ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS ---- STUFF NZ

climate change

Climate warning for Capital

Wellington will experience 16 times as many heatwave days unless emissions come down.

Greta Thunberg's spat with railway

She posted a photo of herself sitting on the floor of an "overcrowded" German train, but she actually had a first class ticket.

How to deal with climate deniers

Climategate was misinformation

Marathon climate talks disappoint

UN climate talks end with a slim compromise as major polluters refused to ramp up efforts to keep global warming at bay.

business

• industries
 
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David Ross to be paroled

The man who orchestrated NZ's largest ever Ponzi fraud will leave jail in February.

'Nightmare' employer to pay $680k

Holiday park banned from hiring and slapped with record fine over worker exploitation.

Bugbear with Sky Go removed

Developers fined for avoiding OIO consent

Sir Howard's daughter admits fraud

Prominent performing arts educator fraudulently obtained funding.

worlD

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5 dead from Philippines quake 

At least five people died in a magnitude 6.9 quake in a region that has been battered by three recent deadly earthquakes.

Kashmir talk to go ahead

Organisers have a new venue for talk that was intended to be hosted at Parliament.

Jetstar: 10% of flights in Aus dropped

10% of flights in Aus dropped

Jetstar announces changes for January, as an Australian strike threat looms which could see around 1000 flights grounded.

Devastating funeral mix-up 

Fruit bat rescuers 'smashed' with babies 

As their food continues to dry up or burn, the effects could be disastrous for Australia's "flying fox" population.

Is vilification of meat and dairy fair?

While agriculture has big environmental problems to solve, NZ's grass-fed sheep and cattle still underpin a high-quality food industry.

Island trash to be removed

Bad weather hampered a clean up of remote Henderson Island, but there might finally be a solution.

A decade of disaster for NZ

The decade has ended as shockingly as it began – in tragedy, and with a catastrophic loss of life.

'Just zombies, really'

Rest home staff say anti-psychotics can turn residents into zombies. But some homes are taking a different approach to care.

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=NEW+ZEALAND

Whakaari/White Island eruption Vigil for the Victims

People cross the country gathered together at 2.11pm for a minute's silence to acknowledge those affected by the Whakaari/White Island eruption, exactly a week on from the eruption. 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it was an opportunity to show support for grieving family and friends of the victims.

Around 250 people came together at Te Mānuka Tūtahi Marae in Whakatāne, kaumātua Joe Harawira said.


MATT SHAND/STUFF


People gather together at Te Mānuka Tūtahi Marae in Whakatāne for the minute's silence to remember the victims of the Whakaari/White Island eruption.

People hugged outside the marae, and singing could be heard from the grounds, where one attendee described the gathering as poignant.

READ MORE:
* Whakaari/White Island: Recovery teams leave island empty handed after search for bodies
* Whakatāne community divided, concerned following Whakaari/White Island eruption
* Whakaari/White Island: divers battle contaminated water, low visibility

The families of the deceased and injured, as well as members of the Navy, stood on HMS Wellington and stared at the volcano about 1 mile in front of them for the minute's silence as the smell of sulphur filled the air.


MATT SHAND/STUFF

A person brings flowers to the Te manuka Tutahi Marae in Whakatāne.

Nearby, six police officers stood on a police boat facing the volcano, with their hats in their hands paying their respects.

The HMS Wellington then passed the island, with everyone onboard standing outside examining the place some of their loved ones took their final steps.

The boat then turned around heading back to Whakatāne as the mourners hugged each other, while others slouched over the rails in silence.


MATT SHAND/STUFF

Kaumātua Joe Harawira said 250 people met at the wharenui.

Ardern and members of Cabinet also observed a minute's silence at Parliament today during a cabinet meeting.

In Australia, where many of the victims were visiting from, flags were flown at half-mast to honour them.

Earlier in the day, the dive search for two remaining bodies off the shore of Whakaari/White Island was put on hold.


HAGEN HOPKINS/GETTY IMAGES

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and deputy Winston Peters observe a minute of silence for the Whakaari/White Island victims.

Police put out a release on Monday morning saying the Police National Dive Squad was not out in the water.

"The operation continues with police committed to doing all we can to provide a sense of closure to the grieving families," the statement ended.

It did not elaborate on why the search was on hold, but weather was a factor.


HAGEN HOPKINS/GETTY IMAGES

Members of Cabinet observe a minute of silence for victims a week after the tragedy.

The Metservice forecast for Whakatāne on Monday was for occasional showers and northerlies. 

Meanwhile, Defence Force staff were packing up and leaving Whakatāne Airport. Police choppers, however, remained.

