Is Greece's six-day working week a harbinger?
Growing up in Greece, one of my most joyous childhood memories was the announcement that the school (and work) week would shrink from six days to five. Second, Greeks are known for appreciating work-life balance, and they already work more hours than other Europeans. The average Greek worker spends 39.8 hours per week on the job, compared to an average of only 36.1 hours across the European Union. And in a small open economy like Greece, higher wages and prices would have detrimental effects on international competitiveness. Given the current global tensions, the pendulum seems to be swinging in the direction of more work, whether it comes through a higher retirement age or a longer work week.
Source:Stuff
July 24, 2024 04:32 UTC
Dashcam shows campervan overtaking near miss on notorious NZ highway
A New Zealand driver was left so shocked by a "speeding" campervan's near miss, he followed it to where it stopped, and spoke with the other driver. Romain Sacchettini was driving from Queenstown to Christchurch in February when a campervan overtook him on State Highway 8 near Twizel. The incident, which Sacchettini recorded on his dashcam, happened in the same area where three crashes took place in recent weeks. (Supplied/Stuff: Romain Sacchettini)Sacchettini said the overtaking campervan's near miss with an oncoming van came at the "worst time". After the incident, Sacchettini followed the campervan to a scenic stop and spoke to the driver, he said.
Source:Stuff
July 24, 2024 02:10 UTC
Bodycam video of the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey
Inside the Rovers: On The RoadNapier City Rovers face almost 6000km of mini-van travel in their hunt for a spot in the National League. Last weekend, The Herald went on the road with them. Video / Neil Reid
Source:New Zealand Herald
July 24, 2024 01:17 UTC
MIL-OSI USA: CIRCA: Serving Connecticut’s Coastal Communities and Beyond
Policymakers, urban planners, and resource managers are needing to make decisions with new threats in mind: more extreme weather events, heat, and sea level rise. O’Donnell led the initiative to predict Connecticut’s future sea level rise and translate the data into models for community planning – no simple task, since sea level rise is impossible to predict with 100% certainty. [embedded content]His mathematical analysis found that Connecticut’s potential sea level rise by the year 2050 could vary enormously. Ultimately, O’Donnell advocated for towns to plan for a 20-inch sea level rise by 2050. “We’ve been measuring this stuff [ocean mixing and sea level rise] and figuring out analysis techniques for years,” he says.
Source:Stuff
July 24, 2024 00:09 UTC
What happens with low equity fees if a borrower's LVR falls below 80% & then rises back above 80%?
We don’t add low equity premiums or low equity fees in addition to the ‘standard’ rate card. There are two common ways for a low equity customer to increase their equity. We will periodically review your low equity margin against your LVR to ensure it is still applicable to your facility. We may change your low equity margin to a lower margin in accordance with our low equity margin bands or remove the low equity margin entirely if it no longer applies based on your LVR. BNZA low equity interest rate premium will apply to all loans with less than 20% equity (more than 80% loan-to-value ratio).
Source:Stuff
July 23, 2024 23:46 UTC
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Environmental crime offence lands Canterbury man a £2,700 fine
Source: City of CanterburyA Canterbury man has been found guilty of an environmental crime offence in his absence and fined a total of £2,714. Mark Lees, 39, of Old Park Avenue, Canterbury, failed to attend the first hearing at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court on 13 March this year. The case was then relisted for Tuesday 16 July at Margate Magistrates’ Court, which Lees also failed to attend. Investigations carried out by the city council’s environmental crime officers connected the flytip to Lees. It is an offence to fail to produce documents to local authority officers in the course of their investigations into environmental offences.
Source:Stuff
July 23, 2024 23:24 UTC
Hibernian’s Future Improvement Tied to Black Knight Consortium Input, Says Foley
Foley’s Insights on Hibernian’s PerformanceBill Foley, the American owner of Bournemouth, believes that Hibernian’s prospects could significantly improve if the club’s management opts to heed the advice from his Black Knight consortium. Black Knight’s Broader AmbitionsFoley’s consortium, known as Black Knight, is also involved with other teams, including Ligue 1 side Lorient, which faced relegation last season, and Auckland FC in New Zealand. In response to the situation, Foley remarked, “I am absolutely looking out for them,” when asked about Hibernian’s reaction after the weekend’s loss. I believe they will listen to our input now.”Goals for ProgressionFoley also shared insights about their relationship with Lorient, stating, “We have a very good relationship with Lorient. That will be our competitive edge, and we will be able to develop a really good team.”
