For the first time in her career, CJ Bott has had to learn how to lead without crossing the white line.

The Wellington Phoenix captain has spent much of the club’s breakthrough A-League season watching from the sidelines, since her https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/584796/phoenix-captain-cj-bott-announces-pregnancy pregnancy announcement] i January.

There was never any chance she would miss Saturday’s grand final against Melbourne City at AAMI Park though.

“I’m definitely travelling,” Bott said. “You wouldn’t be able to hold me at home just yet.

“I’ve still got a few more weeks until I’m medically unable to travel, so I’m making the most of it. I’ll be there with bells and whistles, and I’ll lose my voice screaming on the sidelines.”

Bott played seven matches at the start of the season, before stepping away from playing duties, remaining involved with the squad in an off-field leadership role, as the Phoenix surged to the first grand final in the team’s five-year history.

She described her second season with the Phoenix was “definitely a different season”.

“It started off well, being on the field, and then having to take a step back, because of the pregnancy, it took a little bit to get used to and was a tough pill to swallow in many ways, because all I want to do is be out there and doing my part with the team.

“I think as the season’s progressed, and our new signings have stepped up and really embraced their roles, and the rest of the girls have also stepped up, they’ve done such an incredible job.

“I mean, there’s been some nailbiting moments of the season, but overall, they’ve done incredibly well and I’m just so proud of how they’ve handled the season.”

Coach Bev Priestman was determined to keep Bott closely involved this season, because of her leadership and experience within the group.

“It did take a little while to see where I best fit into that role, because I wanted to give [Mackenzie Barry] the time and the space and the energy and support to do her role as captain as well.

“It’s taken a bit of adjustment, but I think now I’ve figured out where I’m best fitted, and I really just try and support the girls in whatever way and whatever capacity they need me.”

Defender Emma Pijnenburg, who replaced Bott in the squad, said the Football Ferns international remained an influential figure within the team.

“She just has this aura and, when she speaks in the circle, everybody is hanging on to every word,” Pijnenburg said. “She has a lot of experience as well, a senior player in the team, and she brings a lot to the team, whether she is on the field or not,” .

The Phoenix finished the season in second place and came from behind to win the two-legged semifinal against Brisbane Roar to secure the grand final match-up, but Bott said it was not all plain sailing to get to the pinnacle game of the season.

“I don’t think it’s a shock, given the team we had at the start of the season, but based on all our injuries and unfortunate events that have occurred during the season, it is somewhat of a surprise that we’ve somehow managed to keep our heads above water and still perform, given all the difficulties this team’s been through.

“The season has been so important towards the development of women’s football in this country, in this city specifically, and I’m so excited to see what can happen in the weekend.”

Watching from the sidelines has not come naturally to Bott.

“I hate it,” she said. “It is so hard just sitting there and not being able to do anything, but I’ve had to embrace it.

“I’ve got no other choice in the matter and the girls need me no matter what. I’ve just had to bite my nails quietly and just be their biggest cheerleader.”

Bott arrived at her hometown club last season, after eight years playing professionally in Germany, Sweden, Norway and England, and was surprised by the level of professionalism at the Phoenix.

“I didn’t quite know what to expect coming in,” she said. “I knew they had access to world-class facilities, but I think that’s one thing, having the backing from the wider club and having the staff involved.

“Our staff are incredible, they are probably some of the most professional staff I’ve ever had.

“Besides the fact that a lot of our girls have to, unfortunately, work two jobs, it is the most professional environment I’ve probably been a part of and it’s the most enjoyable environment I’ve been a part of in a long, long time.”

Bott is off contract at the end of this season and definitely has plans to return to football in the future, and “absolutely” would like that to be with the Phoenix.

Before she can think about her playing future, she will have to handle a few more “nervewracking” moments in the stands, as the Phoenix women play for the club’s first piece of silverware.

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University entrance has long been the gold standard result from our schools – but there’s hope that planned changes will improve life for those who want to tread a different path

Just three of every 10 school leavers head to universities, those halls of learning long considered to be the gold standard of education.

But a tradie can earn as much as a policy analyst – and a plumber’s job can’t be done by artificial intelligence. Some studies suggest that the retirement-age pay gap between both paths has closed.

There’s also no rule to say you can’t do both, and having a construction career under your belt is a good way to go into an engineering degree, for example.

Today on The Detail we talk to two experts in the area of education pathways – both welcome the shifting of government funding from fees-free university tuition to vocational education and trades training.

Josh Williams is the principal consultant for the Skills Development Group, and former head of the Industry Training Federation. He’s also been a senior policy manager at the Ministry of Education and has been involved in managing school transition programmes such as Youth Guarantee and Gateway.

Skills Development has issued a White Paper called Multiple Pathways to Success which discusses this issue.

Williams says we need to make it really clear what the alternative pathways from school to work are.

“Because at the moment we’re pigeon-holing people into ‘it’s university, or not university’.

“Well, what’s in the ‘not’?” he says.

“Getting university entrance can’t be the only goal of 13 years at school.

“We have to prepare our young people for a wider range of opportunities, and in particular that exposure and experience which means they’ll be able to make that successful step and find their pathway.”

One block when it comes to this is called ‘parity of esteem’ – where non-university pathways aren’t seen as prestigious, and the qualifications levels aren’t equitable.

“Although even the phrase ‘parity of esteem’ pretends like there’s two things, there’s academic and there’s vocational. I kind of reject that and honestly where the situation’s going now where we’re talking about a shared curriculum that has industry subjects and curriculum subjects sitting within a shared curriculum I think is very positive.

“Look, every young person is on a trip to the workforce.”

Williams says the whole idea behind NCEA was that it could recognise and reward learning from a much wider range of things.

“Effectively any credit on the framework could count towards your NCEA. That flexibility was absolutely seen as a strength, but that flexibility was also ultimately a bit of a weakness, because the assessment system that came in under NCEA has effectively been grafted on to a schooling system that hasn’t changed very much.

“The main game is to chase a thing called University Entrance because it’s really the only clear recipe in the whole cookbook of school. Everything else is a bit of an add-on.

“Certainly it was the case that the flexibility of NCEA could be misused, that ultimately kids could come out with an NCEA qualification that was made up of an incoherent grab-bag of things that didn’t really add up to a purposeful direction or a set of foundation skills for employability.”

Williams says there are a range of schemes that exist that do work, such as Gateway, but at the moment only about 15 percent of our Year 11 to 13 population access them.

It’s hoped that a change in the curriculum will help build better connections between schools and the workplace.

Dr Michael Johnston, a Senior Fellow from the think-tank New Zealand Initiative, has written a report called Working Knowledge – Designing Industry-Led Subjects for Students and Schools.

He chaired a 2024 Ministerial Advisory Group for the Education Minister on the development of a knowledge-rich curriculum for English and mathematics. He’s now a member of the Curriculum Coherence group, which advises on the development of knowledge-rich curricula across all school subjects.

He’s been in Germany studying their system and tells The Detail today what he does – and doesn’t – like about it, and what we could adopt.

Johnston says in New Zealand there’s never been a formal national curricula for vocational education at secondary school.

“We’ve had technology for a long time, but not subjects that are so completely geared towards getting young people into apprenticeships and tertiary training, where these subjects will be very responsive to the needs of industry. This is the first time were we would have had formal curricula for that kind of subject.”

Johnston also questions the qualifications framework and the parity between them.

“We see Bachelor’s degrees at Level 7, and most trades qualifications at Level 4. Why is that? Do we really think that to be a skilled electrician is trivial compared with getting a Bachelor of Arts?”

Asked what makes him think we have an opportunity now to change things, Johnston says he’s “an eternal optimist”.

