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Everything you need to know about the world today, curated by 95bFM and VICE NZ.Labour Under Fire for Sexual Allegations
Labour's General Secretary Andrew Kirton has called for an external review of Labour's summer camp following allegations of sexual misconduct. The call for review came after Newsroom reported that a twenty-year-old man had harassed four 16-year-old girls. The article alleged that while the man was removed from the premises, no other action was taken by Labour officials who had knowledge of the event. Andrew Kirton says that while he had known of the incident, he decided against further action in order to protect the confidentiality of those involved. However, in light of the report, Kirton says that he intends to ban the man from any further events, as well as launch an external investigation into how Labour can improve the environment of its camp.Cyclone Hola Fades
Cyclone Hola has tracked further east than expected, sparing the east coast heavy weather. Metservice meteorologist Peter Little says New Zealand has been "lucky" to escape the worst of the storm. The East coast received the worst weather, with over 100mm of rainfall yesterday. Air New Zealand had cancelled flights from Whangarei and Kerikeri due to the weather concerns. Hola has been the third cyclone to come within range of New Zealand in 2018.Microbead Ban Begins
The government has announced a ban on products with plastic microbeads that will come into effect in June, with plastic bags next on the agenda. This comes with New Zealand signing up to a United Nations campaign to rid the oceans of plastic, becoming the 42nd country to do so. Associate Minister for Environment Eugenie Sage says scientists estimated there were more than 150 million tonnes of plastic in the ocean. Sage says the plastic in oceans will weigh more than all the fish that live in them by 2050 if nothing changes.2degrees to End Support for 2G Phones
Communications giant 2degrees has announced they will be switching off their 2G network later this week. The announcement means that all phones using their 2G network will be unable to send and receive texts, or make calls—even to 111. 2degrees has also warned that older Eftpos and GPS machines may be affected by the changeover. 2degrees recommends that customers still using 2G phones change providers to Vodafone, as Vodafone has pledged to keep their 2G network running for another four years.Lyttelton Port Workers Expected to Strike
200 Lyttelton port workers currently on strike are expected to picket in Christchurch today, after negotiations over pay and work safety fell through. The strike, which has lasted 13 days, began over Lyttelton Port Company's decision to make significant roster changes without having a fatigue management plan in place. Since then, negotiations have also been held over the port's payment policies and work safety procedures. Union organiser John Kerr says that workers will be picketing today, after the port company failed to pay 70 workers for scheduled shifts last week.NCEA Pass Rates Shock Teachers
Teachers around the country are reporting shock at the differences in achievement rates between subjects. Just under half of all language students achieved with excellence last year, while 13 percent received excellence overall in maths. Business is the subject with the lowest overall pass rate, with a 71 percent pass rate. Commerce and Economics Teachers Association president Jude Maurice says the grades awarded depend on how hard a subject was, so languages receive higher grades than business as it is considered harder. He added that all students need to feel that they can excel in their interests.Syria’s Deadliest Year 2017
Unicef has announced that 2017 has been the most deadly year for children in Syria's war. Access to humanitarian organisations was denied over 100 times in 2017. Attacks on hospitals and aid areas increased in frequency. The UN says children make up more than half of the 13 million people who remain trapped inside Syria. An entire generation of Syrian children are at risk of severe psychological damage.Euthanasia Investigated in Netherlands
Dutch authorities are investigating four cases of euthanasia or doctor-assisted suicide, amid concerns that euthanasia is becoming a cultural norm. The four cases under investigation concerned patients whom doctors are considered to have either concluded too quickly that the patient was in "unbearable suffering" or where the patients were not conscious enough to make their decision voluntarily. Euthanasia was legalised in the Netherlands in 2002 and the number of cases have risen sharply in recent years. 7,000 people were euthanised in the Netherlands last year compared to just over 4,000 five years ago. So far, no doctors have been prosecuted for any of the deaths.Trump’s Decision to End Protections for Some Immigrants Disputed in Court
A lawsuit is being filed to overturn Donald Trump's decision to end immigration protections for temporary protected status (TPS) holders from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan. The decision, made in early January, means that almost 200,000 immigrants could be deported—some of whom have lived in the United States for more than 20 years. But those bringing the lawsuit aim to fight back against the deportations, by arguing that the government's overly narrow interpretation of federal law makes their decision unlawful. The plaintiffs are not alone in fighting back against Trump's decision, as the National TPS Alliance, Caracen-Los Angeles and African Communities Together have all announced their intention to fight the decision.Japan Prime Minister Under Fire
Japan's prime minister has come under criticism after what appear to be revelations that his finance ministry covered up an 85 percent discount it gave to a primary school. The right wing primary school had offered the Prime Minister’s wife a position as honorary principal, which she declined when concerns were first raised about the deal last year. Shinzo Abe has previously said that if these allegations are proved true, he will resign. Pressure is increasing on the Prime Minister and his finance minister as approval ratings are steeply declining. The finance minister has announced that he has no intention of resigning. The prime minister says he "apologises deeply" to the people.Additional reporting by Leonard Powell, Grace Watson, Daniel Meech
LOCAL NEWS
Labour's General Secretary Andrew Kirton has called for an external review of Labour's summer camp following allegations of sexual misconduct. The call for review came after Newsroom reported that a twenty-year-old man had harassed four 16-year-old girls. The article alleged that while the man was removed from the premises, no other action was taken by Labour officials who had knowledge of the event. Andrew Kirton says that while he had known of the incident, he decided against further action in order to protect the confidentiality of those involved. However, in light of the report, Kirton says that he intends to ban the man from any further events, as well as launch an external investigation into how Labour can improve the environment of its camp.Cyclone Hola Fades
Cyclone Hola has tracked further east than expected, sparing the east coast heavy weather. Metservice meteorologist Peter Little says New Zealand has been "lucky" to escape the worst of the storm. The East coast received the worst weather, with over 100mm of rainfall yesterday. Air New Zealand had cancelled flights from Whangarei and Kerikeri due to the weather concerns. Hola has been the third cyclone to come within range of New Zealand in 2018.
