Insider that they'd come to doubt the MV Narrative would ever be built. The only existing residential cruise ship is The World. Many Storylines buyers remain optimistic about the residential cruise ship. "The ball is in your court," Punton told buyers in July in a video that's since been taken down.

Persons: Alister Punton, Punton, Shannon Lee, Mike Kasperzak, Jim Holt, Holt, Angela Nuran, Paul Cosentino, Cosentino, We're, Lee, it's, Alexandre Caillol, Condé, superyachts, Sean Fremder, Weeks, Caillol —, —, Marco Polo —, PitchBook, Alexandra Zodian —, Caillol, Michael Edwards, Edwards, he'd, Martin Buggy, Melissa Edyvean, Edyvean, Paul Read, Salvatore R, Mercogliano, Pat Helmers, Helmers, Michael Perisi, Andrew Lentz, didn't, Lentz, Wrocław . Lentz, Andrew, I'm, Lee ., Dick Rosman —, Lee —, Krzysztof Kontek, Kontek's, Michal Jackiewicz, Brodosplit, Brian Martin, Read, Nuran, We've, he's, New Zealand —, Kasperzak, " Lentz Organizations: Punton, Army, West —, Industry, CNN, Brodosplit, Regent Seven Seas, Wall Street Journal, Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries, Utopia, Beverly Hills, Rock City, The Raiders, Raiders, Holland America's, Mariners, New Zealand Locations: massages, Croatian, Beverly, Punton, Queensland, Australia, Broadbeach, California, Rock, Brisbane, Netherlands, Caillol, Polynesia, French Polynesia, France, London, Australian, British, Delaware, Sweden, Tahiti, Perth, Ecuador, Poland, Wrocław, Mexico, Florida, New

New Zealand and South Africa will contest Saturday's Rugby World Cup final and bring one of sport's most enduring, most intense rivalries to the ultimate stage for the first time in nearly 30 years. The All Blacks and the Springboks — with 102 years of games between them — have met in the Rugby World Cup final just once before, a 1995 showdown that carved out a moment that reverberated way beyond sport. Both teams have won two Rugby World Cups after '95, but never against the other, and to understand the meaning of New Zealand vs. South Africa this weekend at Stade de France in Paris, think Brazil vs. Argentina in a soccer World Cup final. The All Blacks were then beaten by host France in the World Cup opener. ___AP Rugby World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Persons: It's, —, Nelson Mandela, Deon Davids, ” Davids, Ian Foster, “ There’s, Foster, ”, Jacques Nienaber, — Sam Cane Organizations: Rugby, Blacks, Springboks, New Zealand, Stade de France, South, South Africa —, Ireland, ” STEELY SPRINGBOKS South, France, England, AP Rugby Locations: Zealand, South Africa, New Zealand, New, Africa, Paris, Brazil, Argentina, France, ” STEELY SPRINGBOKS South Africa, — Sam Cane of New Zealand

☆ X just ditched a tool that enabled users to flag fake news about elections, think tank says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk's X appears to have removed a feature letting users report electoral misinformation. AdvertisementAdvertisementElon Musk's X — formerly known as Twitter — appears to have removed a feature that allows users to report misinformation about elections, according to research from a major Australian think tank . It could also impact users' ability to report fake electoral news in the run-up to the 2024 US presidential elections. The letter points out that reporting categories on the social media platform no longer have the option to report electoral misinformation. Previously Australian users could select 'It's misleading' about 'Politics' category.

Persons: Elon Musk's, —, Elon, Angus Keene —, didn't, X, Elon Musk, Linda Yaccarino Organizations: Service, Twitter, TechCrunch, European Union, Reuters Locations: Australian, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Spain

☆ Biden raised issue of Canadian Sikh's murder with Modi at G20 -FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment event on the day of the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, September 9, 2023. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the FT report. The summit was held in India days before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made his allegations public in an address to the Canadian parliament earlier this week. The leaders intervened at the G20 summit after Canada urged its allies to raise the case directly with Modi, the newspaper reported. Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Akanksha Khushi; editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Evelyn Hockstein, New Zealand —, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Modi, Justin Trudeau, Jake Sullivan, Kanishka Singh, Akanksha, Sandra Maler, Leslie Adler Organizations: Indian, Partnership, Global Infrastructure, REUTERS, Financial Times, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, British Columbia, Washington, Ottawa, China, Asia Pacific

☆ Biden Raised Issue of Canadian Sikh's Murder With Modi at G20 -FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders expressed concern to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit this month about Canadian claims that New Delhi was involved in the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the FT report. The summit was held in India days before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made his allegations public in an address to the Canadian parliament earlier this week. The leaders intervened at the G20 summit after Canada urged its allies to raise the case directly with Modi, the newspaper reported. India on Thursday suspended new visas for Canadians and asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country.

