Latest news with #'sBirthday
Straits Times
01-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
South Korea to have 118 days off in 2026
The longest holiday will be the five-day Lunar New Year set from Feb 14 to 18. PHOTO: AFP South Korea to have 118 days off in 2026 SEOUL - South Koreans will have a total of 118 days off, including weekends and holidays, in 2026, one day fewer than this year, the Korean Aerospace Administration's calendar guideline showed on July 7. The longest holiday will be the five-day Lunar New Year set from Feb 14 to 18. South Korea will see 52 Sundays and 20 additional public holidays, including substitute ones, amounting to 72 days off for employees on a standard five-day work week. But the actual number of days off for holidays would be 70, with the March 1 Independence Movement Day and Buddha's Birthday falling on Sundays. It remains unclear whether substitute holidays will be designated for either day. Public holidays combined with weekends would result in 122 days off. However, with some holidays falling on Saturdays, the number effectively stands at 118. There will be eight holidays that span three days or more. This includes the Lunar New Year and the Chuseok holiday from Sept 24 to 27. There will be five three-day weekends in 2026, including National Foundation Day and Christmas. Details of the calendar guideline can be found on the KASA website ( THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Scoop
29-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
King's Birthday: What's Open, What's Closed And How It's Decided Who Gets Honours
Explainer – King Charles' birthday is commemorated with a public holiday on Monday – what's open, how do those royal honours get chosen and should we still celebrate it, anyway? Nik Dirga, Digital Explainer Editor Explainer – King Charles' birthday is commemorated with a public holiday on Monday – what's open, how do those royal honours get chosen and should we still celebrate it, anyway? Here's everything you need to know about the holiday. What's open on Monday? Do I have to work? It is a public holiday, but some people may still have to work depending on their employer. Employees are paid time-and-a-half and entitled to a paid day off if a public holiday falls on a normal working day for them. However, if you are a contractor or working for yourself, you don't get those benefits. You can read more about public holiday rules for employers here. Trading restrictions don't apply on Monday as they do for Easter holidays, the morning of Anzac Day or Christmas. Shops, restaurants and cafes can be open as usual but it pays to check opening hours beforehand. I'm gonna want a latte, do I have to pay a surcharge? Because businesses have to pay employees more on a public holiday, it raises their costs. So some businesses choose to add a surcharge to their prices on holidays. The typical surcharge is 15 percent. However, businesses must be clear about announcing those charges to customers via signage, verbally or other methods. Customers can also complain to the Commerce Commission if they feel misled or a charge was excessive. King's Birthday is also about celebrating New Zealanders' achievements Dozens of New Zealanders will be given royal honours which will be announced on Monday for excellence in their fields. It's the second time each year honours are given out – they're also announced on New Year's Eve. Cool, can I get an honour? Who decides who gets them? Literally anyone can nominate someone living who they think deserves a Royal Honour. (Unless you try to nominate yourself, which is not allowed and also kind of weird.) The Honours Unit at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet processes between 800 to 1000 nominations a year, Blair Teesdale-Moore, senior communications advisor with the department, said. 'The unit prepares a draft citation for each one based on the information in the nomination and letters of support,' she said. The Cabinet Appointments and Honours Committee then considers every nomination individually in a series of confidential meetings over several weeks. 'As chair of the APH committee and the King's primary advisor on honours matters, the prime minister advises the King on the final honours lists,' Teesdale-Moore said. 'By long-standing constitutional convention the King of New Zealand acts on the advice of the prime minister – this includes the formal approval of New Zealand Royal honours.' Once the draft list is set, it is then given informal approval by the governor-general, run by potential recipients first – 'a small number decline,' Teesdale-Moore said – and then it's off to the King, who is the head of our honours system. Hang on, the King was born in November. Why are we celebrating in June? King Charles III turns 77 on 14 November. So why are we wishing him a happy birthday now? Blame the weather. The tradition of celebrating the monarch's birthday in the northern summer dates back hundreds of years, and is tied in with the Trooping the Colour ceremonial event held every June in London. The ceremony of Trooping the Colour is believed to have been first performed during the reign of King Charles II from 1660 to 1685, the British Army says. In 1748, during the reign of King George II, the sovereign's birthday first became a celebrated holiday. Trooping the Colour became tied in to celebrate the monarch, no matter when their actual birthday was. Ever since then, the king or queen has basically had two birthdays – the real one, and the big old fancy military parade one. Trooping the Colour will be held in the UK on 14 June this year. Is the King's Birthday really something NZ should be marking in 2025? That's a matter of opinion and it all depends on who you ask. As part of the Commonwealth, King Charles is New Zealand's head of state. Of course, there have been calls to change that, which ramped up after the death of Queen Elizabeth II following her 70-year reign in 2022. Monarchy New Zealand organisation did not respond to requests for comment from RNZ by deadline, but on its website calls the monarchy 'something all Kiwis can be proud of'. 'It's a vital component of our government, a guarantee of our democracy, and a sign of our maturity and independence as a nation. 'The King is a completely apolitical head of state (who) represents all New Zealanders regardless of their political views. This cannot happen in a republic.' However, there are also calls to abandon the holiday celebrating a monarch on the other side of the world. Savage, the chair of the New Zealand Republic organisation, called King's Birthday an 'empty public holiday that celebrates nothing in particular. It is no one's birthday and even the Brits don't celebrate it as a public holiday'. 'It has already been surpassed by Matariki as a proper, meaningful public holiday. New Zealand Republic was one of the first groups to start campaigning for Matariki and we are campaigning to replace King's Birthday with a spring time public holiday in September.' NZ Republic suggests a replacement public holiday could be Citizenship Day, when New Zealand citizenship was officially established on 6 September 1948 by the passing of the New Zealand Citizenship Act, or Suffrage Day on 19 September, marking the day in 1893 that NZ signed into law allowing women to vote. But for now, your public holiday off is thanks to the King.