Reporters on the ground had been told that Navy staff would be returning to Palmerston North

Three helicopters, navy and police divers worked together in the search on Sunday. That search had focused around an area near the jetty, and on Sunday Police Deputy Commissioner Mike Clement they were satisfied that area was clear.

"It can take days and weeks," Bush told Newshub.

"We know that and we will continue our searches."


CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF

A police boat docked at Whakatāne marina on Monday morning.

Civil Defence said response agencies remained "deeply committed" to the goal of recovering the two remaining bodies.

"Meanwhile, the process of identifying victims and releasing bodies to their loved ones is ongoing in Auckland," they said in a statement on Monday.

"Police will continue to release the names of those who have died as soon as they are able to."


CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF

The HMS Wellington remained in the waters around Whakaari/White Island on Monday morning.

The official death toll after the Whakaari/White Island eruption is 16 - this number was expected to grow.

Thirteen Australians have been transferred back to Australia to receive treatment, but the rare nature of the burns is challenging.

Fifteen victims remained in hospitals across New Zealand on Friday, 11 in a critical condition.



CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF


Members of the dive squad unload gear on Monday.

Meanwhile, preparations are underway to at Mānuka Tūtahi Marae to host a minute's silence at 2.11pm on Monday - exactly one week since the island erupted while 47 people were on, or near it.

Ardern expressed her emotions in a stirring Instagram post on Monday morning saying "there are almost no words for the stories of both the aftermath and the loss that has followed".

She said New Zealand had experienced the most extraordinary tragedy.

Deputy Commisioner Mike Clement gave an update on the recovery operation on Whakaari/White Island. The recovery team returned and went through a decontamination process.

She posted an image from a plane while travelling out to Whakatāne, saying it was a beautiful outlook on a very sad day.

"Lives were lost immediately, and in the days that have followed others have succumbed to their injuries," she said.

"There are almost no words for the stories of both the aftermath and the loss that has followed. I want to pay tribute to the many people who did extraordinary things to save lives — whether it was through rescue efforts or the ongoing response by health professionals across the country.

"To the recovery team who made it their mission to bring loved ones back from the island, right through to the council, emergency management team who have supported the local community all the way through.

"To Ngāti Awa, for the outpouring of manaakitanga and support to all that have needed a safe haven during this time.

"Those who have been lost are now forever linked to New Zealand, and we will hold them close."

Whakaari\White Island: a minute's silence and a Christmas carol for the lost
Virginia Fallon Dec 16 2019

We are all whānau now.

They came in their hundreds, in uniforms and shorts, in jandals and heels and boots, in their sorrow and their grief.

At Whakatāne's Te Mānuka Tūtahi Marae they came to be together, to mourn the loss of so much and so many.


MATT SHAND/STUFF


In Whakatāne's Te Mānuka Tūtahi Marae they came to be together, to mourn the loss of so much and so many.

And, after the silence they sang a carol. Because it's nearly Christmas after all.

READ MORE:
* Whakaari\White Island: live coverage
* Brother of man killed on Whakaari angry at authorities
* Whakaari\White Island a 'stark and wondrous place'

On Monday afternoon hundreds of people filed quietly into Ngāti Awa's waterfront marae to mark one week since the eruption of Whakaari Island.


MATT SHAND/STUFF

Crowds gather at Whakatāne's Te Mānuka Tūtahi Marae to observe a minute's silence.

Since the tragedy the marae had been the heart of the community as Ngāti Awa opened its doors to police, the public, and emergency workers who removed their shoes and sought solace inside.

The families of the lost had gone there too, and, one week later some were there again.

They sat at the back, near the door and the hundreds of shoes left outside it.


MATT SHAND/STUFF

Emergency workers joined the public and victims' families for the one minute of silence.

Earlier, kaumatua Joe Harawera had ushered in the people waiting on the footpath outside the marae gates.

'Haere mai everybody, in you go, don't worry we're all whānau now."

When a couple of Pākeha hung back in uncertainty - or awe - Harawera approached them, gently guiding them through the gate and towards the marae.


MATT SHAND/STUFF

Staff of White Island Tours joined the crowd.

"Come on, you're ok, we're all one whānau today."

Normally the protocol for first-time guests would be much more formal but today was different, and the welcomes and karakias had been done in the morning.

Inside, the back rows filled up first, leaving aunties to coax people to the front: "Keep moving whanau, we won't make you sing."


MATT SHAND/STUFF

St John Ambulance were called to treat a person during the minute of silence. They were transferred in moderate condition to Whakatāne Hospital.

Iwi members handed out service booklets containing the Māori words for upcoming prayers and songs.

