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All you need to know about the world this morning, curated by 95bFM and VICE NZ.Customs Will Need Reasonable Cause to Search Laptops and Phones At The Border
You will no longer be forced to hand over your password when coming home from your overseas holiday. A new law is stripping New Zealand Customs of its power to demand that people entering the country hand over passwords to their digital devices without reasonable cause.
ACT Party leader David Seymour secured the changes to the new Customs and Excise Bill, which is soon to have its second reading. Seymour said the new law will prevent countless New Zealanders and visitors from facing intrusive and unjustified searches.
Figures show more than 1,300 people have been digitally strip searched since 2013. Most people searched where New Zealanders, followed by people from China.Families Fear for Deaf Children Without Special Smoke Alarms
Families with deaf children are saying their lives are being put at risk because they cannot get funding to pay for special smoke alarms.
Many families with deaf children say the $2000 cost to install the alarms is unaffordable.
The Ministry of Health says funding for alerting devices will only be considered if the person is unsupervised and cannot safely hear standard alerting systems.
National advisor for risk management Peter Gallagher says it is just as important to have a well-practised escape plan.
New Zealand Federation for Deaf Children president Kate Whale claims the policy is discriminatory and is putting lives at risk.Russia, China Urge North Korea To Freeze Missile Launches
Russia and China have called on North Korea to "freeze" its missile and nuclear programmes. This comes after the hermit nation declared the successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
North Korea says it is now a fully-fledged nuclear power but many experts are sceptical. David Wright, a physicist with the US-based Union of Concerned Scientists says the missile could reach Alaska, but not of Hawaii or the other 48 US states. Experts have also expressed doubt about the ability of Pyongyang to fit a nuclear warhead into such a missile.Gulf States Prepare to Ramp Up Economic Sanctions Against Qatar
Arab states are preparing to ramp-up economic sanctions against Qatar with diplomats indicating that the nation could be suspended from the Gulf Co-operational Council.
One month ago several Arab countries announced that they were breaking all diplomatic ties with Qatar. Saudi Arabia closed borders, severed land, sea and air contact with the tiny peninsula, giving Qatari citizens two weeks to leave, and only 48 hours for its diplomats to quit. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain then announced a list of 13 demands that Qatar must meet in order to restore diplomatic ties.
The list demands that Qatar close the broadcaster Al-Jazeera, scale back cooperation with Iran and submit to monthly external compliance checks. Saudi Arabia said it made the decision because it believes Qatar funds and promotes various terrorists groups aimed at destabilising the region.
Tensions with Qatar's Gulf Arab neighbours have grown in recent years as part of a tussle for regional leadership.Austrian Troops To Stop Migrants Crossing Border With Italy
Austria has announced it is willing to use force to stop the unprecedented amount of migrants crossing over the Italian border.
Every day, thousands of North African migrants are arriving in Italy and travelling onwards. Speaking to the Austria's largest newspaper the country's defence minister says troops will be "indispensable" if migration carries on as it is.
Austria and Italy are both part of the EU's border-free zone, which has eliminated passport checks. However, many countries in the border-free zone have reintroduced some border controls after one million refugees and migrants arrived in Europe in 2015.Australian Surgical Mesh Lawsuit Begins
More than 700 women are taking on pharmaceutical giant Johnson and Johnson in a major class action suit that began in Australian Federal Court yesterday.
The women are demanding compensation for injuries caused by a medical device designed to treat common complications from childbirth. The law firm behind the class action says about 8,000 women have been affected by mesh and tape surgical implants used to fix pelvic-floor damage from prolapse and incontinence.
A New Zealand support group that opposes the use of surgical mesh says surgeons are still using the mesh without informing patients about the risks.Additional reporting by Jack Marshall, Tash Aull-Timbers and Alessandra Nixon
LOCAL NEWS
You will no longer be forced to hand over your password when coming home from your overseas holiday. A new law is stripping New Zealand Customs of its power to demand that people entering the country hand over passwords to their digital devices without reasonable cause.
ACT Party leader David Seymour secured the changes to the new Customs and Excise Bill, which is soon to have its second reading. Seymour said the new law will prevent countless New Zealanders and visitors from facing intrusive and unjustified searches.
Figures show more than 1,300 people have been digitally strip searched since 2013. Most people searched where New Zealanders, followed by people from China.Families Fear for Deaf Children Without Special Smoke Alarms
Families with deaf children are saying their lives are being put at risk because they cannot get funding to pay for special smoke alarms.
Many families with deaf children say the $2000 cost to install the alarms is unaffordable.
The Ministry of Health says funding for alerting devices will only be considered if the person is unsupervised and cannot safely hear standard alerting systems.
National advisor for risk management Peter Gallagher says it is just as important to have a well-practised escape plan.
New Zealand Federation for Deaf Children president Kate Whale claims the policy is discriminatory and is putting lives at risk.
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Russia and China have called on North Korea to "freeze" its missile and nuclear programmes. This comes after the hermit nation declared the successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
North Korea says it is now a fully-fledged nuclear power but many experts are sceptical. David Wright, a physicist with the US-based Union of Concerned Scientists says the missile could reach Alaska, but not of Hawaii or the other 48 US states. Experts have also expressed doubt about the ability of Pyongyang to fit a nuclear warhead into such a missile.Gulf States Prepare to Ramp Up Economic Sanctions Against Qatar
Arab states are preparing to ramp-up economic sanctions against Qatar with diplomats indicating that the nation could be suspended from the Gulf Co-operational Council.
One month ago several Arab countries announced that they were breaking all diplomatic ties with Qatar. Saudi Arabia closed borders, severed land, sea and air contact with the tiny peninsula, giving Qatari citizens two weeks to leave, and only 48 hours for its diplomats to quit. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain then announced a list of 13 demands that Qatar must meet in order to restore diplomatic ties.
The list demands that Qatar close the broadcaster Al-Jazeera, scale back cooperation with Iran and submit to monthly external compliance checks. Saudi Arabia said it made the decision because it believes Qatar funds and promotes various terrorists groups aimed at destabilising the region.
Tensions with Qatar's Gulf Arab neighbours have grown in recent years as part of a tussle for regional leadership.Austrian Troops To Stop Migrants Crossing Border With Italy
Austria has announced it is willing to use force to stop the unprecedented amount of migrants crossing over the Italian border.
Every day, thousands of North African migrants are arriving in Italy and travelling onwards. Speaking to the Austria's largest newspaper the country's defence minister says troops will be "indispensable" if migration carries on as it is.
Austria and Italy are both part of the EU's border-free zone, which has eliminated passport checks. However, many countries in the border-free zone have reintroduced some border controls after one million refugees and migrants arrived in Europe in 2015.Australian Surgical Mesh Lawsuit Begins
More than 700 women are taking on pharmaceutical giant Johnson and Johnson in a major class action suit that began in Australian Federal Court yesterday.
The women are demanding compensation for injuries caused by a medical device designed to treat common complications from childbirth. The law firm behind the class action says about 8,000 women have been affected by mesh and tape surgical implants used to fix pelvic-floor damage from prolapse and incontinence.
A New Zealand support group that opposes the use of surgical mesh says surgeons are still using the mesh without informing patients about the risks.Additional reporting by Jack Marshall, Tash Aull-Timbers and Alessandra Nixon