“It comes down ultimately to a cultural prejudice, and I think that is borne of a time when, first of all, I would say university education was of higher quality, and when far fewer people went to university, so it had this elite status.

“And to be fair in those days it probably did lead to the higher incomes on average. But I think those days are gone.”

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ONTARIO, US – Media OutReach Newswire – 13 May 2026 – With demand for smarter, more efficient outdoor living solutions continuing to rise across Germany, Garvee has launched its 2026 Garden Upgrade concept for the summer season. Centered on labor-saving garden work, self-sufficient living, weather-ready relaxation, and indoor freshness, the product lineup is designed to help homeowners transform their gardens into functional, comfortable, and enjoyable spaces.

Building the Foundation with Greater Efficiency

Every successful garden transformation begins with organization and preparation. Garvee’s Garden Cart is designed to support heavy-duty garden tasks with high load capacity, strong stability, and reliable movement across grass, gravel, and even snow. Its removable side meshes make it suitable for transporting irregular, oversized, or bulky items with ease.

Hex Wire Mesh, which is not only strong and durable but also incredibly easy to cut, bend, and install, you can effortlessly define your garden’s boundaries or protect your vegetable patches.

Supporting Self-Sufficient Living

The trend toward self-sufficiency continues to grow in Germany, with more households seeking fresh, organic produce from their own outdoor spaces. Garvee’s Metal Nesting Box helps bring that lifestyle closer to home by providing a durable, easy-to-clean solution for poultry keeping. With its multi-compartment structure and optimized ventilation, the Metal Nesting Box creates a comfortable environment for hens while supporting the daily convenience of fresh eggs at home.

Creating a Relaxing Outdoor Retreat

After the hard work is complete, Garvee’s Hanging Chair with Metal Frame offers a comfortable centerpiece for outdoor relaxation. Designed with the unpredictable German summer in mind, the chair includes a complimentary rain cover that can be quickly deployed during sudden showers, helping keep cushions dry and ready for use.

Extending Summer Freshness Indoors

Garvee’s 2026 summer upgrade concept also extends into the home. The Portable Air Conditioner provides flexible cooling with an easy-to-move design, helping households stay comfortable during midday heat. To complete the indoor-outdoor atmosphere, Garvee’s Artificial Plant brings lifelike greenery into the living space without watering, pruning, or maintenance. Together, these products create a seamless comfort experience from garden to home.

For more products, please visit Garvee or search “Garvee” on Amazon.

Hashtag: #Garvee

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

A broken collarbone couldn’t stop Kiwi equestrian Tim Price from delivering one of his best-ever results, as he surged to silver at the Badminton Horse Trials.

In a remarkable finish on Monday (NZ time), Price climbed from 10th after the dressage on the opening day, to sixth in the cross country phase, before jumping clear to secure silver.

The experienced multiple Olympian credits his upbringing with his parents and two brothers on a Canterbury farm for sparking his interest in the global equestrian stage.

“We had a small horse stud, 50 acres odd in Oxford, and there were horses coming out our ears,” the 46-year-old, Price said.

“I was working with horses young and old, and it was very normal to be dealing with horses every day.”

At the family-run block, stallions were bred to mares, before the pony club, show jumping and eventing competitions shaped the direction of Price’s life.

The three-time Olympian calls England home where he’s found a special rural corner of countryside with his wife Jonelle, who also competes at the highest level in three-day eventing for New Zealand.

“Down here in Dorset we’re in the middle of nowhere. It’s a beautiful farm with an excellent equestrian facility, owned by a great man who puts a lot into this estate,” Price said.

Of the husband and wife duo, Jonelle was the first to wear the silver fern at the 2012 Olympics Games in London.

The eventing power couple have represented New Zealand together now at Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.

Price said his silver medal at Badminton is only just starting to sink in after a couple of days.

Before the event, he tried his best to keep his broken collarbone from a biking injury under wraps.

“It wasn’t something I really wanted to make public in the last few big events, so I just said I had a busted shoulder,” he said.

“Badminton has eluded me. It’s a very difficult event to win. It’s tricky to get the best out of your horse so early in the northern hemishpere season.”

“I was really happy with the result with Falco, he was just class all the way through.”

The 17-year-old gelding is a superb jumper, however only time will if he can compete at the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

“He’s now been second at one of the biggest five star events at Badminton, he was sixth at the Paris Olympics, he’s been a great horse, not just for me, but for New Zealand in teams.”

“He’s getting a little on the older side, in two years time is the Los Angeles Olympics – that might just be a little late in his career for him.”

Nonetheless, Price has his sights firmly set on the World Championships with Falco later this year in Aachen in Germany.

“Possibly Burghley in the autumn – just to show everyone how cool he is.”

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Samsung 2026 TV line-up features Micro RGB, OLED, The Frame, Neo QLED, Mini LED and Crystal UHD models, brings smarter, personalised viewing experience with Vision AI Companion

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

• Innomotics wins several orders to provide motor and drive technology for eLNG projects, totaling a volume in the higher double-digit million EUR range
• Innomotics advances electrification of LNG production with eLNG solutions based on electric drive systems
• Significant operational, environmental, and financial benefits compared to conventional turbine-based LNG plants
• Enables decarbonization and supports global transition to sustainable energy systems

NUREMBERG, GERMANY – Newsaktuell – 11 May 2026 – Innomotics, a globally leading supplier of electric motor and large drive systems, has won several major orders for electrified LNG projects in Europe, Canada, Middle East and Australia. The total volume for all orders is in the higher double-digit million EUR range.

Innomotics is driving the transformation of LNG production with its innovative eLNG solutions. By replacing conventional gas turbine-based liquefaction processes with electrified drive systems, LNG operators can significantly increase efficiency, reduce emissions, and lower operating costs.

As global demand for cleaner energy continues to grow, LNG remains a key component of the energy mix. However, traditional LNG production is energy-intensive and associated with high greenhouse gas emissions. eLNG addresses these challenges by using electricity – including renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydropower – to liquefy natural gas, enabling a more sustainable and efficient production process.

The electrification of LNG plants is a key step in reducing reliance on fossil fuels and achieving decarbonization targets. Electric drive systems from Innomotics offer system efficiencies of up to 95%, significantly exceeding the performance of conventional gas turbines. At the same time, operators benefit from reduced maintenance requirements, with systems capable of running up to five years without scheduled shutdowns, and increased plant availability of up to 99.9%.

By integrating high-voltage motors and variable speed drives across the entire LNG value chain – from compression and refrigeration to storage and gas treatment – Innomotics enables a fully electrified production process. When powered by renewable energy, eLNG solutions can eliminate direct CO₂ emissions and reduce annual emissions by up to 500,000 tons, supporting operators in meeting regulatory requirements and sustainability goals.

“Electrification is the foundation for a sustainable future of LNG production. With our eLNG solutions, we enable operators to significantly improve efficiency, reduce emissions, and enhance reliability across the entire process. This not only strengthens competitiveness but also accelerates the transition towards net-zero operations,” says Michael Reichle, CEO of Innomotics.

He adds, “Operators are under increasing pressure to balance sustainability with profitability. Our electric drive systems deliver a compelling business case by lowering lifecycle costs, minimizing downtime, and ensuring maximum operational performance in demanding LNG environments.”