Decorated with Christmas illustrations the booklets were titled 'Kirihimete' [Christmas].

And then there was silence.

At 2.11pm - exactly one week after Whakaari roared - everyone in Te Mānuka Tūtahi Marae bowed their heads.

Around the country, and the world, people did the same thing but here - so close to the island - it was different.

Outside, a child chattered. 

Inside, a woman whispered a prayer in reo Pākeha.

Someone sobbed quietly.

A man cleared his throat.

And the carving of Mataatua ancestor Te Mautaranui kept watch.

After the minute was up there were prayers and songs, and then the mourners, the emergency workers, the tourists and the iwi sung Silent Night in reo Māori.

"Ki te Kaiwhakaora. Kia Hehu aroha."

Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace.

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• Boeing crisis

Boeing considers halting 737 MAX production

Boeing's board is considering a proposal from top management to temporarily shut down 737 production.

• Soft commodities

Giant farm co-op CBH crashes to grain trade loss

CBH's grain marketing division bleeds almost $120 million amid trade tension with China and big drop in wheat exports to Indonesia.

• Analysis
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Why populism matters to markets

Populist parties and protest can shape policies and drive market volatility, warns the billionaire investor Michael Hintze.

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Climate talks end with few commitments and ‘lost’ opportunity

The United States and other big polluters blocked even a non-binding measure encouraging countries to enhance their climate targets next year.

The luxury items guests now steal from hotel rooms

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Ram Devineni’s superhero ‘Priya’ puts focus on survivors of sex trafficking

The free comic book series, which was honoured by UN Women as a “gender equality champion”, has been a global hit with over five lakh digital downloads and over 26 million readers worldwide.

Written by Jayashree Narayanan | New Delhi | Published: December 16, 2019 12:42:39 pm

Ram Devineni’s new book deals with the issue of sex trafficking.

Can a comic book generate awareness on social evils? This thought led filmmaker Ram Devineni to create Priya’s Shakti, a series inspired by the horrific Delhi gangrape of December 2012. The innovative multimedia project, which deals with gender-based violence, features “the first woman Indian superhero and rape survivor”.

“Comic books can be more than just entertainment. I wanted an Indian woman superhero who can speak to a teenager. That’s how Priya’s Shakti was born,” Devineni told indianexpress.com. While discussions around violence against women focus on perpetrators of heinous crimes like rape, there is little talk of survivors and how society treats rape and acid attack survivors — a narrative that Devineni seeks to change. “The shame placed on survivors is extremely painful. It takes an entire family and community to help them survive the ordeal and heal physically and emotionally,” he remarked.

Devineni followed up with the second book, Priya’s Mirror, which was centred on acid attack survivors. And now, along with his creative team comprising writer Dipti Mehta and illustrators Syd Fini and Neda Kazemifar, he has launched the third edition in the series, Priya And The Lost Girls, which looks at the issue of sex trafficking, with the help of NGO Apne Aap Women Worldwide.

“Sex trafficking is an enormous problem in India, perhaps only second to drug trafficking and worse than weapon trafficking. Women are trafficked to Sonagachi (in North Kolkata which is known to be India’s largest red-light district) or other places. There is an ‘uncomfortable’ complicity within families when one of their daughters is forced to prostitute herself to support them. The stories of women who are survivors needed to be told in the third edition,” said India-born Devineni, who moved to the US when he was six.

 Ram Devineni says the issue of sex trafficking needs to be spoken about. (Photo: Ram Devineni)

Devineni grew up on a steady diet of comic books, especially Amar Chitra Katha, which introduced him to mythology. “Comics are an important part of our culture and hugely popular with teenagers and young adults. Now, they have also entered the commercial mainstream,” he said.

Inspired by ancient mythological tales, the third edition tells the story of Priya — a gangrape survivor — who returns to her village on a flying tiger, Sahas, to discover that all the young women have disappeared, including her sister, Laxmi. She learns they have been taken to an underground brothel city called Rahu, ruled by a demon who gets his power through fear and entrapment of women. “One of the biggest, extremely networked teams of brothels can be found in Sonagachi. I spent a week there in January 2017 and through Apne Aap Women Worldwide, I met a dozen women who told me their stories. Many were coerced by distant relatives with the promise of domestic work. On arriving in Kolkata, they were either trapped through physical force or took to prostitution because there were no means to return,” he recalled.

 Inspired by ancient mythological tales, the third edition tells the story of Priya and her sister Laxmi.

In Sonagachi, Devineni was also disheartened by the sight of a room being shared by multiple women and their children. “The bed they shared with their children were the same they shared with customers. You can only imagine the psychological impact of this on the kids,” he said.

