Scoop: Top Scoops + Just Politics

[1] "The unprecedented drop in recorded crime, the best since 1970 when we started to collect data on recorded crime, clearly shows the excellent job being done in the community by the Police," the Minister of Police, George Hawkins, said today. "Total numbers of recorded crime are down 8.2 percent since last year – a drop of 36,000 crimes. That means nearly 700 less crimes are recorded every week, nearly 100 less every day. See... Police crime statistics show crime coming down [2] NZ Police full crime statistics reportsLess Crime In Safer Auckland City [3] Crime drops nearly 8% in Wellington District [4] Statistics NZ Recorded Crime Statistics‘P’ scourge casts ever-darkening shadow [5] Labour spin can't hide rise in violent crime [6] Serious "P" Problem Hits Tauranga Peters [7] Kevin List's A Week Of It Speeding Special [8]

[1] The proportion of children living in poverty, or on less than $1 per day, has risen in most of the world’s developed countries since the early 1990’s, according to UNICEF’s latest report from the Innocenti Research Centre in Florence. See... UNICEF Child Poverty On Rise In Wealthy Nations [2] NZ’s Child Poverty Levels Unacceptable [3] Child Poverty Figures Remain Needlessly High [4] Too many Kiwi kids caught in poverty trap [5] Child poverty is not going away [6] No baby left behind [7] Unicef report shows families must be top priority [8]

[1] WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday abolished the death penalty for juveniles, an important victory for opponents of capital punishment in the only country that gave official sanction to such executions. In a 5-4 ruling that cited the "overwhelming weight of international opinion," the high court declared unconstitutional the death penalty for those under the age of 18 when they committed their crimes. See... Scoop Link: US Court Abolishes Child Death Penalty [2]

[1] Marietta Gross reports that next time you contemplate being tempted to indulge in a cup of green tea, perhaps you should go for it… for your heart's sake. Green tea contains a substance that protects against coagulation. Green tea contains a substance that protects against coagulation. Animal experiments have shown polyphenol (found in green tea) reduces the gain of adipose in mice, reports the German Institute for Nutritional Research (DIfE) in Potsdam. See…Green Tea Protects Against Coagulation [2]

[1] Marietta Gross reports a Berlin sleep researcher has compared quality of life of people affected by sleeplessness with tumour patients. Sleep disorders are not a harmless disease but can damage one's health dramatically. See... The Dramatic Consequences Of Disturbed Sleep [2]

[1] Marietta Gross writes, German legal scientists have discovered a DNA technique that will enable a reliable genetic fingerprint from "omitted hair" or hair that has fallen out of been removed from a body. Previously, police and forensic scientists were often unable to get a reliable match from omitted hair samples. See... German Scientists Perfect DNA From 'Omitted Hair' [2]

[1] Tuesday afternoon the Orion carried out a reconnaissance flight over Puka Puka in the northern Cook Islands. The crew assessed that at least eighty percent of the roofs on the Island had been blown over and the area had been severely hit by the storm. Earlier this morning the Orion located a fishing vessel, floundering northeast of Samoa. See… RNZAF: Reconnaissance Images From PukaPuka [2] Missing vessel found, seven people safe and well [3] Search for missing vessel northwest of Samoa [4]

[1] Disarmament Minister Marian Hobbs will be advocating for a strengthened nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty when she represents New Zealand at the five-yearly NPT review conference in New York in May. It is 20 years today since former Prime Minister David Lange won the 1985 Oxford Union debate arguing that nuclear weapons were morally indefensible. Today Marian Hobbs reiterated that nuclear disarmament remains New Zealand's ultimate goal. See... NZ leads on nuclear-free stance [2]