Recently awarded eLNG Projects

Pioneering eLNG success for Hammerfest in Norway:

Hammerfest is home to the world’s first all-electric LNG plant, operational since 2007. Equipped with two 65 MW refrigeration compressor drives, the facility has achieved over 15 years of successful operation with minimal maintenance and an exceptional availability rate of 99.88%. This project set a new standard for reliability and efficiency in the LNG sector, proving the long-term value of electric drive systems in demanding environments

Innovative floating LNG project in Canada:

This project represents the world’s first floating all-electric LNG facility. With four complete drive train systems of 35 MW each powering the main refrigeration compressors, the plant is designed to export three million tons of eLNG per year. The project demonstrates the scalability and flexibility of Innomotics technology, delivering high performance and low emissions in a unique offshore setting

Setting the global benchmark for an LNG plant in Qatar:

This LNG plant features multiple 60 MW and 45 MW trains, each with three refrigeration compressors. As the world’s LNG market leader, Qatar relies on Innomotics systems to deliver maximum availability and operational excellence. This large-scale deployment showcases our ability to support complex, high-capacity facilities with proven reliability and efficiency.

Lowest emissions through renewables at an LNG project in Canada:

The LNG plant is powered by renewable hydropower and features 50 MW LCI eLNG trains. The facility is designed to produce 2.1 million tons of LNG per year with the lowest emissions in the global LNG export industry. This reference highlights the environmental benefits of integrating electric drive technology with renewable energy sources.

Driving sustainability with carbon capture at a CCUS LNG project in Australia:

This project utilizes multiple medium voltage motors and drive systems totalling 297 MW for LNG production, combined with a carbon capture project. This installation demonstrates the compatibility of Innomotics solutions with advanced sustainability initiatives, enabling operators to reduce their carbon footprint while maintaining process efficiency

Additional eLNG materials:
Whitepaper on eLNG
Expert Video concerning electrified LNG
Reference projects and success stories
3D visualization in our virtual world: Innomotics Electrosphere

For more information, visit https://www.innomotics.com/hub/en/applications/electrified-lng

Follow us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/innomotics

Hashtag: #Innomotics

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

A political party named “Palestine Free From the River to the Sea” has been formed to contest the upcoming general election.

The party explicitly supports a single democratic state with equal rights for all from the river to the sea in the historic land of Palestine.

“We chose the party name to reflect our belief in freedom for all people,” says party President Paul Hopkinson, “but also to challenge the creeping fascism that seeks to silence our speech as a thought crime. Our party name itself is illegal in Queensland and Germany. They fear that the public will realise that we only ask that Palestinians have the same human rights that we all enjoy and our government claims to support.”

Aotearoa/New Zealand has a special responsibility to the Palestinian people as one of 33 nations to vote for the partition of Palestine in 1947. This precipitated the violent ethnic cleansing process known as the Nakba or Catastrophe.

MIL OSI

Dame Lisa Carrington won’t compete in the opening Canoe Sprint World Cup regatta in Hungary this weekend.

Dame Lisa was initially named in the K4 500m starting line-up alongside Olivia Brett, Greer Morley and Lucy Matehaere.

However on medical advice she has decided not to compete.

Aimee Fisher, who has concentrated in the single and double in recent years, will replace her in the K4.

Carrington recently announced that she was pregnant but would still race the Hungary and Germany World Cup regattas this month before taking 2027 off.

She did that she still intended to competed at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Fisher will also race the K1 500 heats on the opening day.

New Zealand has an eleven-strong team competing at the Hungary and Germany World Cup regattas.

Quaid Thompson will race the men’s K1 1000m and K1 5000m. James Munro, Kurtis Imrie, Hamish Legarth and Grant Clancy will race the men’s K4 500 and will also split up to race the K2 500.

Almost 700 athletes from more than 60 countries have arrived in the Hungarian city of Szeged with the event the start of the Olympic qualification cycle.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Dame Lisa Carrington won’t compete in the opening Canoe Sprint World Cup regatta in Hungary this weekend.

Dame Lisa was initially named in the K4 500m starting line-up alongside Olivia Brett, Greer Morley and Lucy Matehaere.

However Aimee Fisher, who has concentrated in the single and double in recent years, will replace her in the K4.

No reason has been given for the change.

Carrington recently announced that she was pregnant but would still race the Hungary and Germany World Cup regattas this month before taking 2027 off.

She did that she still intended to competed at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Fisher will also race the K1 500 heats on the opening day.

New Zealand has an eleven-strong team competing at the Hungary and Germany World Cup regattas.

Quaid Thompson will race the men’s K1 1000m and K1 5000m. James Munro, Kurtis Imrie, Hamish Legarth and Grant Clancy will race the men’s K4 500 and will also split up to race the K2 500.

Almost 700 athletes from more than 60 countries have arrived in the Hungarian city of Szeged with the event the start of the Olympic qualification cycle.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LOS ANGELES, US – Newsaktuell – 7 May 2026 – The newly released 2026 Berggruen Governance Index (BGI) paints a mixed picture of global governance heading into a future of mounting shocks, finding widespread gains in public-goods provision from 2000 to 2023 even as democratic accountability edged down and state capacity showed little overall improvement.

The BGI, presented Wednesday by an international group of governance scholars, analyses measurable benchmarks of democratic accountability across 145 countries.

On a 100-point scale, the global score for democratic accountability slipped slightly from 65 in 2000 to 64 in 2023, the most recent data used in the project. The wave of democratisation observed in the closing decades of the last century has stalled in the last 15 years. Democratic accountability fell in 54 countries while it improved in 48 countries.

Yet the BGI — a collaborative project of the Luskin School of Public Affairs at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Berlin’s Hertie School and the Berggruen Institute, a think tank headquartered in Los Angeles — captures remarkably widespread growth in provision of public goods.

Encompassing healthcare, education, infrastructure, environmental sustainability and conditions to foster employment and rising prosperity, public goods improved in 135 of the countries studied, while declining slightly in just four. The global average jumped from 58 to 69 points from 2000 to 2023.

The third component of what the BGI authors refer to as the “governance triangle” is state capacity, defined as the ability to tax, borrow and spend, control territory, operate scrupulous, competent bureaucracies and administer predictable rule of law. The index finds the global average ticking up from 48 to 49 points; 56 countries had increased state capacity while 57 declined.

“What does it tell us about the world ahead?” Prof. Helmut K. Anheier, a Luskin School sociologist and BGI principal investigator, asked during the public release of the 2026 BGI on the UCLA campus.

“Countries are not really improving in their governance performance in significant ways. … We’re not really having forward-looking investment in governance capacity. There is considerable inertia.”

The largest improvements across all three BGI components occurred in Gambia, which the report groups with “low-capacity developing states.” These states score low across the board, particularly in the provision of public goods. This cluster constitutes the poorest countries with the least developed economies, which face the most serious challenges.

“They have the greatest exposure to likely future crises, whether it’s global warming, whether it’s a new pandemic, whether it’s another financial crisis, whether it’s the impact of AI,” Anheier said. “And they have the least capacity to respond to it.”

Bhutan, Georgia, Iraq and Tunisia — which make up the remaining top five countries with the largest improvements in the BGI — are classified as “capacity-constrained states.” They tend to be middle-income with struggling democracies. These countries score higher across the board than the low-capacity developing states, but their state capacity tends to lag compared to public goods and democratic accountability.

The capacity-constrained states risk falling into “a cycle that erodes the institutions they have built,” Anheier said.

“Consolidated democratic states”, a cluster of most of the world’s richest countries, which score highly in all three BGI components, have to confront domestic complacency. Further, in the United States and some others, “political dysfunction” is leaving mounting problems unaddressed and risking erosion of state capacity, Anheier said.

At the other end of the spectrum, the country with the farthest fall on the BGI since 2000 is Nicaragua. Second from last is Venezuela, followed by Hong Kong, Hungary and Turkey. The rest of the bottom 10 are Russia, Iran, Poland, El Salvador and Belarus.