Does the comic book format dilute an issue like sex trafficking? “I don’t believe so. What is important is that the stories (in the book) are based on real women who are survivors. If it makes people aware, we will be successful,” he commented.

Sacrifice, Devineni believes, “was a major theme” that he noticed among the women. “And this is where the idea of the volcano and Rahu came into the comic book. Often in mythology and ancient cultures, women were thrown into the volcano to appease the gods. The women willingly sacrificed their lives for the community. This led to the idea of Rahu who is portrayed as a demon who gets his energy from the volcano and the women who serve him. He represents ‘the brothels’ and their psychological control,” he mentioned.

He also draws a parallel with the #MeToo movement. “While it shook up the status quo in urban settings, Lost Girls reflects the reality of rural areas in India and elsewhere in the world, where change is usually slower.”

 The book is based on rape survivors.

The free comic book series, which was honoured by UN Women as a “gender equality champion”, has been a global hit with over five lakh digital downloads and over 26 million readers worldwide. The comic book and its use of augmented reality was recently on display at the Global Health Film Festival at the Wellcome Trust in London (UK). By scanning its cover and pages, with the Artivve app, readers can browse 3D-animation, real-life stories, and other immersive experiences.

For his next book in the series, Devineni plans to explore honour killings and female infanticide, he said.

Explained: Why India needs a Project Dolphin

There is an expectation that at the meeting a programme called “Project Dolphin”, along the lines of “Project Tiger” will be cleared to enhance the population of these dolphins.

By: Explained Desk | Updated: December 15, 2019 12:11:57 pm

The Gangetic river dolphins were officially discovered in 1801 and are one of the oldest creatures in the world along with some species of turtles, crocodiles and sharks, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

The National Ganga Council (NGC), which is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met for the first time at Kanpur on Saturday with the proposal to save and enhance the population of the Gangetic Dolphin, to discuss the concept of “River Cities” and an action plan to provide sewer connection to every household in towns along the Ganga and its tributaries.

The council consists of chief ministers from five states along the Ganga — Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Jharkhand along with nine Union ministers and NITI Aayog vice-chairman. The central objective of the council is to work on the “protection, prevention, control and abatement of environmental pollution in River Ganga and its rejuvenation to its natural and pristine condition and to ensure continuous adequate flow of water”. The council is supposed to meet every year, but since its inception in 2016, no meeting has taken place.

There is an expectation that at the meeting a programme called “Project Dolphin”, along the lines of “Project Tiger” will be cleared to enhance the population of these dolphins.

The status of Gangetic dolphins in India

The Gangetic river dolphins were officially discovered in 1801 and are one of the oldest creatures in the world along with some species of turtles, crocodiles and sharks, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). They once lived in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh, but are now mostly extinct from many of its early distribution ranges, as per WWF.

In 2009, the Gangetic dolphins were declared India’s National Aquatic animal during the first meeting of the erstwhile National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) and it is placed under the “endangered” category by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Gangetic river dolphins can only live in freshwater, are blind and catch their prey in a unique manner, using ultrasonic sound waves. These dolphins prefer deep waters and, as per WWF, they are distributed across seven states in India: Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Their numbers have dwindled in the last few decades mainly because of direct killing, habitat fragmentation by dams and barrages and indiscriminate fishing.

Gangetic dolphins in numbers

According to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, at last count, the rivers of Assam and Uttar Pradesh had 962 and 1,275 Gangetic dolphins, respectively. In Assam, the latest available data is for the period between January and March 2018, while the latest available data for UP is for the period between 2012 and 2015. In UP, 671 dolphins were recorded and in 2015, 1272 were recorded.

According to the ministry, in Assam, the assessment was carried out in three rivers, with the Brahmaputra accounting for 877 of the 962 dolphins in the state. In addition to the species being India’s national aquatic animal, the Gangetic dolphin has been notified by the Assam government as the state aquatic animal, too. Silting and sand lifting from rivers in Assam has been stopped to maintain its population.

As per WWF estimates, they number somewhere between 1200-1800.

What are some of the efforts made in India to protect the dolphins?

Some of the efforts made to preserve and increase the numbers of these dolphins include the setting up of the Conservation Action Plan for the Gangetic Dolphin (2010-2020), which has identified threats to Gangetic dolphins and impact of river traffic, irrigation canals and depletion of prey-base on dolphin populations.

Additionally, the Gangetic dolphins have been included in Schedule -I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which means they have the highest degree of protection against hunting. They are also one among the 21 species identified under the centrally sponsored scheme, “Development of Wildlife Habitat”