Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin has spoken about the importance of advocating for women's rights, and strengthening New Zealand and Finland's connections, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in Auckland. Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin​ is leading a diplomatic mission downunder, meeting with PM Jacinda Ardern in Auckland. Abigail Dougherty/Stuff Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland, at Government House in Auckland. Marin was elected prime minister in 2019, after serving just four years in the Finnish Parliament. Abigail Dougherty/Stuff Marin with Jacinda Ardern.

Four teams returned to compete for "redemption" on this year's season of The Block NZ. Photo / SuppliedFour teams returned to compete for "redemption" on this year's season of The Block NZ. Photo / SuppliedWarner Brothers Discovery has revealed The Block NZ won’t be returning in 2023 amid New Zealand’s “challenging housing market”. Chloe Hes and Ben Speedy are the season 10 winners of The Block NZ. The reserves are way too high.”OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan said the series crashed and burned due to “wrong time, wrong location, wrong type of property” - and reflected the changes to the Auckland housing market.

Rolls-Royce fires up first hydrogen engine but big problem still grounding technologyRolls-Royce and carrier EasyJet have made history after the first test-run of a plane engine powered entirely by hydrogen. On a test site in Wiltshire owned by the UK Ministry of Defence, the engine manufacturer successfully ran a retrofitted Rolls-Royce AE 2100 turboprop using hydrogen fuel. Compressing, storing and flying with pressurised hydrogen gas is a headache for engineers. The current hydrogen market differentiates between “green” and “black” hydrogen, with black hydrogen being extracted from fossil fuels or created using non-renewable sources. In theory, you can make green hydrogen from water and renewable electricity.

It is about rescuing the New Zealand people from our local bodies inability to look after, or afford to look after our water infrastructure. Co-Governance is at the very least a simple recognition of the private property rights clearly written into the Treaty. Tribes have property rights over waters, at the least. Equal representation on regional boards is a simply recognition of those property rights, and Treaty rights. Because if 3 waters which protects private property rights in an equal partnership of Maori and other New Zealanders is somehow anti-democratic then where are all the other articles about private property rights destroying democracy.

Here's our summary of key economic events overnight that affect New Zealand, with news the endless talk of a looming global recession seems to be just that, talk. Retail sales in the US on a same-store basis were surprisingly firm last week, up more than +10% from year-ago levels. And while much of this will be inflation's effect, clearly not all, and there is real volume growth in these numbers. Prices are driving the sentiment and while there is an expectation a recession is ahead, they are clearly not there yet. Growth in exports, non-residential structures, and business investment in inventories were moderated by declines in housing investment and household spending.

The ‘fixed rate mortgage cliff’ approaching in 2023 has been well documented and is best illustrated by the below chart from Westpac, which shows that by the end of 2023, the share of fixed rate mortgage holders that have not been hit with rising interest rates will plummet from 80% currently to around one-third:As illustrated in the next chart, there were huge volumes of mortgages taken out over the pandemic at rock bottom fixed interest rates of around 2%:As the bulk of these fixed mortgage terms expire next year, borrowers are facing more than a doubling of their interest rates irrespective of whether they opt for a new fixed or variable mortgage. Recent first home buyers are most exposed, given their share of mortgages that were fixed rose to 60% over the pandemic, versus a peak of 46% across the broader market:Recent first home buyers are typically the most highly leveraged and sensitive to interest rate rises. Indeed, they are considered the ‘canaries in the coal mine’. This will obviously change next year when the bulk of these fixed mortgages expire and are reset to rates that are at least double what they are currently paying. Many recent first home buyers will face a toxic combination of negative equity and extreme mortgage stress.

SHAREShare on Facebook SHAREShare on Twitter TWEETPin to Pinterest PINLink Saudi Arabia plans to build a huge new airport, able to handle up to 185 million travellers by 2050. Plans for the new King Salman International Airport, located in the capital of Riyadh, were announced by the kingdom's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. See Also Saudi Arabia travel guideThe airport, set to be built by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, would be built on the site of the city's current airport, King Khalid International Airport. Saudi Arabia has an ambitious goal to attract 100 million visitors a year by 2030, as the country seeks to diversify its economy away from oil. Stuff.co.nzSee also: I visited Saudi Arabia as a solo female tourist.