Persons: Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, New Zealand —, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Modi, Justin Trudeau, Jake Sullivan, Kanishka Singh, Akanksha, Sandra Maler, Leslie Adler Organizations: Reuters, Indian, Financial Times Locations: New Delhi, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, British Columbia, India, Washington, Ottawa, China, Asia Pacific

The General Assembly has undergone tremendous changes as its influence has waned. What does the General Assembly do? Unlike the U.N. Security Council, which can impose sanctions or authorize the use of force, the General Assembly is purely deliberative. The General Assembly also appoints the U.N. secretary general, currently António Guterres, for five-year terms and the Security Council’s 10 nonpermanent members. Last year, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine delivered a searing rebuke of the Russian invasion of his country in a recorded address to the General Assembly.

Persons: ”, Peter J, Hoffman, that’s, Dr, “, it’s, Israel, António, Volodymyr Zelensky, Guterres, ’, ” Dr, Indira Gandhi of Organizations: United Nations, Assembly, Security Council, Social Council, BRICS, New School, . Security, United Nations ’, Pacific, General, Sustainable, General Assembly, Security, New Zealand —, Indira Gandhi of India Locations: Manhattan, New York City, United, New York, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Caribbean, Western Europe, Ukraine, “, South Sudan, Europe, Americas, Australia, North America, Israel, Japan, South Korea, New, ”, Oceania, America

The General Assembly has undergone tremendous changes as its influence has waned. What does the General Assembly do? The General Assembly is one of six bodies in the United Nations, including the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council. The General Assembly also appoints the U.N. secretary general, currently António Guterres, for five-year terms and the Security Council’s 10 nonpermanent members. Last year, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine delivered a searing rebuke of the Russian invasion of his country in a recorded address to the General Assembly.

Persons: ”, Peter J, Hoffman, that’s, Dr, “, it’s, Israel, António, Volodymyr Zelensky, Guterres, ’, ” Dr, Indira Gandhi of Organizations: United Nations, General Assembly, Assembly, Security Council, Social Council, BRICS, New School, . Security, United Nations ’, Pacific, General, Sustainable, Security, New Zealand —, Indira Gandhi of India Locations: Manhattan, New York City, United, New York, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Caribbean, Western Europe, Ukraine, “, South Sudan, Europe, Americas, Australia, North America, Israel, Japan, South Korea, New, ”, Oceania, America

☆ 4 Americans moved to New Zealand for safety, scenic hikes, and the small-town feel. "I just felt this calm, like, 'I'm home,'" one said.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

He moved back to his home base of Irvine, California, in 2003 but always hoped to return to New Zealand. Four Americans who moved to New Zealand told Insider their reasons for departing the US. A Los Angeles resident visited for 20 years before making his move more permanentJon Kroll lived in Los Angeles for 35 years and visited New Zealand on and off for 20 years as a break from the congestion of Los Angeles. He downsized from his four-bedroom home in Los Angeles. Wellington, New Zealand, provides the small-town feel his family was looking forNative Wyomingite Ryan Rogers departed for New Zealand more than a decade ago for work.

