Latest news with #Trust
Scoop
14 hours ago
- Scoop
Te Hangāruru Cycle Trail: Key Section In Mountains To Sea Ride Opens In June
Article – Moana Ellis – Local Democracy Reporter Iwi collective Te Korowai o Wainuirua is working with the Ruapehu District Council and other stakeholders in the central North Island to build the trail connecting Waimarino (formerly National Park village) to Horopito, and eventually to Pkk. Trail builders are three weeks away from opening the newest section of the Mountains to Sea – Ngā Ara Tūhono Great Ride cycle trail. When complete, the 29.4km Te Hangāruru Cycle Trail will deliver the infamous 'missing link' in a multi-day adventure ride, starting on the volcanic slopes of Mt Ruapehu and ending at the Tasman Sea in Whanganui. Iwi collective Te Korowai o Wainuiārua is working with the Ruapehu District Council and other stakeholders in the central North Island to build the trail connecting Waimarino (formerly National Park village) to Horopito, and eventually to Pōkākā. Trail manager Lynley Twyman said construction of this section began in October 2023 and was being built in stages as funding came in. Te Hangāruru will feature boardwalks, 17 bridges and four suspension bridges over a track through subalpine landscape, including podocarp forests. The country's longest suspension bridge, stretching 200 meters across the Makatote River, will be built in a later stage of the project. Earlier this month, teams from Midwest Helicopters, Abseil Access and Impel 2010 installed a 30m suspension bridge over the Mangaturuturu River, and trail builders are working now on completing the approaches. Another 99m suspension bridge will be built over the Manganui-o-te-Ao in the next phase of works, and an underpass under the Main Trunk Line, just north of Pōkākā, is under construction. 'Once complete, this trail will be another jewel for the Ruapehu community and an unforgettable ride or walk for adventurers across Aotearoa,' Twyman said. Ngā Ara Tūhono Charitable Trust, which oversees the trail, is seeking final funding for the last phases of the trail. 'But we're building everything we can now, with the resources we have,' Twyman said. The Trust is chaired by Whanganui mayor Andrew Tripe. Members include Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton, Tūpoho iwi representative Chris Kumeroa, Ngāti Rangi's Ngā Waihua o Paerangi pouārahi Helen Leahy, Te Korowai o Wainuiārua chair Aiden Gilbert, Whanganui Māori tourism representative Hayden Potaka, and Whanganui District Council representative Rory Smith. The completed Mountains to Sea trail will offer more than 320km of connected trails, including stretches through two national parks and alongside the Whanganui River. It will become one of the 23 Great Rides of the New Zealand Cycle Trail, Ngā Haerenga. The first 9km of Te Hangāruru – 'a fabulous piece of track' – will open on June 19. The Trust is calling for community volunteers to pitch in from 10am on Sunday, 1 June, to plant 800 locally sourced native trees and shrubs around the Horopito trail head, opposite Horopito Motors (also known as Smash Palace). The planting is part of a rehabilitation project for land that was returned to Te Korowai o Wainuiārua by the Crown earlier this month under treaty settlement. 'It was covered in rubbish and pest plants like gorse, broom and blackberry. It has been cleaned up with care – now it's our turn to give back,' Twyman said. 'This planting is all about rehabilitating the whenua, making sure we're contributing back to the environment and our people. 'The community keeps asking how they can help – this is how. Bring your spade, scissors, boots and lunch, and get stuck in.' Twyman said Te Hangāruru gives riders a front-row seat to 'seriously stunning central plateau scenery'. 'You'll cruise through native forest, alongside relics from early timber milling days, and beautiful farmland.' Towering above the landscape is Hauhungatahi, at 1521 meters one of New Zealand's tallest volcanoes. 'What makes it truly unique is that it's built atop an upfaulted block of ancient mesozoic marine sediment – rock that once sat on the seafloor,' Twyman said. 'The lava that formed Hauhungatahi erupted around 900,000 years ago, making it more than three times as old as Mt Ruapehu.' The completed trail will feature an 18km section of the historic Marton Sash and Door tramway route, built in the 1920s for locomotives to take logs from Waimarino and Ngātokoerua to the town of Marton, south of the plateau.
