Doctor sounds alarm: Does cannabis stop cancer immunotherapy from working?
The New Zealand Medical Journal (NZMJ) published an editorial by Jansen today calling for both further study - and caution - in the use of medicinal cannabis during cancer-related immunotherapy.
and can help cancer patients manage pain and other symptoms.
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NZ Herald
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- NZ Herald
WHO says malnutrition reaching ‘alarming levels' in Gaza
Malnutrition rates are reaching 'alarming levels' in the Gaza Strip, the World Health Organisation warned on Sunday. It said the 'deliberate blocking' of aid was entirely preventable and had cost many lives. 'Malnutrition is on a dangerous trajectory in the Gaza Strip, marked by a spike in deaths in July,'
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Pacific news in brief for 28 July
Test for leptospirosis in laboratory, conceptual image. Photo: DIGICOMPHOTO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRA/FCA/Science Photo Libraray via AFP American Samoa's Department of Health is warning about the risk of leptospirosis after rainfall in the territory. Leptospirosis is spread through the urine of infected animals and can be found in contaminated water or soil. People are advised to avoid playing in dirty water, wear protective shoes and and keep drinking water clean and covered. Bougainville's top police officer has issued a scathing indictment of the region's Correctional Service for the illegal release of convicts from Bekut prison on Buka. Deputy Police Commissioner Francis Tokura said the illegal releases are creating a "major logistical nightmare and financial burden" for police, and show a total breakdown in prison command and discipline. The Post-Courier reported Tokura saying it leaves a vacuum in the justice system in the autonomous Papua New Guinea region. He said convicted felons are meant to serve full sentences behind bars, not roam the streets of Bougainville communities. Former Cook Islands prime minister Henry Puna is the new president of the Cook Islands Party. The announcement was made during the party's conference in Rarotonga. Puna, the sole nominee for the position, replaces Tiki Matapo, who now assumes the role of patron of the party, alongside fellow former president Nga Jessie. During the congress, the party reaffirmed its full confidence in Mark Brown, who continues to serve as party leader and prime minister. This week is the inaugural Vanuatu Bislama Language Week in New Zealand. The 2025 theme for Bislama week is: 'Talk about climate change - it is real, and we must look after life.' Events will be held across New Zealand to celebrate the week. A French-Israeli company wants to develop a luxury eco-resort on Woodlark Island, in an archipelago off Milne Bay. Woodlark or Muyua Island is the largest of the island group. NBC reported the local MP, Henry Leonard, saying it will be an economic opportunity for the district and the country. He said from this resort PNG can create a new standard of tourism. He said the project has the potential to generate employment, boost economic growth, promote environmental stewardship, and enhance international connectivity. Officials have reached consensus on South Pacific albacore tuna allocation, within the Exclusive Economic Zones of the Pacific Island Forum Fisheries Agency members, south of the equator. The fisheries agency said this agreement comes after nearly two decades of negotiations. The agreed allocations will form the basis of a binding agreement under the agency's Allocation Framework for South Pacific albacore. The Cook Islands has successfully completed a crop pest survey, part of a push to protect local agriculture and strengthen trade opportunities. Staff from the Cook Islands' Ministry of Agriculture and the PACER Plus Implementation Unit, as well as agencies from Australia and New Zealand, undertook the work on Aitutaki and Rarotonga. The survey is a Cook Islands' commitment under the PACER Plus deal to improve plant health systems and support safe, sustainable trade. The head of the Ministry of Agriculture Temarama Anguna-Kamana said keeping the country's borders strong for potential export opportunities requires good data.