Persons: Garvey Daniels, Daniels, Daniels —, —, they've, Garvey Daniels Daniels, he's, Jon Kroll, Kroll, WellingtonNZ Kroll, who's, I've, Heather Gadonniex, Gadonniex, Heather Gadonniex Matakana, she's, Wyomingite Ryan Rogers, Rogers, WellingtonNZ Rogers Organizations: Service, New Zealand, Stats NZ, New, NZ, Los, Auckland —, Zealand, CoreLogic NZ, Kiwis, San, San Francisco Bay Area Locations: New Zealand, LA, Wall, Silicon, Auckland , New Zealand, Irvine , California, California, New, Australia, Colorado, Los Angeles, Wellington, Auckland, Zealand, San Francisco Bay, Northern California, Matakana , New Zealand, Oakland, Bay, San Francisco, Wellington , New Zealand, London, Vancouver, Wyoming

☆ The Gaps Get Smaller as the World Cup Gets Larger
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Rory Smith | More About Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Given where the journey had started and where it had led, it was no wonder that watching the Philippines win a game at the Women’s World Cup felt as if it defied rational explanation, even to those involved. Now that same team had beaten New Zealand — on home soil, no less — and with the whole world watching. It was impossible to imagine that a team that had been there could ever be here, and vice versa. “Overwhelming, crazy,” said Sarina Bolden, the live-wire forward who had scored her country’s first goal at a World Cup. He started out at “staggering” and went from there, cycling through “miraculous and unbelievable” before landing on “mind-blowing.”

Persons: ”, Sarina Bolden, Alen Stajcic Organizations: Nepal, New Zealand Locations: Philippines

☆ This luxury boat shed just sold for $1.25 million — even though it has no bathroom or bedroom. See inside.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A converted boat shed in New Zealand just sold for a record $1.25 million. The dinky-yet-colossally-expensive property has a catch — you can't use the bathroom or sleep there. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyA 700-square-foot converted boat shed in New Zealand sold for a record $1.25 million late last month. Despite this, the tiny historical property at Whakatakataka Bay, Ōrākei, ratcheted up the highest price ever paid in New Zealand — that's just over $2 million in local dollars — for a boat shed, the Herald on Sunday reported. Scroll down to see what a $1.25 million luxury boat shed looks like inside and out.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, that's, Herald Locations: New Zealand, Whakatakataka, Ōrākei

☆ Meet Netflix's elite 'Lstaff' — the 25 top execs who help make the company's biggest decisions, from its push into advertising to its gaming expansion
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Lucia Moses | Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Netflix has a top team of business leaders who debate and drive the company's biggest decisions. This "Lstaff" includes co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos plus execs leading new areas like gaming and ads. When Netflix is faced with a big, agenda-setting decision, it convenes a special team of business heads to debate the issue at hand. This group, which numbers 25, has helped shape major company moves like its expansion into mobile games and advertising. Scroll down to read about the people on Netflix's Lstaff, listed in alphabetical order, and the perspective each brings.

Persons: Greg Peters, Ted Sarandos, —, Reed Hastings, Bela Bajaria, Scott Stuber, Kim —, Vernā Myers, Jeremi Gorman, Mike Verdu, Spencer Wang Organizations: Netflix, New Zealand Locations: Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia, New

☆ Stunning photos of the night sky in one of the darkest places on Earth will make you want to visit New Zealand ASAP
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Rebecca Strong | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve is especially great for star gazing. But in one of the darkest places on Earth — the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve in New Zealand — that's not an issue. Aoraki is the second-largest dark sky reserve in the world, ranking at a level 2 on the nine-level Bortle Dark-Sky Scale for light pollution. The Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve is located in southern New Zealand. Igor HoogerwerfAccording to Jason Menard, an executive at Mackenzie Tourism, The Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve is one of the best places to view the Milky Way — and that's pretty evident in this photo.

☆ ‘Best Friends’ Australia and New Zealand Patch Up a Major Difference
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Natasha Frost | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hundreds of New Zealanders were about to take an oath to become Australian citizens, and cheering them on in their pursuit of dual citizenship was the head of the New Zealand government. Australia was about to reverse a two-decade-old policy and restore rights for the almost 700,000 New Zealanders living in Australia to easily gain citizenship, putting them on par with Australian migrants across the Tasman Sea in New Zealand. Australia and New Zealand often describe each other as their closest international partners. The new center-left government in Australia, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, has taken steps to address these issues. At the citizenship ceremony on Sunday in Brisbane, Australia, Chris Hipkins, the prime minister of New Zealand, said his presence was a sign of the “bonds that bind us all together.” That sentiment was later echoed by Clare O’Neil, Australia’s home affairs minister: “Our Kiwi cousins are our very best friends in the world.”

