News of Zealand: New Medicinal Cannabis Laws Before Parliament Today

Big Week for Medicinal Cannabis In Parliament
The government's medicinal cannabis bill is set to enter parliament this afternoon.The bill lays the groundwork for a regulated cannabis industry, and would allow terminally ill people to use cannabis in the last year of their life. MPs are due to vote on the bill today, before Chloe Swarbrick introduces a similar but slightly more radical bill for consideration tomorrow. Swarbrick's bill would allow patients to grow their own medicinal marijuana, provided that it was authorised by a doctor.

NZX Report: Gender Inequality Still Rampant
A new report published by stock exchange operator NZ has shed light on gender diversity in listed companies. The report found that 81 percent of company directors were men—a slight increase from the year before. The report found larger companies were slightly more likely to have female directors, and only 14 percent of companies outside of the top 50 had a female board member. Felicity Caird, General Manager of the Institute of Directors, says the numbers are discouraging. NZX publishes the report twice a year, and has joined the growing number of investment companies pressing listed companies to bring diversity plans into their workplace.

Drought Declarations in the South Island
A drought may be declared in Southland and Otago shortly. Other areas that have already received drought declarations include the South Island's West Coast and the Lower North island. Federated Farmers Central Otago spokesperson Andrew Paterson says he expects an official drought to be called next week. He says his own farm has had the driest year since records began in 1948.

Teacher Shortage Threatens Schools
Some schools are opening this year with teacher vacancies still unmet. The Auckland primary principals and secondary principals association says there aren't enough people training to become teachers, adding that lower workloads and higher pay will help fix the problem. Education Minister Chris Hipkins says only a few schools were experiencing problems hiring teachers and they are receiving help from the Ministry of Education. Hipkins says fewer teachers are being trained and many are now reaching the age of retirement. This, combined with a growing population, will make things worse.

Government Holds Off on International Students’ Working Rights
The government is shifting its approach to laws surrounding international students' working rights, in order to protect tertiary institutions. Labour campaigned on reducing the number of immigrants entering the country, including those who entered on student visas with the intention of working. Immigration Minister Iain Galloway originally stated he would overhaul international students' rights to work across the board. However, he has since announced that he will be consigning himself only to limiting opportunities for post-study work—for the time being, at least. Education Minister Chris Hipkins said that while the decision was made with tertiary institutions in mind, those providing cheap, low-quality education could expect to find themselves left high and dry.

Egyptian Elections See Last Minute Entry
Mousa Mostafa Mousa has emerged as the sole challenger to President Fattah El-Sisi in the upcoming Egyptian elections. Mousa filed for candidacy only hours before the deadline closed, adding another name to a race which had so far seen El-Sisi run unopposed. Mousa’s announcement came after several Egyptian politicians called for a boycott of the election, claiming that El-Sisi's imprisonment and intimidation of opposing candidates invalidated the results. El-Sisi came to power in 2013 during a military coup which toppled Egypt's previous president, Mohamed Morsi.

European Union Accused of Ignoring Human Rights Warnings
The European Union is being accused of ignoring human rights warnings on one of its water conservation projects. An indigenous man on the Kenyan-EU funded water conservation project was fatally shot by Kenya Forest Service during a forced eviction. The project, which has cost $52 million, had been the subject of many human rights warnings prior to the killing. The activist Elias Kimaiyo says "We have been trying all along to avoid such a bad situation, but the European Union and the government have ignored our cries". The EU's ambassador to Kenya has warned the Kenyan government that their actions are unacceptable. The weakness of this response has been criticised as being too late.

Turkish Airstrikes Kill Civilians in Syria
At least eight civilians are reported to have been killed after Turkish Airstrikes were conducted in Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the fatalities, including five children, are from a village outside of Afrin, which had previously been hit by Turkish strikes. The Syrian Observatory says the latest casualties bring the number of people killed near Afrin to 51 since the operation against the Kurdish YPG militia began in January. Turkish-backed fighters have previously accused YPG of forcibly recruiting child soldiers.

Dissent Provokes in Internet Shutdowns
Governments around the world are increasingly shutting internet access off from dissenting citizens. English speakers in Cameroon who are opposed to a mandatory French speaking law have found their regions cut off from internet access for the past four months. This is the second internet shutdown in the region despite protests from the Pope, the United Nations, and other human rights organisations during the first 2017 internet shutdown. The number of countries where dissenting residents experience government imposed internet shutdowns is increasing and includes Iran, China and Syria and Spain.

Germany Denounces Testing Car Fumes on Humans
The German government is denouncing tests in which humans and monkeys inhaled car exhaust fumes. The tests were carried out in 2014 by EUGT, a now defunct organisation funded by Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW. The New York Times reports that the tests were designed to oppose The World Health Organisation's 2012 decision to classify diesel exhaust as a carcinogen. In 2015 Volkswagen admitted to putting cheat devices in their cars engines to improve the appearance of diesel exhaust data for which they are now paying fines of over US$30 billin. Both Daimler and Volkswagen have denounced the tests.

Possible Coup in Yemen
The Prime Minister of Yemen is accusing Southern separatist forces of staging a coup. The accusations come after the separatist forces seized multiple government offices in the port city of Aden. Fighting had erupted on Sunday as the President's army clashed with the southern separatist forces as they tried to enter Aden. The president of Yemen, Abd-rabbuh Mansour HadI is supported by Saudi Arabia whilst the separatists are supported by the United Arab Emirates. Hospital sources are quoted as saying that at least 10 people have been killed and 30 wounded in the fighting.

Additional reporting by Reuben McLaren, Grace Watson and Daniel Meech.