Since 2023, which is the last year of data available for the study, Poland and Hungary have both seen government changes via election, despite serious democratic backsliding. Both had fallen out of the group of “consolidated democratic states” by 2023 and moved into the capacity constrained cluster.

The other eight countries at the bottom of the list are all places that once had some semblance of competitive elections, but by now have little or no remaining pretense of democracy. They are grouped by the authors among the “authoritarian and hybrid states”, which have by far the lowest democratic accountability but outperform even some struggling democracies in delivering public goods.

These regimes have tended toward faster economic growth in the period observed. But that seeming prosperity, typically fueled by extractive industries or overreliance on exports, masks “serious institutional weaknesses in these countries, including divided elites,” Anheier said.

Relatively few countries — 21 of the 145 — changed enough for better or worse to be classified in a new group by the end of the 23-year study period.

“Movement between them is rare, but this is largely what we should expect,” said Stella Ghervas, a UCLA historian on a panel of experts who discussed the BGI findings Wednesday. “Government systems are not created in a moment. They evolve over long periods of time.”

Local conditions shaping governance in each country can rarely be quickly reset through political will or even external shocks, Joseph C. Saraceno, a Luskin School data scientist and BGI co-author, said Wednesday.

“Despite all the talk of major transformations happening in global affairs, the underlying configuration of governance simply doesn’t appear to change very much,” Saraceno said. “We use the term inertia to describe this reoccurring pattern. In other words, the structures of global governance are resistant to movement as the conditions beneath them are quite sticky: political economies, demographics, resource endowments. These are deeply layered, and they push each country toward the world that it already inhabits.”

But the challenges lurking around the world may not wait for the slow and difficult processes of political change and development to catch up.

“With the few exceptions of those countries in the consolidated democratic world,” Anheier said, “the great majority of the countries in the world is ill-prepared for the future.”

The full report, ‘ 2026 Berggruen Governance Index – The Four Worlds of Governance’, can be viewed and downloaded from the website of the UCLA’s Luskin School.

Frank Fuhrig, DNA

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The DNA content is an independent journalistic service that operates separately from the other services of the participating agencies. It is produced by editorial units that are not involved in the production of the agencies’ main news services. Nevertheless, the editorial standards of the agencies and their assurance of completely independent, impartial and unbiased reporting also apply here.

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The All Whites will play Haiti for the first time as one of their lead-up matches to the FIFA World Cup.

The New Zealanders take on the Caribbean side, who are ranked 83rd in the world, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on 3 June.

The match is just four days before the All Whites play England in their second warm-up game before their opening World Cup fixture against Iran nine days later.

The All Whites are ranked 85th in the world, while England are fourth.

Haiti are playing in the World Cup for the first time in 52 years, with their sole appearance being in West Germany in 1974. They qualified for this year’s Cup in dramatic fashion, needing to win their final two games and have other matches go their way. They will play Scotland, Brazil, and Morocco in their pool games.

“Since the draw, we have been working to lock in two games against fellow FIFA World Cup opposition to put us in the best place to perform at the tournament, and the combination of facing Haiti and England, both in Florida, is something we feel does exactly that,” All Whites head coach Darren Bazeley said in a statement.

“Haiti are a good side and are ranked at a similar level to us, so we feel that provides a perfect test as we get ready to kick off against Iran in LA.

“Having both games in Florida is hugely beneficial as it means we don’t lose any of our preparation time with travel days, and the players can properly rest and recover between matches.

“It is great to finally confirm the full schedule, and I know that the staff and the players can’t wait to get on the plane and get going.”

The All Whites will travel to their World Cup base camp in San Diego after the England match.

Their 26-player squad is expected to be announced within the next two weeks.

Upcoming Fixtures (NZT):

3 June

v Haiti, 12pm

Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

7 June 2026

v England, 8am

Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida.

16 June 2026

World Cup

v Iran, 1pm

Los Angeles Stadium, Los Angeles.

22 June 2026

v Egypt, 1pm

BC Place, Vancouver.

27 June 2026

v Belgium, 3pm

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

New Zealand has passed the “tipping point” where most people buying solar panels will save more money than they spend on them, researchers say, but more could be done to unlock households’ ability to make use of solar power.

Josh Ellison, research lead for Rewiring Aotearoa, said the country was one of the first where the electrification of homes and vehicles could deliver cost-of-living savings and reductions in emissions at the same time.

He said the tipping point was probably passed about three years ago but has now been crossed for battery storage systems, too.

It was helped by solar installation costs reducing and power prices increasing.

“It does depend on how much electricity the household consumers.

“A household consuming a lot of electricity, and especially a lot of electricity during the daytime – a household working from home for example, will be likely to save more…

“There will likely still be some households in more shady areas that are rarely using any electricity during the day where it might be harder to stack up. Although with today’s solar prices I would say that probably even those households might stack up.”

He said even houses that were not facing north now found solar paid off.

“Not every home will be in the sunshine but most New Zealand homes will. And for the average sunlight in New Zealand on a household, buying a solar system, including making the repayments for the system at the moment will save about $1000 per year net or create about $1000 of profit per year. And so, we’re now at that point where if households were able to finance solar in the same way that energy companies are allowed to build their assets and put it onto consumer bills, then most homes in New Zealand could have $1000 a year lower bills today.”

He said energy companies installing poles and wires could finance them over 50 years.

“They get to amortise that asset cost and then apply it to your bill and increase your bill based on the cost of the asset. If you were allowed to do the same thing with solar today, it would create about $1000 a year in net savings.”

He said it was cheaper to put solar on houses than build solar farms but only about 20 percent of households had access to green loans from banks to do so, because they often require sufficient equity in a house and for the homeowner to have an active mortgage.

Just under 84,000 customers now have solar power, up from 20,000 in 2018.

The largest number by zone are in the upper North Island, followed by the central North Island and then the upper South Island.

Ellison said even areas like Dunedin and Stewart Island were past the tipping point.

“They are a lot lower than the average in New Zealand, central Otago has some of the highest generation…. but the difference is actually not that large. We see similar savings across the country.”

Tim Sparks, Electricity Authority general manager of networks and systems change said there were a number of changes in progress that could boost household returns from solar power.

“We’re interested in enabling new technologies and we’re updating a bunch of industry rules so we can make better use of rooftop solar generation that’s being generated in communities.”

From next week, lines companies will be required to have a default export limit for people putting power back into the network of 10 kilowatts.

“That means people can basically put more solar power into the network than they could before.

“A lot of lines companies in the past have had much lower limits down at five kilowatts. And so, in some cases people were pushing up against that limit.”

He said the authority was also requiring distributors to pay rebates when power was supplied by household and small business customers in peak times.

That took effect on April 1, although electricity retailers reported different plans for how that would be handled.

Sparks said retailers would have different strategies but it was expected that they would use the rebates to compete.

He said the authority was also looking at ways to make the application process easier for people investing in solar panels. It is also reviewing rules around plug-in solar.

In some other countries “balcony solar”, where panels are plugged in and sit on an apartment balcony, for example, can be a popular solution.

“It’s big in Germany and it’s especially useful for people who rent or have an apartment. So, we’re looking at what rules might need to be changed or updated to enable plug-in solar here.”

Powerswitch general manager Paul Fuge said the economics of solar would usually stack up well if a house got good sun.

He said a recent survey showed 48 percent of households said they had considered installing solar. That was up from 42 percent in 2022.

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Wellington: The bottle bill proposal announced today by NZ First is strongly supported by New Zealanders and backed by extensive international evidence showing Container Return Schemes deliver major gains in recycling and litter reduction.

