Community sport gets $68m boost
Photo: Karen CaseyCommunity sport and national leagues will receive the bulk of the Government's first $80 million release from its $265 million Sport Recovery Package. A $68 million fund (Tū Manawa Active Aotearoa) will go to support community sport, with $34 million coming from the Sport Recovery Package and the remaining $34 million from existing Sport NZ funding. $25.4 million from the first release of the Sport Recovery Package will go to national sports organisations, such as New Zealand Rugby, New Zealand Cricket, Netball New Zealand and Basketball New Zealand. This funding will also support specific sports with the cost of running premier national leagues affected by Covid-19, including basketball. "Sport NZ has also earmarked $3 million for individuals and families in financial hardship who are unable to take part in sport and recreation opportunities.
Source:Otago Daily Times
July 07, 2020 00:22 UTC
Rugby Championship could go ahead: Sanzaar
Photo: GettySouthern hemisphere rugby remains optimistic about playing the Rugby Championship later this year and that a full Super Rugby competition will be run next year. Sanzaar, an amalgamation of the South African, Australian, New Zealand and Argentinian rugby unions, organises both the provincial-based Super Rugby and international Rugby Championship competitions. Sanzaar boss Andy Marinos said he was confident the Rugby Championship could be played in the final three months of the year. Super Rugby involving 15 teams from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Japan has been postponed since mid-March due to novel coronavirus restrictions. Former Wales international Marinos said Sanzaar was planning on continuing the cross-border Super Rugby competition next year, despite officials in Australia and New Zealand suggesting a trans-Tasman only tournament was a possibility.
Source:Otago Daily Times
July 07, 2020 00:11 UTC
Porsche will never go completely electric
In a recent tech talk about the Taycan, of which Stuff sat in on, a Porsche spokesperson confirmed that Porsche will 'never’ go completely electric. Mayk Wienkötter, spokesperson for the Taycan product line and E-Mobility for Porsche, said that while Porsche will offer electric and plug-in hybrid options for all of its product lines, the internal combustion engine will remain part of Porsche’s roadmap. supplied The Taycan is the first fully electric vehicle from Porsche. It won’t be the last but it also won’t completely take over the Porsche brand. supplied The Taycan Turbo S is the current range-topper... until the GT team is allowed a go at the EV.
Source:Stuff
July 07, 2020 00:00 UTC
Stunning try from OBHS No8
Local journalism matters - now more than everAs the Covid-19 pandemic brings the world into uncharted waters, Otago Daily Times reporters and photographers continue to bring you the stories that matter. For more than 158 years our journalists have provided readers with local news you can trust. This is more important now than ever. As advertising drops off during the pandemic, support from our readers is crucial. You can help us continue to bring you news you can trust by becoming a supporter.
Source:Otago Daily Times
July 07, 2020 00:00 UTC
How teenage killer Haami Hanara escaped custody
Using a makeshift tool, teenage killer Haami Hanara and Sean Ratu removed a reinforced bedroom window at the youth justice facility where they were being held and climbed outside. READ MORE:* Teen killer Haami Hanara still on the run, major manhunt continues* Teen killer second person to escape through a window at youth justice facility* Teenage killer Haami Hanara on the runBy then, the two street smart teens were long gone. John Cowpland/Alphapix Haami Hanara was 14 when he killed Kelly Donner in 2018. Some have questioned whether a youth justice facility is the right place for a teenage killer. Boreham says neither had escaped a youth justice facility previously, but Ratu had fled from a community-based placement.
Source:Stuff
July 06, 2020 23:52 UTC
Online store sells airports' unclaimed luggage
Most airports are only required to hold lost luggage for up to 90 days, after which items are lost for good. The Unclaimed Baggage company website is essentially an online thrift shop, with a heavy dose of schadenfreude. The Unclaimed Baggage company was founded in 1970 and does a roaring trade in clothing, electronics and jewellery - all unintentionally second hand. The Unclaimed Baggage Center thift store is now one of Scottsboro's top attractions. However, the Unclaimed Baggage company aren't the only people profiting from travellers' misfortune.
Source:Otago Daily Times
July 06, 2020 23:37 UTC
Life finds a way: Newborn baby pictured holding IUD
Photo: NZH / Hai Phong International HospitalA newborn baby has been photographed holding the contraceptive coil his mother used in a failed attempt to prevent pregnancy. The 34-year-old woman from Vietnam already had two children when she fell pregnant with the boy, after she had an intrauterine device (IUD) inserted. Photo NZH / Hai Phong International Hospital"After delivery, I thought him holding the device was interesting, so I took a picture. The baby boy was born healthy. Photo NZH / Hai Phong International HospitalThe healthy baby boy was born weighing 3.2kg and both mother and baby were being monitored at the hospital.
Source:Otago Daily Times
July 06, 2020 23:26 UTC
Teen refused to hand over phone code after mosque threat
Photo: Supplied via NZ HeraldMystery surrounds why a teenage member of white nationalist group Action Zealandia refused to hand over his cellphone's passcode when police raided his house after an "abhorrent" threat to Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch. The police raid came after an image showing a masked man sitting in a car outside Masjid Al Noor mosque started circulating on social media in the days before the one-year anniversary of the Christchurch mosque shootings where 51 Muslims were killed. But when police dialled the number Brittenden gave as being his own, the phone rang. Brittenden eventually gave them the right code but by then police were concerned about being locked out of the device. The court heard that Brittenden, then a law student, had made anti-Muslim slurs the day after the Christchurch mosque shootings.