Daily Mirror
21 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Urgent warning to tourists at UK beauty spot over common ritual
The Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland has been damaged by tourists in recent years, with the National Trust now urging visitors not to take part in a common activity The National Trust has issued a fresh plea to visitors of Northern Ireland's Giant's Causeway, urging them to stop pushing coins into the cracks of the site's iconic basalt columns. What may seem like a harmless or symbolic gesture is actually contributing to the gradual deterioration of one of the UK's most treasured natural landmarks. The Giant's Causeway, located in County Antrim, attracts over half a million visitors each year and is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its unique geological formations and rich cultural history. The site is made up of around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, formed around 60 million years ago during intense volcanic activity. As the lava cooled rapidly, it contracted and cracked into the remarkable hexagonal shapes that visitors marvel at today. But in recent years, a growing number of tourists have been wedging coins into the joints between the columns - sometimes for luck, sometimes to mark a visit, and sometimes simply copying what they've seen others do. The practice, which has reportedly increased in the past decade, is now causing noticeable and costly damage. 'The coins quickly rust and expand,' explained Dr. Cliff Henry, who works for the National Trust at the site. 'This leads to flaking of the rock and leaves behind unsightly reddish-brown streaks. Worse still, people often pick up nearby stones to hammer coins into place. When they miss, they chip or break the basalt columns.' The damage is not merely cosmetic. These coins, some of which are pushed deep into the stone, compromise the integrity of the columns themselves. While basalt is a durable volcanic rock, it's not immune to persistent mechanical stress or chemical reactions caused by oxidising metals. Recognising the seriousness of the issue, the National Trust recently trialled a coin removal project. The results were positive, and they now plan to expand the clean-up operation across the site. However, the full cost of safely extracting the coins is estimated to exceed £30,000, a significant sum that highlights how seemingly minor acts by individual visitors can lead to large-scale consequences over time. To combat the trend, new signs will be installed throughout the site warning visitors against the practice. Tour guides will also be briefed to include the message in their presentations. The Trust is hoping education and awareness will help reverse the damage and preserve the Giant's Causeway for future generations. The natural wonder is not only a geological marvel but also steeped in folklore. According to legend, the Giant's Causeway was built by the Irish giant Finn McCool as a path across the sea to challenge a rival Scottish giant, Benandonner. The myth adds an enchanting layer to the site's already powerful appeal—but the National Trust is reminding visitors that respecting the site's natural beauty is more important than leaving a personal mark. 'Our job is to protect this place not just for today, but for decades and centuries to come,' said Dr. Henry. 'We know most people don't intend to do harm, but even small actions - like pushing in a coin - can have a lasting negative impact.' The Giant's Causeway has stood for millions of years, shaped by the forces of nature. Now, it faces a different kind of erosion - from well-meaning but damaging human interaction. As the National Trust continues its efforts to safeguard the site, it asks visitors to admire the stones, learn their history, and take only photographs - leaving the columns as untouched as they have stood for millennia.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
SPY Attracts $2.3B as Nvidia Earnings Boost Markets
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) pulled in $2.3 billion on Thursday, increasing its total assets to just over $601 billion, according to data provided by FactSet. The massive inflows came as markets climbed, with the S&P 500 rising 0.4% after Nvidia Corp.'s (NVDA) strong quarterly results helped offset concerns over ongoing tariff policy uncertainty. The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) attracted $2.2 billion as tech stocks rallied following Nvidia's earnings beat, while the Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) gained $1.1 billion. The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) pulled in $486.8 million, and the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) added nearly $481 million. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) saw the largest outflows at $547.7 million despite the Dow gaining 117 points. The iShares Gold Trust (IAU) lost $311.3 million, while the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) experienced outflows of $290.8 million. U.S. equity ETFs dominated with $6.8 billion in inflows, while U.S. fixed income collected $1.7 billion. Overall, ETFs attracted $10.5 billion amid judicial developments surrounding President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs, though an appeals court reinstated the levies after a lower court initially vacated them. Ticker Name Net Flows ($, mm) AUM ($, mm) AUM % Change SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust 2,262.57 601,099.28 0.38% QQQ Invesco QQQ Trust Series I 2,179.58 333,917.09 0.65% VGT Vanguard Information Technology ETF 1,124.23 86,733.51 1.30% GLD SPDR Gold Shares 486.75 98,687.67 0.49% IBIT iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF 480.96 71,308.81 0.67% LQD iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF 363.60 30,606.26 1.19% SHLD Global X Defense Tech ETF 343.89 2,532.24 13.58% NULG Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF 282.20 1,834.30 15.38% SMH VanEck Semiconductor ETF 278.66 22,411.78 1.24% QQQM Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF 260.67 48,136.36 0.54% Ticker Name Net Flows ($, mm) AUM ($, mm) AUM % Change