“The evidence is clear: container return schemes work and New Zealanders want one,” said Robert Kelman, Director Reloop Pacific. “This is a practical, well-tested policy that delivers real environmental and community benefits and we hope all New Zealand political parties back the legislation.”

Recent nationwide polling shows more than three-quarters of New Zealanders support a Container Return Scheme, with support cutting across all political parties, age groups and regions. Public backing is also strong worldwide. Surveys across more than a dozen countries show around 80% support for Container Return Schemes, with support often even higher where schemes are already operating. Support tends to grow once a scheme is up and running.

Countries with well-designed schemes routinely achieve return rates above 90%, including Germany (98%), Finland (99%) and Norway (92%). In Lithuania, return rates increased from 34% to around 90% within two years of their scheme’s introduction. International experience shows container return schemes are one of the most effective recycling policies available.

New Zealand already has a co-designed, locally tailored draft scheme that has undergone extensive analysis and consultation. With more than 2.5 billion drink containers sold each year and many still ending up in landfill or litter, a Container Return Scheme represents a proven, popular solution to boost recycling and cut litter.

“New Zealand has the public support, the international proof points and a ready-made scheme design. What we need now is for Parliament to get on with it,” said Kelman.

Independent situation analysis and international evidence
https://www.reloopplatform.org/resources/policy-development-for-a-container-return-scheme-in-new-zealand-situation-analysis

MIL OSI

Porsche Design Tower Bangkok Showcased to Global Yacht Collectors at Singapore Yachting Festival 2026

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

The Crown agency charged with attracting foreign students has told MPs the fuel crisis is a potential risk to enrolments.

Education New Zealand (ENZ) appeared before Parliament’s Education and Workforce Select Committee this week.

Its acting chief executive Linda Sissons said it monitored several risks that could affect countries from which New Zealand attracted students.

“There’s a very current set of calculations being taken right now with regard to risks around fuel uncertainty, geopolitical uncertainty,” she said.

“While as yet we do not believe they’ve affected enrolments, it is something that is under weekly regard.”

Sissons said the fuel crisis could affect students’ ability to travel to New Zealand for study.

She told the committee the free trade agreement with India would benefit the sector.

She said ENZ had appointed its first regional director for India and the government recently signed research and scholarship agreements.

“Apart from that, I think that what will be particularly of value to New Zealand will be the post-study work visa situation that comes with the free trade agreement,” she said.

“Students who have done a New Zealand qualification will be able, if they have a bachelor or master’s in a STEM subject … to have extended post-study work rights and I think the ongoing value to New Zealand and to our own economy will be very enhanced by that.”

Sissons said ENZ wanted accelerated growth in Sri Lanka and was researching four emerging markets where it currently did not have a big presence – Nepal, Taiwan, Italy and France.

She told the committee there were nearly 84,000 international students in New Zealand in 2024/25.

She said they contributed $4.6 billion to the economy in direct spending by students and ENZ’s goal was to grow that figure to $7.2b by 2034.

Sissons said surveys showed New Zealand was in the top three countries for 22 percent of prospective international students and on a par with countries like Germany and Singapore.

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STUTTGART, GERMANY / BANGKOK, THAILAND – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 April 2026 -Porsche Design Tower Bangkok and Christie’s co-hosted The Collector’s Evening, an exclusive invitation-only event held at The Peak, Gaysorn Tower, Bangkok. The private gathering brought together rare highlights from Christie’s forthcoming Hong Kong and Geneva auctions before a distinguished audience of collectors, investors, and wealth intermediaries, marking one of the most distinguished gatherings of collectors Bangkok has seen this year.

The auction preview brought together a rare timepiece, a significant work of jewelry art, and a highly limited collectible — each with a provenance and a place in the collector market that extends well beyond its auction estimate. The evening was led by Vickie Sek, Deputy Chairman and Asia Pacific Chairman of Christie’s, and Alexandre Bigler, Senior Vice President and Head of Watches for Asia Pacific, whose attendance of the event in Bangkok reflects the growing weight of the city’s collector community on the regional stage. This year marks Christie’s 40th year of presence in Asia.

Porsche Design Tower Bangkok served as co-host — an adequate setting that reflects the exclusivity of the objects on display. Born from the collaboration between Porsche Design and Ananda Development PCL, the tower is guided by Professor F. A. Porsche’s founding principle of optimising function while uncompromisingly reducing form to the essentials. The result is ‘Sky Villa’ residences — distinguished by design, exclusive in the truest sense, and coveted by those who understand the true meaning and value of architectural excellence. With just 22 residences, Porsche Design Tower Bangkok underscores its profound exclusivity but unequivocally establishes it as an unparalleled, coveted address. Beyond the preview, the evening served as an intimate occasion for Porsche Design Tower Bangkok to host its clients and prospective owners within a setting that reflected the project’s own collector values.

Central to that distinction is the ‘Passion Space’ — a private collector’s garage directly connected to each residence by private lift. Whatever its owner chooses to place within it, the ‘Passion Space’ was designed with the same conviction that defined the evening: that what individuals surround themselves with is never incidental.

Porsche Design Tower Bangkok emerges as one of merely two Porsche Design residential towers globally, drawing a parallel only with its prestigious Miami counterpart.

For those who value the extraordinary, Porsche Design Tower Bangkok welcomes private viewings by appointment at pdtowerbangkok.com.

Hashtag: #PorscheDesign

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

There’s increasing support to lift the cultural status of vocational training to equal that of a university education.

A report by The New Zealand Initiative largely supports a Ministry of Education proposal to replace NCEA exams with a qualification system that includes trade-related skills.

“A feature of the proposed new qualifications system is industry-led subjects to strengthen vocational education,” report author Michael Johnston said, which should be a catalyst for change.

“A tradie can earn as much as a policy analyst, so why does New Zealand still treat university as the gold standard,”

Johnston said there was a degree of snobbery associated with having a university degree, which was holding New Zealand back from realising the economic benefits seen in other advanced economies, such as Germany and Switzerland that placed a high value on trades qualifications.

“If we can start to attract students who, perhaps, traditionally, haven’t gone into the trades, then we can start to change the narrative about the status of them.

“But the other thing is resourcing and most schools are not set up to run these kinds of vocational programs at scale.”

He said some funding for universities could be diverted to assist with the transition.

“Let’s repurpose that money and give schools a bit of top-up funding for every enrolment they get in an industry-led subject that they can then use either to hire new teachers or to perhaps partner with a tertiary institution or some employers to give high quality work, integrated learning opportunities, so that they can really do a good job of adopting these subjects and making them really something.”

He said traditional trades, such as building and plumbing would be supported, along with other more technical trades in the field of the emerging fields of robotics and other applied technologies.

The report indicates vocational training could be aligned with eight industry skill boards, established 1 January 2026. Their areas of responsibility included developing skills criteria for the following trades:

• Transport
• Electrotechnology and Information Technology
• Education, Health and Community
• Energy and Infrastructure
• Manufacturing and Engineering
• Services
• Food and Fibre
• Construction and Specialist Trades

“Historically, New Zealand’s school qualifications have been much more strongly geared towards university-track education than vocational education. This has entrenched the lower status of vocational education,” Johnston said.

He said subjects like mathematics, history, science, and geography equip students with broad knowledge of the natural and human worlds.

“For the first ten years of schooling, that skew is justified,” Johnston said.

“But from Year 11 on, students are preparing for life and work beyond school. The continued dominance of academic subjects in that phase of schooling becomes narrowing for young people. Too often, they don’t see or think of options other than university.”

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HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 28 April 2026 – Following its successful presentation at LANDMARK, Central in March, the 2nd MOTIFX – Embracing the Beauty of Chinese Culture will be showcased at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from 27 to 30 April 2026, as part of Home InStyle and Fashion InStyle 2026.