Source:Otago Daily Times
July 06, 2020 23:15 UTC
Coronavirus: Are you a returning Kiwi?
Trying to get home to NZ as the Covid-19 pandemic worsens? As the Covid-19 pandemic worsens, more and more Kiwis are returning home to seek refuge in New Zealand. Are you a returning Kiwi? Do you have a job to come back to, or if not, what are your work plans in New Zealand? Maybe you've made it back into the country and are currently in managed isolation.
Source:Stuff
July 06, 2020 23:03 UTC
Wintry blast prompts snow warnings
Wild wintry weather hitting the South Island could bring snow to main highways and heavy falls are possible in some areas. MetService this morning said a cold front was forecast to move northwards across the South Island from this evening, bringing snow to low levels in some placesThere are road snow warnings for parts of State Highway 1, the Crown Range Road, the Lindis Pass (SH8) and the Milford Road (SH94). A heavy snow watch is in force for Clutha, Southland and southern parts of Fiordland, where falls as low as 300m could eventuate. This morning the NZ Transport Agency advised of flooding on State Highway 6 between Athol and Kingston, where there is a 30km/h speed limit in place. "We’re expecting a strong southerly change to bring about periods of heavy rain, strong winds and lowering snow levels."
Source:Otago Daily Times
July 06, 2020 23:03 UTC
Legal cannabis has potential to reduce harm - PM's chief science adviser
Less well documented is the social harm - people getting kicked out of school for a drug offence, a drug conviction on a record which could affect employment prospects and cascade into a series of social harms. Gerrard noted that cannabis offences would still exist in the proposed legal framework - for example, for smoking in public, advertising, or supplying or selling to someone under 20. "It's absolutely clear it's much easier to provide health and social support for legal drugs than illegal ones. "People are much more likely to seek help if cannabis is legal, presuming that health and social services are made available - and that could reduce harm." The key question is the harm it might do and whether that harm increases or decreases in a legalised framework compared to the status quo.
Source:Otago Daily Times
July 06, 2020 23:03 UTC
What is the bubonic plague and how is it transmitted?
A herdsman in Mongolia has been diagnosed with the bubonic plague, a disease that claimed 50 million lives in the 14th Century. READ MORE:* Suspected case of bubonic plague in Chinese region of Inner Mongolia* Prairie dogs with the plague shut parts of US wildlife refuge* Tourists trapped in Mongolia after couple die eating infected marmot* Plague strikes US boyWHAT IS THE BUBONIC PLAGUE? During the bubonic plague of 1900 - 1902 rats, the worst carriers of the dread disease, were destroyed by the thousands. There are three ways the disease can present – regional lymphadenitis (bubonic plague), septicaemia (septicaemic plague), or pneumonia (pneumonic plague). The bubonic plague is the most common form– it is this illness which is also known as the plague or black death.
Source:Stuff
July 06, 2020 23:03 UTC
Claims police failed to take March 15 threat seriously
The council said the government failed to support and protect the Muslim community and prevent the 15 March attack. The submission details a number of meetings council members had with various representatives from the Security Intelligence Service, including its head Rebecca Kitteridge. The council said at those meetings, its message was clear: "It was that the government had failed and was failing the Muslim community. The council said the Security Intelligence Service could not have been surprised by what happened on 15 March, because the council had warned them about growing anti-Muslim sentiment. The council said the police failed in not developing a national strategy to deal with threats against Muslims and mosques.
Source:Otago Daily Times
July 06, 2020 22:52 UTC
SkyCity warned by Internal Affairs for promoting Malta casino
Casino group SkyCity has received a formal warning from the Department of Internal Affairs for promoting its casino in Malta before the lockdown. In March, SkyCity emailed casino customers days before the country moved into alert level 4 saying its online casino run by SkyCity Malta was “operating as usual”. The department said SkyCity did not deliberately breach the Gambling Act and issued a formal warning. Department of Internal Affairs regulatory system acting director Chris Thornborough said it had “assumed” SkyCity did not intentionally set out to breach the Act, hence a formal warning was appropriate. Getty-Images The Department of Internal Affairs has given SkyCity a formal warning for breaching the Gambling Act 2003 for promoting an online casino.
Source:Stuff
July 06, 2020 22:44 UTC
Impassioned cancer plea after husband's death
Melissa ViningAn emotional Melissa Vining this morning confronted the Southern District Health Board and challenged it to improve its cancer care services. The Vining family came to national prominence last year after Blair Vining, Ms Vining's husband, died from bowel cancer. "Long waiting times (for treatment) are not only cruel and inhumane, but they kill people," Ms Vining said. He spent his final months campaigning for a national cancer agency, amassing more than 140,00 signatures on a petition to Parliament. SDHB chairman Dave Cull acknowledged Ms Vining's presentation, and asked her to join the board's endoscopy user group.
Source:Otago Daily Times
July 06, 2020 22:30 UTC