INDEPENDENT NEWS
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else... More

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New Zealand Politics
Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More

ALSO:
Government: GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan

Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More

ALSO:
Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More

Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More
Business, Science & Tech
GenPro: General Practices Begin Issuing Clause 14 Notices

GenPro has been copied into a rising number of Clause 14 notices issued since the NZNO lodged its Primary Practice Pay Equity Claim against General Practice employers in December 2023.MoreSPADA: Screen Industry Unites For Streaming Platform Regulation & Intellectual Property Protections

In an unprecedented international collaboration, representatives of screen producing organisations from around the world have released a joint statement.More
Comment




Ian Powell: US Lessons For New Zealand’s Health System: Profiteering, Hospital Adverse Events And Patient Outcomes

Although not guaranteed it is likely that the ugly head of ‘Public Private Partnerships’ (PPPs) will be raised again in Aotearoa New Zealand’s public hospitals following last year’s election of a new National-led coalition government.



Binoy Kampmark: Israel’s Argument At The Hague: We Are Incapable Of Genocide

Israel’s relationship with the United Nations, international institutions and international law has at times bristled with suspicion and blatant hostility. In a famous cabinet meeting in 1955, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion famously knocked back the suggestion that the United Nations 1947 plan for partitioning Palestine had been instrumental in creating the State of Israel.
World


UN News: UN Envoy Backs Demand For Immediate Gaza Ceasefire Amid ‘Cataclysmic Suffering’

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process on Tuesday issued a fervent plea for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and release of all hostages, amid “cataclysmic” suffering in the Gaza Strip and continuing violence in the occupied West Bank.



UN News: Cholera Cases Soar Globally

The world enters 2024 with 667000 cases of cholera and over 4000 deaths last year. Eastern and Southern African nations are among the worst affected, accounting for about 75% of the fatalities and a third of the cases, according to UNICEF.



UN News: US Urged To Halt First Execution By Nitrogen Asphyxiation

The execution of an American prisoner by a new and untested method (suffocation by nitrogen gas) could amount to torture, the OHCHR has warned. Kenneth Eugene Smith was convicted of murder in 1988 and was executed on 25th January in the southern state of Alabama.
Lifestyle




Howard Davis: Malicious Melodrama - Todd Haynes’ ‘May December’

Loosely based on a tabloid headline, Todd Haynes has directed another intriguing and mysterious portrayal of an enigmatic and contradictory female who was jailed as a sex offender for her affair with a naive high school student ove two decades her junior. Julianne Moore, who seems constitutionally incapable of providing an unintelligent performance, is more than ably supported by Natalie Portman as an exploitative Hollywood star tasked with portraying her character in a TV movie.



Howard Davis: The Austerity Of Quiet Despair - Wim Wenders’ ‘Perfect Days’

Given his obvious admiration for the films of Yasujirō Ozu, it’s hardly surprising that Wim Wenders should have chosen Tokyo as the location for his latest film. A stripped-back, pared-down homage to the great Japanese director’s laconic and laid-back style, Wenders relentlessly pursues the daily life of his protagonist, a public toilet cleaner in the wealthy enclave of Shibuya.
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