Home InStyle and Fashion InStyle bring together a wide range of international brands celebrated for their craftsmanship and creativity, serving as a dynamic platform for exchange across the design and lifestyle industries while sparking new ideas and collaborations.

Organised by the Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) under the Vocational Training Council (VTC), and sponsored by the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA), the 2nd MOTIFX invites emerging designers to reinterpret traditional Chinese motifs for contemporary living. Under the theme “Culture to Nature – A Surreal Garden of Botanical Patterns,” the exhibition explores the Chinese “grass” radical (艹 / 艸) through diverse creative perspectives. The works span a range of contexts and formats, from two- and three-dimensional pieces to both physical and digital mediums.

Curated by Michael LEUNG, the exhibition features works by 30 local design students and emerging designers from a range of disciplines, alongside participating local and international designers including Chulan KWAK, Cynthia MAK, Made by Sandwich, Karmuel YOUNG, Tomy NG, Moon.noon, STICKYLINE, and Leona FUNG. Over 100 original patterns inspired by the 艹 / 艸 radical bloom in Chinese character across the exhibition space, each rooted in the same ancient, ever‑living origin yet expressing distinct creative voices.

Artist Panel Discussion: “Cultural Fusion in Lifestyle Design: The Surreal Aesthetics of MOTIFX”
30 Apr 2026 | 11am-12pm

On 30 April 2026, in an artist panel discussion titled “Cultural Fusion in Lifestyle Design: The Surreal Aesthetics of MOTIFX,” moderated by Edith CHEUNG, Creative Director of MOTIFX, curator Michael LEUNG, artist Leona FUNG, and Moon HUNG will share their insights on blending traditional Chinese elements with contemporary lifestyle design. Through their works across multiple MOTIFX venues, they will discuss the effortless fusion of East and West in Hong Kong’s creative life, revealing the surreal beauty born from cultural intersection.

Featured Highlights: From Calligraphic Lines to Gardens of Time

Chulan KWAK – “Cursive Structure”

Chulan KWAK’s Cursive Structure series transforms two‑dimensional calligraphy into three‑dimensional objects. Inspired by the flowing strokes of Caoshu (草書) and the Small Seal Script (小篆體) form of the 艹 / 艸 radical, the work turns “Radical Grass (艹 / 艸)” into a pair of low chairs.

By keeping the distinction between 艹 / 艸 and 木 (tree), the pieces are set apart from the vertical form of trees and bring the energy and tension of calligraphic brushwork into physical space.

Cynthia MAK – “Tea Lamp”

Drawing inspiration from the Chinese character 茶 （tea） and the poetic essence of “Life is like tea – bitter at first, then sweet,” Cynthia reflects on life’s delicate balance between darkness and brightness in her creation, “Tea Lamp”. She reimagines the traditional Chinese lantern through vibrant colours and geometric abstraction, which serves as a warm reminder that, after a bitter day, a gentle radiance always awaits at home.

Made by Sandwich – “Garden of States”

Made by Sandwich’s Garden of Time probes the philosophical relationship between the 艹/ 艸 radical and time. The designers argue that numerous 艹/艸 – derived characters (such as 茂, 蘇, 萎, 荒) illustrate the shifting conditions of plants across time rather than static shapes. The work breaks away from a linear conception of time, layering moments of growth, decline, and disappearance onto a single visual. By assembling these “time slices” into one composition, it constructs a garden of time in which multiple states coexist, showing the simultaneous presence of flourishing and disappearance.

Karmuel YOUNG & Tomy NG – “Tower”

Inspired by the radical grass symbol (艹 / 艸), Karmuel YOUNG and Tomy NG collaborate on the multimedia work, “Tower”. A still yet highly charged installation that captures a moment of growth, “Tower” fuses art, fashion, and furniture using contemporary raw materials, dutifully interpreting growth as a process of emergence, layering, and change.

Karmuel shapes the base on Suprematist and Constructivist ideas, using rigid geometric forms and a neutral palette to highlight the texture of the materials, creating a stable, balanced yet restrained structure.

Tomy adds a glowing cellular element that acts as both light and living form. The floor lamp is designed as a suspended “cell”: a translucent 3D‑printed resin core wrapped in an inflatable latex membrane that functions like a placenta. As the latex inflates and deflates, the shape expands and contracts, shifting between open and enclosed states. Compared with the solid base, the structure feels fragile, porous, and time‑based, turning light into a living presence shaped by pressure and duration.

Immersive Experiences: The Intersection of Virtual and Reality

The exhibition utilizes multi-media works and installations, leading visitors into a sensory experience.

Moon.noon – “Blossom Unbounds”

Moon.noon’s “Blossom Unbounds” creates a multisensory, immersive experience that brings together dynamic visuals and music into one seamless environment for MOTIFX. Drawing inspiration from the grass radical (艹 / 艸) in Chinese characters, the work abstracts botanical forms into flowing patterns that reflect the cycles of the 24 solar terms and local flora.

Visual and auditory elements are carefully combined so that viewers move between the real and the digital, experiencing the changing seasons—from spring’s blossoming to winter’s quiet dormancy—and feeling the continuous rhythm of nature and culture. The installation invites personal discovery while dissolving the boundaries between traditional art and immersive, sensory‑driven design.

STICKYLINE – “Geometric Variants in Growth”

STICKYLINE’s large-scale installation Geometric Variants in Growth questions the boundary between the virtual and the real. This lush geometric jungle is built entirely from the endless stacking of two simple paper modules, each patterned with lines that resemble leaf veins while also echoing digital barcodes.

The work suggests that, as we allow real, tangible nature to gradually fade away, every like, share, and copy‑paste on social media nurtures an ever‑expanding virtual jungle that spirals out of control.

By inviting visitors to step into this man-made landscape, the installation prompts reflection on the increasingly blurred symbiosis between humans and nature—where both are quietly disappearing at once.

Contemporary Transformations of Traditional Craft

The exhibition also features works by artist Leona FUNG. Her brand ByLeona’s premium porcelain series blends the auspicious symbolism of traditional Chinese floral motifs with contemporary geometric aesthetics.

Leona moves beyond ceramics as mere tableware, selectively blended in Motifx ambassadors’ pattern with ByLeona’s original designs, extending intricate patterns onto functional objects such as floor lamps, mirrors, and candle holders. Guided by the principle that “every pattern carries meaning, and every meaning is auspicious,” she seamlessly integrates cultural symbols into modern living spaces, showing how traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design can speak to each other.

This April, step into the symbolic world hidden within Chinese characters and immerse yourself in the myriad forms of this fantastical natural realm.

Curator: Michael LEUNG
Born in Hong Kong, Michael LEUNG earned his Master’s degree from Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands, where he later founded Studio AA (previously MIRO). His practice spans graphic, product, and spatial design, often exploring the intersections of craftsmanship and industry, local culture, and sustainability. Recipient of the Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award and Perspective 40 Under 40, his work has been showcased at Milan Design Week, Dutch Design Week, and other major international exhibitions. In recent years, he has collaborated with institutions such as the Vitra Design Museum (Germany) and the V&A (UK), extending his creative vision into exhibition curation.

Participating Designers
Chulan KWAK
Chulan KWAK is a Seoul‑based designer whose work spans sculpture, furniture, and spatial design. Trained in craft and conceptual design (BFA, Hongik University; MA, Design Academy Eindhoven), he focuses on transforming the energy and rhythm of calligraphy into three‑dimensional form, allowing shapes to extend as if freely brushed through space.

