/on-air/holiday-breakfast/audio/rss 九一星空无限 Thu, 16 Oct 2025 09:26:10 Z en /on-air/holiday-breakfast/audio/congestion-expected-this-summer/ /on-air/holiday-breakfast/audio/congestion-expected-this-summer/ Congestion's expected this summer, with parts of Auckland already seeing gridlocks around the Harbour Bridge and sections of State Highway 1 earlier this week. A second wave of heavy traffic is expected around New Year’s Day. AA spokesperson Martin Glynn spoke to Tim Dower who says the best thing people can do is plan ahead by checking road conditions, and being flexible with travel times. He says it's almost always busy between 10am and 4pm, and recommends to travel outside this period if possible.   LISTEN ABOVE Thu, 28 Dec 2023 20:12:09 Z /on-air/holiday-breakfast/audio/richard-arnold-biden-clarifies-stance-on-a-russian-incursion-in-ukraine-russia-will-pay-a-heavy-price-if-units-move-across-ukrainian-border/ /on-air/holiday-breakfast/audio/richard-arnold-biden-clarifies-stance-on-a-russian-incursion-in-ukraine-russia-will-pay-a-heavy-price-if-units-move-across-ukrainian-border/ President Joe Biden on Thursday sought to clarify his stance on a potential Russian incursion in Ukraine, cleaning up remarks from the prior day's news conference during which he suggested a "minor incursion" by Russia would elicit a lesser response than a full-scale invasion of the country.  "I've been absolutely clear with President Putin. He has no misunderstanding. If any -- any -- assembled Russian units move across Ukrainian border, that is an invasion. But it will be met with severe and coordinated economic response that I've discussed in detail with our allies, as well as laid out very clearly for President Putin," Biden said at the top of an event aimed at promoting the bipartisan infrastructure package passed last year.  If Putin chooses to invade, Biden added, "Russia will pay a heavy price."  During the news conference Wednesday, the President predicted Putin would "move in" to Ukraine -- though he speculated that the Russian leader is still not clear on what he's going to do. In a comment that sent shockwaves across Europe, Biden then alluded to disunity among US allies about how to respond to anything less than a full invasion.  "It's one thing if it's a minor incursion and we end up having to fight about what to do and not do," Biden told reporters at an East Room news conference. "But if they actually do what they're capable of doing with the forces amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for Russia if they further invade Ukraine."  Later, asked to clarify what he meant by "minor incursion," Biden said he drew the line at "Russian forces crossing the border, killing Ukrainian fighters."  "I think that changes everything," the President said. "But it depends on what he does, to what extent we'll get total unity on the NATO front."  "It's very important that we keep everyone in NATO on the same page. That's what I'm spending a lot of time doing, and there are differences," he went on. "There are differences in NATO as to what countries are willing to do, depending on what happens."  The remarks prompted near-immediate outcry in Kyiv, where officials had been meeting with Biden's top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as Russian troops amass on the country's border. High-level attempts to clean up the comment soon followed at the White House, including a Wednesday evening statement from press secretary Jen Psaki, and subsequent media appearances by Psaki and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday morning.  In a subtle but strongly worded tweet Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a "reminder" to the US.  "We want to remind the great powers that there are no minor incursions and small nations. Just as there are no minor casualties and little grief from the loss of loved ones. I say this as the President of a great power," Zelensky said.  And his foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, warned in a virtual press briefing that a country "can't be half invaded."  "One can't be half invaded or half aggressive. Aggression is either there or not. And we can say as a concrete fact that the aggression of the Russian Federation against the state of Ukraine has been going on since 2014," Kuleba said.  As he sought to clean up his previous remarks, Biden noted that Russia has a "long history" of using measures other than overt military action to carry out aggression, including paramilitary tactics, so-called gray zone attacks, attacks by Russian soldiers not in uniform, little green men and cyberattacks.  "We have to be ready to respond to these as well and decisively," Biden said, echoing comments made late Wednesday and earlier Thursday by Psaki and Harris.  He noted that Kuleba said Thursday that he is "confident of our support and resolve and he has a right to be."  - By Betsy Klein, CNN   Thu, 20 Jan 2022 21:29:55 Z /on-air/holiday-breakfast/audio/richard-edwards-otago-university-researcher-says-nicotine-free-tobacco-products-could-be-the-answer-to-helping-us-achieve-our-smokefree-2025/ /on-air/holiday-breakfast/audio/richard-edwards-otago-university-researcher-says-nicotine-free-tobacco-products-could-be-the-answer-to-helping-us-achieve-our-smokefree-2025/ Nicotine-free tobacco products could be the answer to helping us achieve our Smokefree 2025 goal.  New research, published in today's New Zealand Medical Journal, has found the removal of nicotine could reduce smoking rates to well under five-percent by 2025.   It projects one fifth of smokers would quit, if only nicotine-free cigarettes were allowed from next year.  Otago University researcher Richard Edwards told Tim Dower the move would have a real impact on smokers and those experimenting with smoking.  “They don’t get any hit from them, so they’re much less likely to want to try them and if they do try them, they’re not going to get addicted because the cigarettes will not be addictive.”  LISTEN ABOVE  Thu, 20 Jan 2022 20:37:58 Z /on-air/holiday-breakfast/audio/richard-wagstaff-two-thirds-of-new-zealanders-dont-have-the-financial-reserves-theyd-need-to-get-through-three-months-without-a-pay-cheque/ /on-air/holiday-breakfast/audio/richard-wagstaff-two-thirds-of-new-zealanders-dont-have-the-financial-reserves-theyd-need-to-get-through-three-months-without-a-pay-cheque/ Two thirds of New Zealanders don't have the financial reserves they'd need to get through three months without a pay cheque.  This has come from CTU research, saying the workforce is incredibly vulnerable to an economic shock, such as an Omicron Covid-19 outbreak.  CTU president, Richard Wagstaff joined Tim Dower.  LISTEN ABOVE    Tue, 18 Jan 2022 19:45:49 Z /on-air/holiday-breakfast/audio/dr-john-bonning-college-of-emergency-medicine-spokesperson-says-hospitals-across-the-country-may-be-at-breaking-point-due-to-staff-shortages/ /on-air/holiday-breakfast/audio/dr-john-bonning-college-of-emergency-medicine-spokesperson-says-hospitals-across-the-country-may-be-at-breaking-point-due-to-staff-shortages/ Hospitals across the country may be at breaking point.   An internal email from Auckland's emergency department has described it as an unsafe situation, in light of staffing becoming so stretched.   One senior clinician is quoted as saying 'we cannot continue like this', in reference to a shift that started with 60 patients waiting to be seen.  College of Emergency Medicine spokesperson Dr John Bonning says this is being echoed across the country, with a big issue being staff lost over the last year.  LISTEN ABOVE  Tue, 11 Jan 2022 20:46:18 Z /on-air/holiday-breakfast/audio/michael-wood-raising-the-minimum-wage-is-beneficial-to-small-businesses/ /on-air/holiday-breakfast/audio/michael-wood-raising-the-minimum-wage-is-beneficial-to-small-businesses/ An increase in the Minimum Wage could stimulate the economy.   The CTU wants to match the living wage at $22.75.  Its petition will be presented today to Workplace Relations Minister Michael Wood.  Adults on the Minimum Wage are paid $20 dollars an hour.   Wood told Tim Dower when low paid workers are paid reasonably – they'll go and support local businesses.  “So, we actually know that the effect of minimum wage can be quite positive for small businesses as well, we saw it last year and we raised it to $20, and actually we had record low unemployment coming on after that.”  LISTEN ABOVE  Mon, 20 Dec 2021 23:02:31 Z /on-air/holiday-breakfast/audio/jo-mckenna-italy-facing-lockdown-restrictions-ahead-of-christmas/ /on-air/holiday-breakfast/audio/jo-mckenna-italy-facing-lockdown-restrictions-ahead-of-christmas/ In Peru, you can't drive your car on Christmas. In Lebanon, you can go to a nightclub, but you can't dance. In South Africa, roadblocks instead of beach parties will mark this year's festive season. How many people can you share a Christmas meal with? France recommends no more than six, in Chile it's 15, and in Brazil it's as many as you want. Meanwhile, Italy's mind-boggling, colour-coded holiday virus rules change almost every day for the next two weeks. Countries around the world are trying to find the right formulas to keep their people safe for Christmas, especially as new virus variants prompt renewed travel bans and fuel resurgent infections, hospitalisations and deaths at the end of an already devastating year. Here's a look at some of the restrictions around the world for the holiday season: BRITAIN It was meant to be a time when families across the U.K. could enjoy something like a normal Christmas despite the pandemic. Authorities planned to relax restrictions, allowing up to three households to mix in the days around Dec. 25. The emergence of a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus changed that. The four nations of the U.K. – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – are all in various states of shutdown and have ditched their Christmas plans. No indoor mixing of households is allowed in London and southeast England. Instead