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News of Zealand: Hundreds Hospitalised by Contaminated Chicken

Plus Prime Minister Ardern in Europe, and the latest on NZ bowel cancer rates.
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Everything you need to know about the world today, curated by 95bFM and VICE NZ.

LOCAL NEWS

Ardern in Paris
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French PM Emmanuel Macron have issued a joint statement supporting future trade deals between New Zealand and the EU following their first meeting in Paris. A decision on whether negotiations for a new trade deal between New Zealand and EU member-states will begin is expected in a month. Macron made a statement adding it could signal a "new generation of trade deals". This is Ardern’s first trip to Europe as Prime Minister.

Raw Chicken Spreads Campylobacta
Researchers are demanding safety labels on raw poultry products, which are found to be making New Zealanders sick. A recent study, conducted by the University of Otago, Wellington, shows 30,000 illnesses and 600 hospitalisations annually due to campylobacteriosis. Raw chicken is said to be spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which most commonly causes "gastro" and in some cases, a paralysing illness called Guillain-Barre syndrome. The report stated that 60 to 90 percent of fresh chicken on our shelves contains high levels of the contaminating bacteria, which most consumers are unaware of.

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Bowel Cancer Warnings Lost in Post
The Ministry of Health has announced that another 333 New Zealanders have not received their invitation to test for bowel cancer in the last year due to administration mistakes. This number is added to the 2,500 Waitemata DHB residents the Ministry of Health announced in February had not received their screening invitations last year due to their addresses not being updated. Of these, three developed bowel cancer, and there was one death. Bowel cancer is the cause of death of more than 1,200 New Zealanders every year.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

FBI Director Calls Trump 'Unfit'
Former FBI director James Comey has called Donald Trump morally unfit to be President. The interview with ABC comes in the wake of the release of his new book, which tells his side of the story after being fired by President Trump in May of last year. When asked about the potential for Russian collusion within Trump's Presidential campaign, Comey confirmed it as a serious possibility. Trump has retaliated on Twitter calling Comey the "worst FBI Director in history!". Comey says despite Trump's action, he is not hoping for impeachment, but that Americans will vote him out in the 2020 Presidential election.

UK Joins Syria Airstrikes
British Prime Minister Theresa May has justified joining the US and France in air strikes against Syria. The strikes come in the wake of the alleged Douma chemical weapons attack, where two bombs filled with chemicals were dropped on the town near Damascus. The US, Britain, and France have all pointed towards the Assad regime as being behind the attacks. May stated in Parliament that after exploring all options, there was no other choice and the retaliation was "legally and morally right". Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has called the military action "legally questionable", and believed Parliament should have been consulted before any action was taken.

Musk Says Humans Can Do it Better
Tesla Boss Elon Musk has revealed that his company has relied on automation too much, and now realises that humans can do a better job in some cases. Facing criticism over delays to the new Model 3 Sedan, Musk called the excessive automation at Tesla his mistake, adding that humans are underrated. After failing to hit its weekly 2500 production quota of cars in the first quarter of the year, doubt is being raised whether Tesla can double that amount and reach the five thousand a week target in three months time. Musk says solving the production delays is his greatest priority.

Uganda Lion Poison Attack
A suspected poison attack has killed 11 lions in southern Ugandan fishing village. Three lionesses and eight cubs were found dead at Queen Elizabeth National Park last week. The Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities says the lions are understood to have eaten poisoned meat, potentially fed to them by disgruntled local villagers who have had one of their cows attacked. The lion population has decreased 90 percent in the last 75 years, and the attack has received severe condemnation by Uganda's tourism and wildlife minister, Ephraim Kumuntu. Nature tourism delivers $1.4 billion to Uganda's economy.

Catalan Protests Continue
Hundreds of thousands of Catalonians have taken to the streets of Barcelona to protest the 16 pro-independence leaders in prison. This protest comes half a year after the pro-independence movement in Catalonia, after which Spanish president Mariano Rajoy seized control of Catalonia. Elsa Artadi, a spokesperson for the Together for Catalonia party, says the protests show that the sixteen pro-independence fighters who remain in prison represent the beliefs of two million Catalonians. The former Catalonia president, Carles Puigdemont, who remains in Germany on bail, commended the marches on Twitter.

Additional reporting by Leonard Powell, Grace Watson, Lucy Redwood