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Food airdropped into Gaza as Israel says opening aid routes
Two Jordanian and one Emirati plane on dropped 25 tonnes of humanitarian aid over the Gaza Strip, Jordanian state television reported on 27 July. Israel also parachuted food aid, and trucks of flour were seen arriving in northern Gaza through a crossing from Israel, according to AFP journalists. Photo: AFP / Bashar Taleb Jordanian and Emirati planes dropped food into Gaza as Israel began a limited "tactical pause" in some military operations to allow the UN and aid agencies to tackle a deepening hunger crisis. The Palestinian territory is gripped by dire humanitarian conditions created by 21 months of war and made worse by Israel's total blockade of aid from March to May. Since the easing of the blockade, the levels of aid reaching Gaza have been far below what aid groups say is needed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted his government was not to blame for the dire situation and lashed out at the UN. The Israeli military dismissed allegations that it had been using starvation as a weapon, saying it had coordinated with the UN and international agencies to "increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip". A Palestinian boy reacts as he carries a bag of flour in the al-Mawasi camp in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, that was picked up from the Rafah corridor on 27 July 2025. Photo: AFP The World Health Organisation warned on Sunday that malnutrition was reaching "alarming levels" in Gaza. It said that of the 74 recorded malnutrition-related deaths in 2025, 63 had occurred in July -- including 24 children aged under five, one child older than five, and 38 adults. "Most of these people were declared dead on arrival at health facilities or died shortly after, their bodies showing clear signs of severe wasting," the UN health agency said. "The crisis remains entirely preventable. Deliberate blocking and delay of large-scale food, health and humanitarian aid has cost many lives." The UN's World Food Programme said a third of the population of Gaza had not eaten for days, and 470,000 were "enduring famine-like conditions". UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher welcomed Israel's tactical pauses, saying his teams "will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window". People walk with sacks of flour delivered after trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered northern Gaza on 27 July, 2025 coming from the Zikim border crossing. Photo: AFP / Bashar Taleb The Israeli decision came as international pressure mounted on Netanyahu to prevent mass starvation in the territory. Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz joined the chorus of concern on Sunday, urging the Israeli premier "to provide the starving civilian population in Gaza with urgently needed humanitarian aid now". Accusing the UN of fabricating "pretexts and lies about Israel" blocking aid, Netanyahu said in remarks at an airbase that "there are secure routes" for aid. "There have always been, but today it's official. There will be no more excuses," he added. The situation inside the territory deteriorated sharply after Israel imposed its total blockade on aid in March. It later eased the blockade, but sidelined the UN and major aid agencies and instead relied on a newly created, US-backed private foundation. Aid groups refused to work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, accusing it of furthering Israel's military goals, while hundreds of people have been killed attempting to reach its sites. The Jordanian military said its planes, working with the United Arab Emirates, had delivered 25 tonnes of aid in three parachute drops over Gaza on Sunday. The Israeli military also said it had conducted a drop, parachuting seven pallets of aid into the territory. Truckloads of flour were also seen arriving in northern Gaza through the Zikim area crossing from Israel, according to AFP journalists. AFP correspondents also saw trucks crossing from Egypt, heading for Israeli inspection before entering Gaza. The charity Oxfam's regional policy chief Bushra Khalidi called Israel's latest moves a "welcome first step" but warned they were insufficient. "Starvation won't be solved by a few trucks or airdrops," she said. "What's needed is a real humanitarian response: ceasefire, full access, all crossings open and a steady, large-scale flow of aid into Gaza. "We need a permanent ceasefire, a complete lifting of the siege." In general, humanitarian officials are deeply sceptical that airdrops can deliver enough food safely to tackle the hunger crisis facing Gaza's more than two million inhabitants. Gazans watch as a military plane flies over during an aid drop in the northern Gaza Strip. Photo: AFP / Bashar Taleb In Gaza City's Tel el-Hawa district, 30-year-old Suad Ishtaywi said her "life's wish" was simply to feed her children. She spoke of her husband returning empty-handed from each day from aid points. There were chaotic scenes at the site where Israel conducted its first food drop, witnesses told AFP. Samih Humeid, a 23-year-old from the Al-Karama neighbourhood of Gaza City, said dozens of people had gathered to rush towards the parachuted supplies. "It felt like a war, everyone trying to grab whatever they could. Hunger is merciless. The quantities were extremely limited, not enough even for a few people, because hunger is everywhere. I only managed to get three cans of fava beans," he said. The Israeli army's daily pause from 10am to 8pm will be limited to areas where its troops are not currently operating -- Al-Mawasi in the south, Deir el-Balah in the centre and Gaza City in the north. Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, citing "reasonable grounds" to suspect war crimes including starvation - charges Israel vehemently denies. On Sunday, according to the Gaza civil defence agency, Israeli army fire killed 27 Palestinians, 12 of them near aid distribution areas. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties. Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The Israeli campaign has killed 59,733 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. - AFP
