Michelle Montague: the first NZ woman to sign with the UFC
Mount Albert Grammar School Principal Patrick Drumm talks NCEA in schools ahead of the looming announcement. Video / Herald NOW
MetService Weather: 1 August. Video / MetService
Lewis Clareburt has produced a new national record in the 200-metre medley and the Storm have beaten the Eels 16-10. Video / NZ Herald
Crimson Education has been valued at NZ$1 billion (US$600 million) - but could its core business, getting kids into Ivy league, be destroyed by AI?
Ministerial briefing on NCEA suggests the current system does not support pathways into trades; and rebounding tsunami swells still pose a risk. Video / NZ Herald
Today on The Front Page, author Jared Savage joins us to discuss the rising threat of organised crime in New Zealand.
MetService national weather July 31 - August 3. Video / MetService
From regional TV station to global gold standard documentary production: the story of Natural History New Zealand.
Near the start of the livestream of the council meeting, Brown discusses absent councillors. Video / Auckland Council
A person has been spotted surfing at Scarborough Beach despite a national tsunami warning. Video / Supplied
Judith Collins and Winston Peters say the base will help in the fight against transnational crime. Video / Mark Mitchell
Liam Napier and Elliott Smith discuss injury gaps, who will cover the third halfback role and the Lions' win in the lead-up to the All Blacks tour squad naming. Video / NZ Herald
Mike Seawright, Director of ReliefAid, speaks to Ryan Bridge about the situation on the ground in Gaza and what urgent action is required to relieve the issues of hunger there.
Business with 2degrees: Kiwibank $500M cap raise landing flat and the flightpath for the new Air NZ chief executive.
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RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Mediawatch: The politics of PayWave
Photo: 123RF "Can someone get the Beehive a press secretary who can understand a news cycle?" asked the host of Herald Now show Ryan Bridge, opening his show last Tuesday with a bit of a broadside at the government's political management. "Yesterday we had a 10-minute sermon - that's the opposition's words - from Nicola Willis and Christopher Luxon about the cost of living crisis," he said, referring to Monday's post-Cabinet press conference . That was timed for the first anniversary of their tax cuts - so why was that timing so bad? Bridge flourished The Herald 's own front page that day with a scoop about big boosts to the fees that Crown bodies can pay board members. "It's probably the worst headline you could have at a time like this," he spluttered. "Now I'm not saying they don't deserve it, but the timing... come on!" In bad economic times, stuff that looks bad can end up looking a lot worse no matter what day it goes public. The lead story on Herald Now that day also looked like it was timed with optics in mind - banning surcharges on in-store contactless transactions. "Those pesky surcharges on card payments are gone-skis," Bridge declared, echoing the government's own announcement. "Most customers will be very happy to see an end to the horrible little curled up handwritten coffee stain stickers on the EFTPOS machine," Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson told Ryan Bridge. But Bridge was not distracted by the aesthetics of EFTPOS terminals. He wanted to know who would really reap the benefit of the estimated $150 million saved from the surcharges salami-sliced out at stores as things stand. "That will be absorbed into the retail system," the minister said. "Right. Higher prices, in other words?" Bridge asked. "It's not much over the entire New Zealand commercial marketplace," the minister countered. But if so, it would not really cut the cost of living very much at all - and was not really a strong lead story at a time with so much else going on. "We can only pray that Luxon and Willis understand that shifting $90 million from banks to consumers is irrelevant in the context of a $430 billion economy, including the $7.2 billion the banks made in profits last year," columnist Matthew Hooton said in The Herald on Friday. Consumer NZ was not stoked that credit card surcharges applied to online payments were not covered by the ban. "This is disappointing because your flight or accommodation booking or any other online purchases could still attract a surcharge," Consumer NZ said. "Those transactions are generally much more expensive to process because... they have to protect against online scams, online fraud," Nicola Willis told RNZ's First Up . "We've kept them out of the regime for now because part-passing on the charge to the consumer makes more sense there," she added. But banks also deal with that and their charges are regulated - and it is far from transparent now how those costs are covered for online credit card transactions. While the Prime Minister had said on Monday: "You will no longer be penalised for your choice of payment method," media scrutiny this week revealed that users of EFTPOS and cash payers might end up penalised by a ban. "Any transaction where someone pays by swiping or inserting, is free for a retailer. But as people move to contactless... a higher percentage of their transactions will incur a fee," Retail NZ's Carolyn Young told RNZ 's Morning Report . The Commerce Commission recently moved to cap the interchange fees banks charge each other. That was also meant to reduce the cost to retailers. More people now using PayWave could wipe out the other potential benefits. "I think it's really just performative. If we're paywaving everywhere and then the costs are shared across everyone," Dan Brunskill of told RNZ 's Nine to Noon on Tuesday when asked about the PayWave surcharge ban. The same day BusinessDesk pointed out that just 10 days earlier the Commerce Commission had claimed its interchange fee cap would save businesses $90 million a year in payment costs. The Commission [ also said it was already exploring what regulation may be needed to address excessive surcharging, which it estimated at about $45 million to $60 million a year. But Business Desk's headline Government beats Commerce Commission to card surcharge ban showed that in this case, the government might have got its PR timing right to take the credit for reduced credit card payment costs now. The media scrutiny also illuminated another duopolistic aspect of our economy: Visa and MasterCard dominating this payment trade. Alternatives do exist, BusinessDesk tech reporter Peter Griffin pointed out on Wednesday . But he said after the surcharge ban, PayWavers here will be less likely to seek out cheaper solutions if they cannot see they are cheaper. "We should now focus on reducing the underlying costs of payment processing, not simply regulating away the only mechanism for acknowledging those costs. In the world of payments, as in so much else, what's visible on the bill is only the start of the story." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
