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Labour will join the Muppets · Chippie has read the room, done the numbers and now announced he will happily join with the Maori Party and the Greens to form a government if he needs to get the numbers. · He looks to me like a drowning man clutching at straws trying to stay alive, particularly as Winston Peters has stated that his NZ First Party would not go into any coalition government with a Labour party led by Chippie. · Sounds to me like…

A group of former MPs led by Dame Marilyn Waring is forming an unofficial “people’s select committee” to scrutinise the coalition government’s recent changes to pay equity law. · The move comes after public protests and claims that the reforms were rushed through under urgency without proper consultation. · The committee includes ex-lawmakers from across the political spectrum, including Labour’s Lianne Dalziel, National’s Jackie Blue, and the…

In 1921, a London rare book dealer named Dr. Wilfred M. Voynich toured the United States with pages from a mysterious ancient manuscript that he claimed would “startle the scientific world.” · "When the time comes," Voynich said, "I will prove to the world that the black magic of the Middle Ages consisted in discoveries far in advance of 20th-century science.” · The Voynich Manuscript—as it came to be known—appears in many ways to be a typical…

Drawing parallels with other species, not naming names, the voices of female frogs are being drowned out by their much louder male counterparts – so much so we only know how 1.4% of the ladies actually sound. · New research out of Brazil's Universidade de São Paulo has shockingly found that of all the frog species known to scientists, we barely know the vocalizations of any females. Essentially 98.6% of female frog calls are a mystery. ·…

A beekeeper from New Zealand, Edmund Hillary, and the Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first people to stand on the summit of the world’s highest peak on May 29th, 1953. · After climbing with British teams in the Himalayas in 1951 and 1952, Hillary and another New Zealander, George Lowe, were invited to join John Hunt’s 1953 British Everest Expedition. On 29 May – four days before the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II – the chosen pair,…

Hand-crushed cumin seeds and peppercorns make a fragrant marinade for this rich, nutty meat · I think this dish tastes best if the cumin seeds and the peppercorns are pounded using a pestle and mortar, but if you already have ground spices, use them instead. · Requires overnight marinating and resting time. · Ingredients · For the pork and peppers · - 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped - 3 tsp cumin seeds - 3 tsp whole black peppercorns -…

Auckland motorists have seen petrol prices plunge to $2.12 a litre, as a price war erupts around U-GO – a no-frills, self-service petrol brand rolled out across the city. · With average prices for 91 octane hovering near $2.51, the steep discount has triggered competitive cuts from rivals like Mobil. · But experts say the low prices are unlikely to last, and the competition may not be what it seems. · U-GO stations, currently operating at nine…

Two new ‘non-financial’ benefit sanctions have come into effect: “Money Management” and “Community Work Experience.” · Under Money Management, half of a person’s benefit is loaded onto a payment card that can only be used for essentials like groceries and transport. · ACT leader David Seymour, who championed the changes, said “If you want the freedom to spend cash as if it’s your own, then you should earn it yourself. · Social development…

A paradigm shift in the way we treat spinal injuries is now in sight, with the world's first regenerative cell therapy being granted approval for a registrational Phase I clinical trial. It's a historical milestone that could successfully treat what has, until now, been an incurable condition. · This week, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) approved the global clinical trial to…

MUPPETS IN THE HOUSE · The privileges committee recently recommended that the leaders of the Maori Party be suspended for 21 days and their MP Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke be suspended for 7 days. These suspensions were recommended as a result of their antics in the house at the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill. · They should be entitled to disagree with the Bill but the manner in which they decided to show their opposition was totally…