Chlöe Swarbrick and David Seymour on the UN letter, local government and tax
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- Otago Daily Times
Crush at Gaza aid site kills at least 20
At least 20 Palestinians were killed at an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) today, in what the US-backed group said was a crowd surge instigated by armed agitators. The GHF, which is supported by Israel, said 19 people were trampled and one fatally stabbed during the crush at one of its centres in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. "We have credible reason to believe that elements within the crowd – armed and affiliated with Hamas – deliberately fomented the unrest," GHF said in a statement. There was no immediate comment from Hamas. Palestinian heath officials said 21 people had died of suffocation at the site. One medic said lots of people had been crammed into a small space and had been crushed. Yesterday the UN rights office in Geneva said it had recorded at least 875 killings within the past six weeks in the vicinity of aid sites and food convoys in Gaza - the majority of them close to GHF distribution points. Most of those deaths were caused by gun fire that locals have blamed on the Israeli military. The military has acknowledged that Palestinian civilians were harmed near aid distribution centres, saying that Israeli forces had been issued new instructions following what it called "lessons learned". The GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a UN-led system that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led militants loot aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies the accusation. The UN has called the GHF's model 'inherently unsafe' and a breach of humanitarian impartiality standards - an allegation GHF has denied. Amjad Al-Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGOs Network, accused the GHF today of gross mismanagement, saying its lack of crowd control and failure to uphold humanitarian principles had led to chaos and death among desperate civilians. "People who flock in their thousands (to GHF sites) are hungry and exhausted, and they get squeezed into narrow places, amid shortages of aid and the absence of organization and discipline by the GHF," he said. The war in Gaza, triggered in October 2023 by a deadly Hamas attack on Israel, has devastated large swathes of the coastal enclave, displaced almost all of the territory's population and led to widespread hunger and privation. ISRAELI ARMY ROAD Earlier today, the Israeli military said it had completed a new road in southern Gaza separating several towns east of Khan Younis from the rest of the territory in an effort to disrupt Hamas operations. Palestinians see the road under Israeli army control as a way to exert pressure on Hamas in ongoing ceasefire talks, which started on July 6 and are being brokered by Arab mediators Egypt and Qatar with the backing of the United States. Palestinian sources close to the negotiations said a breakthrough had not yet been reached on any of the main issues under discussion. Hamas said Israel wanted to keep at least 40% of the Gaza Strip under its control as part of any deal, which the group rejected. Hamas has also demanded the dismantlement of the GHF and the reinstatement of a UN-led aid delivery mechanism. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war will end once Hamas is disarmed and removed from Gaza. Gaza local health authorities said Israeli military strikes have killed at least 17 people across the enclave on Wednesday. Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. Almost 1650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1200 killed in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. An estimated 50 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including 28 hostages who have been declared dead and whose bodies are being withheld.
RNZ News
7 hours ago
- RNZ News
Lifting advertising restrictions will enable medical conferences in NZ
David Seymour says two of Australasia's largest medical conferences will come to New Zealand next year. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Associate Health Minister David Seymour says medical conferences can happen in New Zealand now, because the government is lifting advertising restrictions on medicines. Two of Australasia's largest medical conferences will come to New Zealand next year, and the government is talking up estimates they could add $5 million to the local economy. Seymour said the advertising restrictions were brought in because of fears pharmaceutical companies could try to skirt approvals processes, but his Regulations Ministry found that approach was out of step with other countries. He said advertising medicines at a conference was one of the main reasons to hold one. "We have got rid of the restriction on advertising new medicines, so there's good reasons for doctors to come to New Zealand and learn about them. Before we made this change, New Zealand doctors would go to places like Fiji for a medical conference, which is nice for them, but bad for the New Zealand economy, because the money's going over there," Seymour said. The 2026 conferences are for the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO), and could attract an estimated 3300 delegates. "You're going to see a whole lot of mainly doctors but medical professionals interested in learning about new medicines and technologies and that they're going to join together in New Zealand, and it's going to just be a wonderful thing," Seymour said. "It's the kind of activity we should want in this country. You know, I've long said New Zealand should try to be the ancient Athens of the modern world, the centre of medical science and excellence." Seymour in a statement said the government was committed to removing red tape, and the lifting of restrictions would make it easier for health professionals to keep up with the latest products and medicines. "New Zealand's current health regulations can be overly bureaucratic, and this is slowing down access to care, increasing costs, and making it harder for patients to get the services they need." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
7 hours ago
- RNZ News
Oral Questions for 16 July 2025
Questions to Ministers CHLÖE SWARBRICK to the Prime Minister: E tautoko ana ia i nga korero me nga mahi katoa a tona Kawanatanga? Does he stand by all of his Government's statements and actions? CATHERINE WEDD to the Minister of Finance: How are global events affecting the New Zealand economy? Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? RAWIRI WAITITI to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? TIM COSTLEY to the Minister of Health: What recent progress has been made on childhood immunisation rates? Hon BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: Does she agree with the Prime Minister's statement that "the reason people leave a country is because they think they can earn higher incomes somewhere else"; if so, why? BENJAMIN DOYLE to the Associate Minister of Health: Is the Government on track to achieve the National HIV Action Plan's goal of effectively eliminating locally transmitted HIV in Aotearoa by 2030; if not, why not? Hon GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister for Infrastructure: Why are there more than 15,000 fewer people working in construction under this Government, and what impact does this have on the Government's infrastructure pipeline? GREG FLEMING to the Minister of Education: What recent results has she seen about literacy and numeracy achievement for the NCEA co-requisite? TODD STEPHENSON to the Associate Minister of Justice: What recent announcements has she made regarding New Zealand's anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism regime? SHANAN HALBERT to the Minister for Vocational Education: How many jobs at polytechnics have been cut, or are proposed to be cut, since she took office? RIMA NAKHLE to the Minister of Justice: How is the Government progressing with its plan to restore law and order? To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