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The government has announced a ban on products with plastic microbeads that will come into effect in June, with plastic bags next on the agenda. This comes with New Zealand signing up to a United Nations campaign to rid the oceans of plastic, becoming the 42nd country to do so. Associate Minister for Environment Eugenie Sage says scientists estimated there were more than 150 million tonnes of plastic in the ocean. Sage says the plastic in oceans will weigh more than all the fish that live in them by 2050 if nothing changes.2degrees to End Support for 2G Phones
Communications giant 2degrees has announced they will be switching off their 2G network later this week. The announcement means that all phones using their 2G network will be unable to send and receive texts, or make calls—even to 111. 2degrees has also warned that older Eftpos and GPS machines may be affected by the changeover. 2degrees recommends that customers still using 2G phones change providers to Vodafone, as Vodafone has pledged to keep their 2G network running for another four years.Lyttelton Port Workers Expected to Strike
200 Lyttelton port workers currently on strike are expected to picket in Christchurch today, after negotiations over pay and work safety fell through. The strike, which has lasted 13 days, began over Lyttelton Port Company's decision to make significant roster changes without having a fatigue management plan in place. Since then, negotiations have also been held over the port's payment policies and work safety procedures. Union organiser John Kerr says that workers will be picketing today, after the port company failed to pay 70 workers for scheduled shifts last week.
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Teachers around the country are reporting shock at the differences in achievement rates between subjects. Just under half of all language students achieved with excellence last year, while 13 percent received excellence overall in maths. Business is the subject with the lowest overall pass rate, with a 71 percent pass rate. Commerce and Economics Teachers Association president Jude Maurice says the grades awarded depend on how hard a subject was, so languages receive higher grades than business as it is considered harder. He added that all students need to feel that they can excel in their interests.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Unicef has announced that 2017 has been the most deadly year for children in Syria's war. Access to humanitarian organisations was denied over 100 times in 2017. Attacks on hospitals and aid areas increased in frequency. The UN says children make up more than half of the 13 million people who remain trapped inside Syria. An entire generation of Syrian children are at risk of severe psychological damage.Euthanasia Investigated in Netherlands
Dutch authorities are investigating four cases of euthanasia or doctor-assisted suicide, amid concerns that euthanasia is becoming a cultural norm. The four cases under investigation concerned patients whom doctors are considered to have either concluded too quickly that the patient was in "unbearable suffering" or where the patients were not conscious enough to make their decision voluntarily. Euthanasia was legalised in the Netherlands in 2002 and the number of cases have risen sharply in recent years. 7,000 people were euthanised in the Netherlands last year compared to just over 4,000 five years ago. So far, no doctors have been prosecuted for any of the deaths.Trump’s Decision to End Protections for Some Immigrants Disputed in Court
A lawsuit is being filed to overturn Donald Trump's decision to end immigration protections for temporary protected status (TPS) holders from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan. The decision, made in early January, means that almost 200,000 immigrants could be deported—some of whom have lived in the United States for more than 20 years. But those bringing the lawsuit aim to fight back against the deportations, by arguing that the government's overly narrow interpretation of federal law makes their decision unlawful. The plaintiffs are not alone in fighting back against Trump's decision, as the National TPS Alliance, Caracen-Los Angeles and African Communities Together have all announced their intention to fight the decision.Japan Prime Minister Under Fire
Japan's prime minister has come under criticism after what appear to be revelations that his finance ministry covered up an 85 percent discount it gave to a primary school. The right wing primary school had offered the Prime Minister’s wife a position as honorary principal, which she declined when concerns were first raised about the deal last year. Shinzo Abe has previously said that if these allegations are proved true, he will resign. Pressure is increasing on the Prime Minister and his finance minister as approval ratings are steeply declining. The finance minister has announced that he has no intention of resigning. The prime minister says he "apologises deeply" to the people.Additional reporting by Leonard Powell, Grace Watson, Daniel Meech