18 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Hostage videos show emaciated Israelis, Hamas blames Israel for starvation
David's sister, Ye'ela, said watching the clip of her emaciated brother felt like 'one million punches to the heart'. She pleaded with the public not to share the images, as her mother and other brother had not yet seen the footage. Earlier on Thursday, the Islamic Jihad terrorist group released a video of hostage Rom Braslavski, 21, also looking emaciated. The terror group claimed the six-minute video was recorded days before it lost contact with the captors holding Braslavski, saying it did not know what had happened to him. His mother, Tami, said the terrorists had 'broken' her son. 'They broke my boy. I want him home now. I know how many beatings he is taking. Look at him. Thin, limp, crying. All his bones are out. Don't cry over the children in Gaza. Cry for Rom. Have compassion for the hostages,' she told Israeli media Ynet. With two hostage videos released in 24 hours, both of which blame Israel for starving the people of Gaza, Hamas seeks to increase international pressure on the Israeli Government. Aid agencies, including the UN, are warning that hunger and malnutrition may have reached a tipping point, raising fears of mass starvation. Israel has denied accusations of starving Palestinians, instead pointing the finger at the UN for failing to collect and distribute the food that enters through border crossings. US President Donald Trump said this week that starvation was happening in Gaza, despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's denials. 'You can't fake that,' he said on Tuesday, adding that he was 'not particularly' convinced by his ally. Steve Witkoff, Trump's Middle East envoy, spent five hours visiting controversial aid distribution sites in the war-battered enclave on Friday. Witkoff, the first senior official to visit Gaza since the war began, said that what he learnt would help Washington 'craft a plan' to get more food and aid to Palestinians. On Friday, 126 aid packages, containing food for the residents of the southern and northern Gaza Strip, were airdropped by France, Spain, the UAE, Jordan, Egypt and Germany, the Israel Defence Forces said. Witkoff and Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador for Israel, toured one of the four sites run by the controversial Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Aid agencies have accused the foundation of contributing to the hunger crisis. More than 1300 people seeking aid in Gaza have been killed since GHF took over aid operations in late May, according to the UN, most of them shot by Israeli forces 'in the vicinity' of the aid hubs. GHF has denied the claims. Israel claims Hamas is looting aid for its own fighters, thus enabling accusations the Jewish state is deliberately starving Palestinians. Hamas denies this. Eli Sharabi, an Israeli former hostage, testified before the UN Security Council in March that 'Hamas eats like kings, while hostages starve'. Sharabi said: 'I saw Hamas terrorists carrying boxes with the UN and UNRWA emblems on them into the tunnels, dozens and dozens of boxes, paid for by your Government. They would eat many meals a day from the UN aid in front of us, and we never received any of it.'
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Weather: Cold start to weekend with Saturday morning frosts
Several areas of the country were expected to experience frost this morning. Photo: RNZ/Carol Stiles It's a chilly start to the weekend for many across the country, with Taupō & Timaru clocking temperatures as low as -3C at 7am Saturday morning. Northland and Auckland to Waitomo, as well as the Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and the central high country were expected to remain fine throughout Saturday, with frosts morning and night, with some cloud in the west during the evening, MetService said. Taranaki through to Kāpiti was to be partly cloudy, with people in some areas expected to experience morning frosts and light isolated showers during the afternoon. Gisborne and Hawke's Bay were to expect cloudy periods and a few showers, clearing Hawke's Bay Saturday morning and elsewhere later on in the afternoon. Despite a fine start to the morning, Wellington, Wairarapa and Marlborough were to expect cloudy periods developing about Wairarapa and the Kaikōura Coast Saturday afternoon with isolated showers that night. Brrr! It's a chilly one out there this morning ❄️ 7am temps are still hugging the single digits—or even dipping below zero! Taumarunui, Taupō & Timaru: -3°C ❄️Masterton, Christchurch & Ashburton: -2°C ❄Wānaka: -1°C If you're in the Taupō Marathon today, that frosty air… Areas from Nelson and Buller to Westland were to remain fine, but with cloudy periods and morning frosts. A frosty start followed by fine weather was expected for Canterbury and central and north Otago, with some evening cloud and isolated showers, MetService said. Southland, Fiordland and the remainder of Otago could expect scattered showers, clearing this evening. Meanwhile, cloudy periods were predicted for the Chatham Islands, with a few showers throughout the day. Heading into Sunday the North Island was expected to be partly cloudy, with isolated showers in the east, as well as in Northland and Wellington. The South Island was expected to remain mainly fine, except for a few showers in northern Canterbury and Marlborough, MetService said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