His practice centres on the distinction between the static line and the dynamic stroke, using layered plywood and MDF to construct fluid, volumetric gestures that replace carving with assembly. Through his ongoing Cursive Structure series, KWAK turns calligraphic strokes into chairs, benches, and sculptures that capture movement, balance, and the constant transformation of nature and form.

Cynthia MAK
Cynthia MAK is an emerging Hong Kong artist and designer whose work is known for its distinctive compositional language and geometric arrangements, forming a unique abstract style. Her paintings combine colour, form, and aesthetic judgment with emotional expression, drawing viewers into a cheerful and uplifting atmosphere.

Initially drawn to art as a way to express herself beyond words, Cynthia re‑engaged with painting during the 2021 pandemic, embracing the creative control it offered and embarking on a new professional path. Her work has been shown at institutions such as the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Ginza Six in Tokyo, and Abu Dhabi Art, and she has collaborated with renowned brands including Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Isetan Shinjuku, and Hong Kong Landmark on projects that bring joy to audiences and promote a healthy lifestyle.

Made By Sandwich

Made by Sandwich is a Shanghai‑based creative collective founded in 2023. Attuned to the fast‑changing visual landscape, the studio offers integrated services including visual identity, packaging design, book and publication design, 3D and motion design, and exhibition curation. At Made by Sandwich, design is not just an output but the condition for fostering communication.

Karmuel YOUNG

Karmuel YOUNG is a Hong Kong–based menswear designer and founder of the cross‑media brand KARMUEL YOUNG. After graduating, he worked at Damir Doma in Paris and Ute Ploier in Vienna, then returned to Hong Kong to lead creative projects at Lane Crawford and design menswear for I.T. He launched his label in 2014, initially focusing on footwear and accessories, and presented his first full menswear collection in 2019.

He has received Lane Crawford’s “Creative Call Out” award and was named one of “10 Asian Designers To Watch” in 2021. The brand continues to explore innovative cutting, sustainability, and cross‑disciplinary collaborations, gradually building a contemporary men’s wardrobe.

Leona FUNG

Leona FUNG is the founder and artist of Hong Kong aesthetic brand ByLeona. Born and raised in Hong Kong, she studied at the University of Cambridge and began her career in private banking before launching her own ceramic brand, combining business insight with artistic sensibility.

Leona specialises in translating Eastern cultural symbols through modern design, using ceramics and home‑living products to express an “Eastern essence, Western expression” aesthetic. Her works have been shown at international platforms such as Maison&Objet and Fine Art Asia, and are now in the Hong Kong Palace Museum, the Hong Kong Museum of Art, and other art institutions, high‑end hotels, and shopping malls. She also creates bespoke designs for global brands, promoting contemporary Eastern aesthetics and cross‑cultural dialogue.

Exhibition Details

The 2nd MOTIFX – Embracing the Beauty of Chinese Culture
@ Home InStyle & Fashion InStyle 2026
Date: 27–30 April 2026
Time:
9:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. (Monday to Wednesday)
9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Thursday)
Venue: Booth 3CON‑001, Hall 3E South Concourse area,
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

“Cultural Fusion in Lifestyle Design: The Surreal Aesthetics of MOTIFX” Artist Panel Discussion
Date: 30 April 2026 (Thursday)
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Venue: THE RUNWAY, Halls 3FG, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
Moderator: Ms. Edith Cheung
Speaker: Mr. Michael Leung, Ms. Leona Fung, Mr. Moon Hung

Hashtag: #MOTIFX

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

STUTTGART, GERMANY & SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 23 April 2026 – Blending the worlds of high-performance automotive engineering and architectural permanence, Porsche Design Tower Bangkok will make its highly anticipated regional showcase at the Singapore Yachting Festival 2026. Taking place from 23 to 26 April at ONE°15 Marina Sentosa Cove, the festival offers an exceptional opportunity to showcase a unique project that transcends conventional luxury real estate.

Arriving not merely as a residential property, but as a collectible, design-led, ultra-luxury real estate project, Porsche Design Tower Bangkok presents a once-in-a-generation offering. Amidst a spectacular showcase of the world’s finest superyachts, the festival offers Asia’s most discerning yacht owners and collectors a rare opportunity to discover a masterclass in structural originality and absolute privacy. The goal is to connect directly with a global audience of yacht owners and collectors, aligning perfectly with the project’s target group of collectors of exceptional assets.

The centerpiece of this regional showcase is a highly exclusive, invitation-only gathering held within the festival’s newly introduced Spotlight Zone. On Sunday, 26 April, from 2:45 PM to 4:00 PM, an intimate group limited to just 50 guests will be immersed in a bespoke narrative titled “Porsche Design: Shaping Performance, Designing the Future.”

For invited guests, this truly unique experience is meticulously crafted as a curated and intimate occasion. Attendees will be invited into a sophisticated and comfortable setting, designed to facilitate meaningful connections within an exclusive global community of like-minded collectors, prominent thought leaders, and Luminaries

During this intimate afternoon, guests will discover how the philosophy behind Porsche’s legendary sports cars has been seamlessly translated into an outstanding living environment limited to just 22 units. The discourse will highlight the ingenuity behind the tower’s defining architectural features and qualities—revealing how engineering marvels like ‘The Loop’ spiral vehicle ramp and ‘The Passion Space’ elevate automotive ownership into a refined collector’s ritual.

For the region’s exclusive global clientele, this debut represents an exclusive invitation to experience the future of automotive-inspired residences, reinforcing Porsche Design Tower Bangkok’s status as a highly sought-after masterpiece and the definitive reference point in global architectural design.

For discerning individuals wishing to experience this architectural masterpiece in person, the Show Suite based in Bangkok welcomes guests by private appointment only. To inquire about a private viewing, please contact sales@pdtowerbangkok.com or visit pdtowerbangkok.com.

Hashtag: #Ananda #PorcheDesign

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Porsche Design Tower Bangkok

The Porsche Design Tower Bangkok sets a new standard for ultra luxury living with its limited offering of just 22 exclusive residences. Located on Sukhumvit 38, one of Bangkok’s most prestigious addresses, this groundbreaking project is the first of its kind in Asia and the third globally, following Miami and Stuttgart. Designed for ultra-high-net-worth individuals seeking unparalleled exclusivity, the tower offers residents the perfect blend of serene living in the coveted Thonglor neighborhood, with easy access to the city’s most vibrant attractions and amenities. Among its standout features are the customizable “Passion Spaces”—private, in-unit garages that allow residents to showcase their prized car collections, creating a truly unique living experience.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

Dame Lisa Carrington is competing but two other members of the Olympic champion four are missing from the New Zealand Canoe Sprint team named to compete in Europe.

An eleven strong team has been announced for World Cup regattas in Hungary and Germany next month.

Dame Lisa announced her pregnancy earlier this month and said she wouldn’t compete beyond these two events but that the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics remained her goal.

Missing from the squad were Alicia Hoskin and Tara Vaughan, who were part of the gold medal winning K4 crew in Paris in 2024. Hoskin also won gold with Carrington in the K2 event.

Hoskin was recovering from surgery after suffering from a rare condition that restricted blood flow to her arm. The 26-year-old admitted she was unsure if she will be able to train to an Olympic level again.

Lucy Matehaere, who was a member of last year’s squad, had been selected, while Greer Morley was the newcomer to the women’s elite squad.

Aimee Fisher, the 2021 K1-500 world champion, had been New Zealand’s singles representative in recent years and was expected to continue in that boat.

The men’s squad was headlined by Paris Olympians Kurtis Imrie, Grant Clancy and Hamish Legarth.

These World Cup events begin the two year qualification process for the LA 2028 Olympics.