Because of its incredibly rich history and culture, this destination is one of the greatest in the UK for holiday sessions for families. One of the UK destinations that can provide everything in one for people in North York, is Moors National Park. Find more about Cumbria and the Lake District National Park holiday optionAre you ready for one immersive adventure experience? One of the most loved UK holiday destinations for families in the UK is the Lake District National Park which your kids are going to adore! If you have heard some stories, you definitely know why is this one of the best UK holiday destinations for families.

The E tÅ« members will take several two-hour strikes this week, including today, and members have also voted for a 24-hour stoppage at a time to be determined next week. Stuff members have voted to reject the company’s pay offer and to continue to seek a deal that addresses cost of living increases this year. Members’ concerns centre on paying their rent, mortgages, paying their bills, and being able to afford family life. "The increase we are asking for is only to match the cost of living increases - we will still be no better off in real terms." "The benefit of what we’ve negotiated so far depends on ensuring that members’ pay is not continually eroded by inflation," he says.

These days my Facebook feed seems to mostly consist of ads for photogenic ‘candlelight concerts’ – and yours is probably the same. But are they for real? As Twitter slowly implodes and we all disperse to various other social media platforms, I’ve returned to Facebook. And with that change of ...

Photo: 123RFTe Whatu Ora is going to court over an anti-vax couple who do not want their sick baby to have surgery unless doctors use blood from unvaccinated donors. They say the baby urgently needs open heart surgery and they want the blood to come from people who have not had the Covid-19 vaccine. The NZ Herald is reporting Te Whatu Ora is applying for guardianship of the child. It said it knew it could be worrying for parents who had a sick child and who were making decisions about their care. The Blood Service said it did not keep blood for vaccinated and unvaccinated donors separate and there was no risk from the Covid-19 vaccine.

Announce protest actions, general chit chat or give your opinion on issues we haven’t covered for the day. Announce protest actions, general chit chat or give your opinion on issues we haven’t covered for the day. The Editor doesn’t moderate this blog, 3 volunteers do, they are very lenient to provide you a free speech space but if it’s just deranged abuse or putting words in bloggers mouths to have a pointless argument, we don’t bother publishing. EDITORS NOTE: – By the way, here’s a list of shit that will get your comment dumped. Sexist language, homophobic language, racist language, anti-muslim hate, transphobic language, Chemtrails, 9/11 truthers, Qanon lunacy, climate deniers, anti-fluoride fanatics, anti-vaxxer lunatics, 5G conspiracy theories, the virus is a bioweapon, some weird bullshit about the UN taking over the world and ANYONE that links to fucking infowar.

A gardening "wizard" and a self-proclaimed "diseased plant lover" are teaming up to provide fresh produce for a foodbank and are encouraging others to do the same. Associate Prof Paul Guy and his colleague, Susan Mackenzie, from the University of Otago botany department, have used a glasshouse to grow a variety of fruit and vegetables to give to people in need over the summer. Mrs. Mackenzie, a technical assistant in the department, said she spent only about an hour a week looking after the plants in the glasshouse, but her colleagues raved about her gardening talent. A variety of capsicum, zucchini, tomatoes, eggplants, and more have headed to the St Vincent de Paul food bank each week since September, depending on what they could pick at the time, Mrs. Mackenzie said. Read the complete article at www.odt.co.nz.

My body is made of 78 organs, 206 bones and 32 teeth. Let me tell you stories about my body. Tales of selling my toes in NYC, diary entries from '98, boobs, birth, and trying to like my chins; a new solo work by Morgana O’Reilly. Returning to Q Theatre after a sell-out season earlier this year, this show is not to be missed! "Her performance is tight yet invigorated... Morgana captivates the crowd from all walks of life... A terrific triumph."

Ahead of the crucial contest, New Zealand head coach Gary Stead was asked whether sitting on the top of the ICC ODI Rankings motivates them to produce good results. Stead, in reply, stated rankings are ‘irrelevant’ to him, and the team who play better than the opponent on any day, should get all the credit.