☆ What's in the leaked Pentagon documents that could hurt Ukraine and has US officials panicking
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( John Haltiwanger | Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Dozens of secret Pentagon documents were leaked online in recent weeks. Many of the documents appear to be intelligence briefing materials on a wide range of subjects, dating back to around early March. When were the documents leaked and who leaked them? But Bellingcat reported that some of the materials date back to January and may have been leaked online earlier. Leaked documents claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sought to attack Russian troop deployments inside Russia with drones.

☆ Australia to ban TikTok on government devices over security concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Australian government said on Tuesday it will remove TikTok from all federal government-owned devices over security concerns, becoming the latest U.S. allied country to initiate action against the Chinese-owned video app. The move underscores growing worries that China's government could use the Beijing-based company, owned by ByteDance, to harvest users' data to advance its political agenda, undermining Western security interests. It risks renewing diplomatic tensions between Canberra and Beijing that have eased somewhat since the Labor government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese returned to power in May. The ban will come into effect "as soon as practicable," Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement, adding that exemptions would only be granted on a case-by-case basis and with appropriate security measures in place. With Australia's ban, all members of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network — which consists of Australia, Canada, the United States, Britain and New Zealand — have banned the app from government devices.

☆ Bill Gates just invested in a startup that's trying to stop cows from burping and farting so much
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures led a $12 million seed funding round into Rumin8. The Perth-based startup is developing a seaweed-based feed aiming to cut methane from livestock emissions — like the burps and farts of cows. As livestock accounts for about 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions, there are now global efforts to farm such animals more sustainably. "There are companies making 'beef' in new ways and people working to still use cows but reduce the methane emissions," Gates wrote in the thread. Last week, French food giant Danone pledged to slash methane emissions from its milk-supplying farms by about one-third by the end of this decade.

☆ Jacinda Ardern makes final appearance as New Zealand leader
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Ardern told reporters she’d been friends with Hipkins for nearly 20 years and spent two hours with him on the drive to the meeting grounds. It’s for him to carve out his own space to be his own kind of leader,” Ardern said. “Whilst there has been a bit of commentary in the aftermath of my departure, I would hate for anyone to view my departure as a negative commentary on New Zealand,” Ardern said. “I’m ready to be lots of things,” Ardern told reporters. I’m ready to be a sister, and a mom.”

☆ School lunch, eggs and airfare: Why inflation soared for 10 items in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here's a look at the 10 items with the largest price gains, as measured by the annual inflation rate in December. Food at school: 305.2%The price of a meal at elementary and secondary schools spiked the most in 2022, by a whopping 305%. Overall food prices have been pressured on many fronts, too, funneling into school meals. Oil prices retreated in the second half of the year, though, as fears mounted of a possible recession and an accompanying weakness in oil demand. Monthly milk production among major suppliers fell each month from September 2021 to June 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

☆ Voting age of 18 is discriminatory, New Zealand’s top court rules
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand’s highest court ruled on Monday that the country’s current voting age of 18 was discriminatory, forcing Parliament to discuss whether it should be lowered. The Supreme Court found that the current voting age of 18 was inconsistent with the country’s Bill of Rights, which gives people a right to be free from age discrimination when they have reached 16. But it does not force Parliament to change the voting age. The Green Party wants immediate action to lower the voting age to 16, but the largest opposition party, the National Party, does not support the shift. “Obviously, we’ve got to draw a line somewhere,” said National Party leader Christopher Luxon.

☆ Tsunami advisory issued after powerful earthquake hits Tonga
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: 1 min

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A powerful underwater earthquake struck Friday off Tonga in the southern Pacific, prompting authorities to issue a tsunami advisory. The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 7.3 quake was centered 132 miles east-southeast of Neiafu, Tonga, at a depth of 15 miles. It predicted strong shaking but said the probability of serious damage or casualties was small. The U.S. Tsunami Warning System issued a tsunami advisory, which is one step below a tsunami warning. An undersea volcano erupted in Tonga in January, killing three people, blanketing its main island with a thick layer of volcanic ash and shooting millions of tons of water vapor high up into the atmosphere.

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