DIA SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust -547.72 37,789.82 -1.45% IAU iShares Gold Trust -311.25 45,816.00 -0.68% XLF Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund -290.82 49,505.06 -0.59% IVV iShares Core S&P 500 ETF -265.73 580,169.91 -0.05% RSP Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF -246.36 70,958.61 -0.35% EMXC iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China ETF -234.08 14,045.01 -1.67% BIL SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF -220.09 44,159.38 -0.50% IWF iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF -179.30 105,048.71 -0.17% NVDL GraniteShares 2x Long NVDA Daily ETF -177.85 3,779.92 -4.71% EXI iShares Global Industrials ETF -152.45 898.68 -16.96% Net Flows ($, mm) AUM ($, mm) % of AUM Alternatives 1.18 9,967.31 0.01% Asset Allocation 73.06 24,665.24 0.30% Commodities ETFs 318.55 210,567.46 0.15% Currency 541.99 146,534.72 0.37% International Equity 1,084.98 1,781,749.56 0.06% International Fixed Income 148.14 289,989.85 0.05% Inverse -157.79 14,667.48 -1.08% Leveraged 8.16 119,293.57 0.01% US Equity 6,827.64 6,758,710.16 0.10% US Fixed Income 1,669.76 1,659,772.12 0.10% Total: 10,515.67 11,015,917.45 0.10% Disclaimer: All data as of 6 a.m. Eastern time the date the article is published. Data are believed to be accurate; however, transient market data are often subject to subsequent revision and correction by the | © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Axios
a day ago
- Politics
- Axios
Accusations fly as Miami officials discuss the "weaponization" of government
A Miami city commission meeting organized to discuss the "weaponization of city government" ended in finger-pointing and shouting. The big picture: Feuding and political posturing among commissioners overshadowed the pleas of restaurant owners seeking reprieve from code enforcement raids that disrupt — or even shut down — their businesses during peak hours. Driving the news: The thrust of Friday's meeting was a list of accusations against Commissioner Joe Carollo, the veteran Miami politician seen as a candidate for Miami mayor, including claims that he is using code enforcement to go after a political opponent. "One person has set our city back many years," Commissioner Damian Pardo said at the meeting. Friction point: Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela accused Carollo of sending code enforcement to his private properties after Gabela spearheaded an audit of the city's Bayfront Park Management Trust. Gabela says the probe will uncover wrongdoing by Carollo, the former chairman of the Trust. Carollo — who has denied wrongdoing — told the city manager that there were "direct, in-your-face violations" at Gabela's properties. Zoom in: During the meeting, Carollo set up a PowerPoint presentation showing publicly accessible satellite images of Gabela's properties with boats and cars parked in the lot. Carollo also accused Gabela of threatening to fire the city manager if he sent code enforcement to the properties. Gabela denied the claim. "He thinks he can do whatever he wants in this city," Carollo said. Reality check: Carollo was hit with a $63.5 million legal judgment in 2023 after a jury found him liable for violating the free speech rights of the owners of the nightclub Ball & Chain. The jury found that Carollo pushed police and code enforcement to target their properties after they supported one of Carollo's political opponents. The city also agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle a related lawsuit. What they're saying: Gabela, who said he has no open code violations against him, alluded to the legal cases against Carollo but was instructed by the city's legal team to refrain from discussing details, citing active litigation. "This is 2.0 Ball & Chain, what they're doing to me," Gabela previously told Local 10. Gabela's wife recently addressed the commission to accuse Carollo of sending staff to watch her. Meanwhile, Carollo told Axios the city needs to reform its building and code enforcement departments to address concerns made by restaurant owners. "There's a lot of things that need to be reformed. But I don't control that. If I did, I guarantee you they would be done in a much more appropriate way." What's next: Voters will go to the polls Tuesday to elect a new commissioner in District 4 after the death of Manolo Reyes in April.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Claims China Flouted Tariff Deal
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is in the red after former President Trump slammed China for totally violating a recent trade truce with the U.S. In a Truth Social post, Trump blasted Beijing for reneging on the mid-August tariff rollback agreement while U.S. officials have moved ahead with technology export controls and China has yet to meaningfully lift critical mineral restrictions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that negotiations are a bit stalled, and Trump urged direct talks between himself and President Xi Jinping to restore stability. Trump claimed his fast deal averted a deeper economic rout, but said China's non-compliance rendered his Mr. NICE GUY approach futile, warning that the high tariffs had crippled China's access to the U.S. market. The rhetoric rattled markets already wary of fresh trade tensions and came just weeks after both sides agreed to pause tariff hikes until mid-August. Investors should care because renewed discord could derail earnings forecasts for globally exposed companies and keep risk sentiment muted ahead of key economic data. With a mid-August tariff sunset approaching and tech restrictions ongoing, markets will track any bilateral outreach or fresh measures that could reshape global trade dynamics. Over the past three months, both the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) have shown sluggish performance, with deep April drawdowns before rebounding in May. As of May 30, SPY is down about 6.75%, while QQQ has managed a modest 2.92% gain. The chart highlights volatility and uneven momentum across major equity benchmarks during this stretch. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