Source:New Zealand Herald
July 23, 2024 12:39 UTC
Daily review 23/07/2024
Written By: notices and features - Date published: 5:30 pm, July 23rd, 2024 - 22 commentsCategories: Daily review - Tags:Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …Share this: FacebookLinkedInRedditPinterestMastodonTwitterPrintEmail
Source:New Zealand Herald
July 23, 2024 10:53 UTC
Open mike 22/07/2024
On learning an underappreciated but vitally important skill. It has been almost a decade since I was called on to help dig my first grave. By my count I’m up to six now, but it could possibly be more. I was 19 years old and in my second year at ...
Source:New Zealand Herald
July 23, 2024 01:59 UTC
Teen service station robber gets reduced sentence
A teen involved in a service station armed robbery has received a flurry of discounts that has reduced his sentence by 65 per cent. Judge Denise Clark took a start point of four years and 10 months’ prison, but Rueben’s counsel Sacha Nepe successfully convinced her not to send the teen to prison. Judge Clark got to an end jail term of eight months’ prison. He pushed for a five-year jail starting point and accepted while home detention could be an option, community detention would be “wholly inadequate”. She suggested the judge couple community detention with an intensive supervision sentence.
Source:New Zealand Herald
July 22, 2024 22:11 UTC
Government sends commissioner into Health NZ after budget blowout
Reti said Health NZ has been exceeding its budget by as much as $130 million a month for the past five months, despite a 6.2% increase in funding included in the May budget. Health is the Crown’s second largest area of spending with a near $30 billion budget in the 2024 fiscal year, making it equal to 17.5% of all government spending. The Commissioner will have to find $1.4 billion of savings from the agency to keep it within the budget set in May this year. Labour leader Chris Hipkins and health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said the agency was only exceeding its budget because it had been underfunded. A cabinet paper said the incoming government was aware of performance issues within Health NZ but the first significant monthly budget overrun was reported in March this year.
Source:New Zealand Herald
July 22, 2024 21:49 UTC
Man with gun seen near Dunedin Palestine rally
Photo: ODT FilesA man was seen with a gun near the Palestine peace rally in the Octagon but organisers don't believe the event was targeted. Rally for Palestine organiser Rinad Tamimi said two men walked through the rally in the upper Octagon on Saturday and one of them was seen with a gun at about 2pm. ‘‘It was just like a random person that happened to walk past, possibly a gang member or something that had a gun. She thought it was a random incident and the rally was not targeted. A witness who was eating her lunch near the Robbie Burns statue saw a man shoving what looked like a gun into his bag.
Source:Otago Daily Times
July 22, 2024 05:19 UTC
Biden goes, Kamala Harris for US president
from RNZUS President Joe Biden dropped his faltering re-election bid on Sunday, amid intensifying opposition within his own Democratic Party, and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the party’s candidate against Republican Donald Trump. Biden, 81, in a post on X said he will remain in his role as president and commander-in-chief until his term ends in January 2025. If officially nominated, Harris, 59, would become the first Black woman to run to lead a major-party ticket in US history. A former attorney general of California and former US senator, she ran unsuccessfully for president against Biden in 2020. “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party – and unite our nation – to defeat Donald Trump.”
Source:New Zealand Herald
July 22, 2024 04:52 UTC
The Country Fast Five: Sign up here to feature in series profiling Kiwis in agriculture
Tell us all about yourself and you could feature in The Country Fast Five. Photo / Sarah IveyTell us all about yourself and you could feature in The Country Fast Five. Photo / Sarah IveyNew Zealanders often hear about farmers being the backbone of the country but do we really know what makes the primary industries tick? With that in mind, The Country has compiled a list of questions for everyday Kiwis in agriculture. We’re calling it The Country Fast Five and if you’d like to be part of it - read on.
Source:New Zealand Herald
July 22, 2024 04:50 UTC
“They thought it was normal” Gang leaders reveal impact of state abuse
'Largest IT outage in history', more calls for Biden to quit | Focus Morning Bulletin July 20, 2024Yesterday experienced what is being labelled as the 'Largest IT outage in history' Meanwhile one in ten Democrats call for action from US President Joe Biden.
Source:New Zealand Herald
July 22, 2024 03:44 UTC