University entrance requirements will be raised in 2012, but students will also have four new subjects to count towards the required level. Religious Studies, Business Studies, Education for Sustainability and Home Economics were added to the list of approved subjects for next year as NZQA today announced changes to UE, […]
The recent major earthquakes in Christchurch were on a different fault to one which devastated the city on February 22 but are part of the same sequence geologically dating back to September, seismologists say. GNS Science seismologist Bill Fry said yesterday’s two earthquakes — one measuring 5.6 on the Richter […]
Sizable aftershocks are continuing to shake Christchurch today, as the Prime Minister says authorities need time to sort out what parts of the city will be abandoned due to quake damage. An earthquake of magnitude 4.8 shook Canterbury this afternoon, part of a continuing series of aftershocks shaking the region. […]
Duo faced long struggle before finding a market for stormwater-treatment technology. As university students, Greg Yeoman and Mike Hannah worked hard and played the same way. Weekends and holidays usually involved some sort of beach-centred activity: surfing, fishing or scuba diving. It was that time at the beach that sparked […]
The New Zealand entrant in the US “Olympics of spelling” has been eliminated, although she did not botch her words on stage. Belinda Gibbon, 14, from Wellington Girls’ College, correctly spelled “terraqueous” meaning consisting of, or formed of, land and water, and “upsilon”, the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet […]
McDonald’s is to apologise for the quality of their coffees served in Australia, and better blends and barista training are to be brought in to see the standard improve on this side of the ditch as well. The company has conceded its coffee is not up to scratch for its […]
Treatment for stroke survivors is being revolutionised by neuro-scientists at Auckland University. They have developed a way to fast-track recovery using electro-magnetic equipment to activate dormant brain cells. Lead researcher Dr Cathy Stinear said the technique prepared the brain when used immediately before a physiotherapy session. “We can excite the […]
A Hastings man clocked driving at 202km/h was pulled over by a police constable who turned out to be his brother-in-law. Officers who pulled over James Stanley Buckrell, 36, on January 29, said the late-model V8 Holden Commodore sounded like a “rocket” as it headed towards their parked patrol cars […]
He avoided prison by being allowed to serve home detention in a $4.7 million mansion, with a swimming pool and a tennis court. Now, disgraced financier John Hotchin has been spotted in his local Countdown doing the family shopping. But the Probation Service says Hotchin, who was convicted of breaches […]
Television New Zealand is marketing them in a prime-time slot as Britain’s “fattest and laziest family”. But the stars of the show – a family of four who collectively weigh almost 500kg – have lashed out at the broadcaster, saying there are fatter families in Britain. The Chawner family, from […]
Mana Party leader Hone Harawira has apologised for how he expressed himself when he painted Osama bin Laden as a freedom fighter. In tributes on Maori-language television on Tuesday, Mr Harawira said the al-Qaeda founder and September 11, 2001 mastermind should be “honoured” rather than “damned” in death according to […]
The brother of the only New Zealander killed in the September 11 attacks said bin Laden’s death was justice served. Alan Beaven, a 48-year-old environment lawyer, died when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after being hijacked by terrorists. His brother Ralph Beaven said he felt […]