Scoop
28-05-2025
- Scoop
DOC Reveals Surprising Toilet Paper Stats
Press Release – Department of Conservation Now DOC has revealed how much toilet paper was ordered by regional offices around Aotearoa for the 2024/2025 period, a whopping 15.5 million metres nationally. If there is one person who knows all about toilet paper, it's Department of Conservation ranger Daryl Sweeney. The North Canterbury ranger's job is to not only clean public toilets at DOC sites but also replace the toilet paper. Now DOC has revealed how much toilet paper was ordered by regional offices around Aotearoa for the 2024/2025 period, a whopping 15.5 million metres nationally. That's roughly 15,500 kilometres of paper which would stretch the length of New Zealand nearly ten times. The figures reveal across DOC's operational regions the most toilet paper was ordered by the Southern South Island which includes Fiordland and the Great Walks (3,103,037 metres), followed closely by the Northern South Island which includes Abel Tasman Great Walks and the iconic Tōtaranui campground (3,069,369) and in third place, Hauraki Waikato Taranaki (which includes the Coromandel) 2,727,160 metres. Daryl Sweeney looks after DOC sites in Canterbury including the toilets at the hugely popular and culturally significant Kura Tāwhiti/Castle Hill on the highway to Arthur's Pass and the West Coast. 'What we do outdoors makes all the difference for New Zealand's unique nature. This includes toileting responsibly. How and where we go is key to ensuring we do no harm to our great outdoors. 'Visitors are encouraged go to the toilet before they start their trip and plan stops at toilets along the way. Those heading further into the backcountry need to know what to do when there's no toilet – you can find this advice on DOC's website.' And it's not just about using the facilities provided, says Daryl Sweeney. 'It's shocking how much toilet paper is used. Sometimes it's piled up beside the toilet in a mountain. The state some of the toilets are left in is also appalling to be honest,' he says. 'You wouldn't do this at home so why would you do it in public toilets. Everyone has a role to respect the natural environment and not leave rubbish in and around these places.' North Canterbury Operations Manager Leeann Ellis says Daryl is just one of the hard-working rangers nationally who drive kilometres every day across multiple sites to replace toilet paper and keep facilities clean, including over the weekends and on public holidays. 'Many people don't realise this is a core role DOC undertakes. It takes a huge amount of time for our rangers and some of what they deal with would turn your stomach,' she says. With the opening of bookings for all the Great Walks this month, and on the eve of King's Birthday holiday weekend, DOC says it's a timely reminder for people to look after public facilities at DOC sites, to read the signs and not leave rubbish around for others to pick up. Daryl Sweeney says everyone has a part to play in looking after nature and says it would be a huge bonus for him if the toilets were left in a better state. 'I'm answering other people's calls of nature,' he jokes, 'but it's about time people answered their own, and respected the amazing places they are visiting. I feel like if people had to do my job for a day, they'd understand. My message is use the toilets provided, use less toilet paper, fold the paper, don't 'scrunch' it, put it in the toilet or the bin and leave the toilet in a tidy state. It's simple.'
Otago Daily Times
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Physed's Morrison on target
Physed A goal shoot Lucy Morrison battles for the ball with Southern Magpies goal keep Rebecca Mace at the Edgar Centre on Saturday. Photo: Gerard O'Brien A bumper weekend of Dunedin club netball produced some big results across the board. With no netball being played next weekend because of King's Birthday, premier teams had a double-header weekend. On Saturday, Physed A dominated Southern Magpies winning 69-46 in the seventh round of the Dunedin premier netball competition on Saturday. Physed led 20-9 at the first break, continuing their strong performance with the halftime score 38-19. Goal shoot Lucy Morrison dominated the shooting circle, landing 29 of her 31 attempts at goal to run at 93% and counterpart goal attack Charlotte Nicol was also on point with her shooting with an amazing 90%. Physed defence combination in goal defence Lucy Shirley and goal keep Maggie Mason were on form with their circle defence. Physed extended their advantage to 53-32 at the three-quarter break. Southern were trying to close the gap, their defenders, goal defence Georgia Cournane and goal keep Rebecca Mace were doing everything they could to prevent Nicol and Morrison from scoring. Goal attack Chloe Davis shot 83% for Southern Magipes. In other games, University Albion A played University Albion B leaving University Albion A to win 46-45. College A had a nail-biting win over the South Pac Titans Tāiko to win 55-53. The Titans Taiko bounced back yesterday to beat University Albion B 53-49. Physed A were too strong for College A 55-47 to record their second win of the weekend and University Albion A had a massive 7-46 win against Southern. By Madison Cummings
Korea Herald
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Ex-PM Han proposes meeting with PPP presidential candidate Kim Monday
Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who announced his presidential bid last week, proposed a meeting Monday with the People Power Party's presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo, Han's aides said, amid speculation that they may discuss unifying their candidacies for the June 3 election. Han made the proposal, which Kim apparently accepted, as they briefly met during a Buddha's Birthday ceremony at Jogye Temple in central Seoul, the aides said. Former Labor Minister Kim won the PPP's presidential nomination Saturday, a move expected to face an uphill battle with Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung, who has kept a wide lead in opinion polls. Han, who announced his presidential bid on Friday, has been a favorite among conservatives to challenge the DP's Lee. Han's side has said it would let the PPP determine the terms of unifying Han's candidacy with that of Kim. (Yonhap)