of Christmas joy, a sense of dread and isolation is looming. Dozens of countries have limited flights from Britain, and daily new infections are running at record highs. Hospitals across the U.K., which has Europe's second-highest virus-related death toll at over 68,000, are heading towards capacity at a time of year when other illnesses abound. BRAZIL In Brazil, Christmas 2020 will look much like normal – even though the country has been among the world's hardest-hit by the pandemic and new COVID-19 infections are now on track to match the peak of the first surge. Many beaches and restaurants in Rio de Janeiro were packed last weekend, despite a city measure forbidding drivers to park along the shore. No national restrictions have been imposed ahead of Christmas, though the governor of São Paulo ordered that only essential services such as public transport, supermarkets and pharmacies remain open around Christmas and New Year's Eve. Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador have also called off their Dec. 31 firework displays. SOUTH AFRICA South Africa is targeting beaches and booze as it imposes new restrictions for the Christmas season amid resurgent infections. Alcohol can only be sold Monday through Thursday, and a nighttime curfew is in place. Beaches — major tourist attractions this time of year — will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The government is urging people to avoid crowded Christmas celebrations, but indoor gatherings of up to 100 people are still allowed; outdoors up to 250 people can congregate. Police are setting up roadblocks to slow a second surge of infections that authorities and scientists say is being fueled by another variant of the virus, one distinct from the variant affecting England. Some countries are banning flights from South Africa, where the weekly infections and deaths have doubled over the past two weeks. LEBANON Unlike much of the world, Lebanon eased restrictions during the holidays, hoping to inject foreign currency into a tanking economy. Tens of thousands of Lebanese expats have arrived home for the holidays, leading to fears of an inevitable surge in infections. Last week, the Interior Ministry allowed nightclubs to reopen — but said dancing will be prohibited. That triggered a debate on social media about what constitutes dancing. Lebanon's health sector has been challenged by the pandemic that struck amid an unprecedented financial crisis. The massive Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut's port only increased pressure on the city's hospitals, knocking out at least three of them. ITALY 九一星空无限papers in Italy are running color-coded graphics that resemble children's board games to help people keep track of the rules aimed at limiting new infections over the holidays. Travel between regions is banned for 16 days, and a curfew begins at 10 p.m. From Dec. 24-27, "red" rules kick in, closing all shops except food stores, pharmacies and hairdressers – since looking one's best is essential in Italy. Two people can visit the home of another family member and bring children younger than 14 with them. Restaurants and cafes can't serve customers, although takeout and home delivery are allowed. From Dec. 28-30, Italians segue into ''orange" rules, when non-essential shops can re-open, although dining out is still banned. Things turn red again for Dec. 31-Jan. 3, orange for Jan. 4, then red again on Jan. 5-6 for the national holiday on Epiphany. SOUTH KOREA South Korea is clamping down on private social gatherings of five or more people and closing tourist spots  from Christmas Eve through at least Jan. 3. National parks and coastal tourist sites, where thousands travel to watch the sun rise on the new year, will close. So will churches and skiing, sledding and skating venues. Restaurants could face fines of up to 3 million won ($2,700) if they serve groups of five or more. The greater Seoul area, home to half of the country's 51 million people, has been at the center of a viral resurgence in past weeks that has overwhelmed hospitals, increased death tolls and raised questions as to how the government is handling the outbreak, after winning global praise for its response earlier in the year. Forty-eight COVID-19 patients have died in the deadliest two days since the pandemic began. THE UNITED STATES The U.S. has issued no nationwide restrictions on travel, a decision left to state governments, but a federal agency is advising against criss-crossing the country for the Christmas season. Still, millions of people have passed through airport security in recent days. The travel company AAA predicted that nearly 85 million Americans would be journeying during the holidays – a 29% decline from last year. The U.S. has reported by far the most virus infections and deaths in the world, over 18 million cases and 322,800 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Even before Christmas, new cases have been rising over the past two weeks.   Wed, 23 Dec 2020 20:33:18 Z