New Zealand Canoe Sprint team:

Aimee Fisher, Hawkes Bay Kayak Racing Club

Finn Murphy, North Shore Canoe Club (Paracanoe – Germany WC only)

Grant Clancy, North Shore Canoe Club

Greer Morley, North Shore Canoe Club

Hamish Legarth, Hawkes Bay Kayak Racing Club

James Munro, Otago Kayak Racing Club

Kurtis Imrie, Mana Kayak Club

Lisa Carrington, Eastern Bay Canoe Racing Club

Lucy Matehaere, Otago Kayak Racing Club

Olivia Brett, Arawa Canoe Club

Quaid Thompson, Poverty Bay Kayak Club

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

The Football Ferns are up two spots to number 33 in the latest women’s world football rankings.

Last week the Ferns qualified for the 2027 FIFA World Cup by winning the Oceania series.

Papua New Guinea, who were the beaten finalists, are the next best ranked team in Oceania at number 57.

The biggest climber in the rankings, which haven’t been updated since December, was American Samoa who are up 17 places to 120.

There is no change at the top of the rankings with Spain number one from the USA and England, who move up one from fourth replacing Germany.

The rest of the top ten is Japan, Brazil, France, Sweden, Canada and the Netherlands.

A team have bowed out of the standings, with the British Virgin Islands no longer featuring.

The Concacaf minnows relinquish their place after having gone four years without a fixture, bringing the pool down to 197 teams.

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HANOI, VIETNAM – Media OutReach Newswire – 21 April 2026 – VinDynamics, a technology company of Vingroup, today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Schaeffler, a leading global motion technology company headquartered in Germany. The partnership aims to foster joint research and development and lay the groundwork for future commercial agreements concerning core components for humanoid robots. This milestone represents a significant step forward in VinDynamics’ strategy to advance humanoid robotics, while unlocking new opportunities to accelerate innovation and expand technological collaboration between the two companies on a global scale.

Under the MOU, VinDynamics and Schaeffler will collaborate on the research, development, and optimization of key components for humanoid robots, including actuator systems and motors. The partnership will focus on evaluating and refining prototype actuators or actuator components developed by Schaeffler, encompassing mechanical, gearbox, and hardware parameters, with due consideration for key components, tolerances, materials, and manufacturability.

In addition, VinDynamics will conduct technical assessments and optimization of its control software to ensure seamless compatibility and effective integration with the proposed actuator systems. Both parties will share relevant technical information and best practices necessary for the efficient execution of the project, in full compliance with the agreed confidentiality provisions.

Following the Start of Production, to be defined under a subsequent project agreement, the collaboration is expected to extend to the provision of advice and support in product simulation and validation to enhance system performance and reliability. VinDynamics will share operational product data of the actuators with Schaeffler, which Schaeffler may utilize to further improve actuator designs and performance.

The collaboration between VinDynamics and Schaeffler is anticipated to drive meaningful breakthroughs in the field of humanoid robotics, particularly by accelerating the research and development of highly complex and mission-critical components such as actuator systems and motor assemblies. Schaeffler’s extensive heritage and global reputation in motion technology, combined with VinDynamics’ strengths in robotics research, system design, and integration, establish a powerful foundation for setting new technological benchmarks in the industry.

Mr. La Manh Hung, President of VinDynamics, said: “We are honored to collaborate with Schaeffler, one of the world’s foremost motion technology companies with a distinguished legacy of innovation and engineering excellence. This partnership represents not only a convergence of technological capabilities but also a strategic alignment of vision, as both organizations are committed to shaping the future of humanoid robotics. We believe that by combining our respective strengths, this collaboration will unlock transformative opportunities and accelerate the transition of humanoid robots from research environments to impactful real-world applications across both industrial and everyday settings.“

Mr. Maximilian Fiedler, Regional CEO Asia/Pacific of Schaeffler, said: “VinDynamics is an inspiring technology partner with a clear and ambitious vision for humanoid robotics. Our collaboration underscores Schaeffler’s commitment to working alongside pioneering innovators to advance the next generation of motion technologies. By integrating Schaeffler’s decades of expertise in actuator and drive technologies with VinDynamics’ capabilities in developing next-generation robotic systems, we are confident that this partnership will deliver significant technological advancements and contribute to shaping how humanoid robots are deployed in the future.“

Established in September 2025, VinDynamics is a pioneering company in the field of humanoid robotics within Vingroup. The company is dedicated to developing versatile, human-centric robots capable of seamless integration into everyday life, with the scalability to support global deployment.

Schaeffler, with more than 80 years of leadership in motion technology, is one of the world’s largest family-owned industrial companies, employing approximately 110,000 people and operating more than 250 locations across 55 countries.

Hashtag: #VinDynamics

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

21 April 2026 – Amnesty International calls on states to stop predatory, anti-rights order from taking hold in pivotal moment for humanity

Predatory attacks on multilateralism, international law and civil society marked 2025
The alternative on offer is a racist, patriarchal, unequal and anti-rights world order
Protesters, activists and global bodies are working to resist, disrupt and transform

The world is on the brink of a perilous new era, driven by powerful states’, corporations’ and anti-rights movements’ assaults on multilateralism, international law and human rights, Amnesty International warned today upon launching its annual report, The State of the World’s Human Rights. States, international bodies and civil society must reject the politics of appeasement and collectively resist these attacks to prevent this new order from taking hold, the organization said in its assessment of the human rights situation in 144 countries.

“We are confronting the most challenging moment of our age. Humanity is under attack from transnational anti-rights movements and predatory governments determined to assert their dominance through unlawful wars and brazen economic blackmail,” said Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard.

“For years, Amnesty International has denounced the gradual disintegration of human rights in every part of the world, warning of the consequences of flagrant rule-breaking by governments and corporate actors. We’ve also demonstrated time and again how double standards and selective compliance with international law have weakened the multilateral system and accountability.

“What marks this moment as fundamentally different is that we’re no longer documenting erosion around the system’s edges. This is a direct assault on the foundations of human rights and the international rules-based order by the most powerful actors for the purpose of control, impunity and profit.

“The spiralling conflict in the Middle East is a product of this descent into lawlessness. Following the initial unlawful US-Israeli attacks in violation of the UN Charter, which triggered Iran’s indiscriminate retaliation, the conflict has quickly morphed into an open warfare against civilians and civilian infrastructure, exacerbating the already catastrophic suffering of people across the region. It is now engulfing countries around the world, impacting populations everywhere, and threatening the livelihood of millions. This is what happens when the norms, institutions and legal framework painstakingly built to safeguard humanity are hollowed out for the purpose of domination.”

“Amnesty’s 2025 annual report moves beyond warning of imminent breakdown to documenting a collapse now underway, and exposing its devastating consequences for human rights, global stability and the lives of millions in 2026 and beyond. It calls on states around the world to urgently reject the politics of appeasement embraced in 2025, overcome fear, and resist in words and actions the construction of a predatory world order.”

Predatory attacks are accelerating the destruction of international law

The State of the World’s Human Rights, and Amnesty International’s documentation so far this year, detail pervasive crimes under international law and mounting attacks on the international justice system, which are gravely harming the foundations that underpin human rights globally.

Israel has maintained its genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, despite the October 2025 ceasefire agreement, and its system of apartheid over Palestinians, while accelerating the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and taking steps toward annexation. Israeli authorities have increasingly allowed or encouraged settlers to attack and terrorize Palestinians with impunity, and prominent officials have praised and glorified violence against Palestinians, including arbitrary arrests and the torture of detainees.

The United States of America has committed over 150 extrajudicial executions by bombing boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, and carried out an act of aggression against Venezuela in January 2026. Russia has intensified its aerial attacks on critical civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, while Myanmar’s military used motorized paragliders to drop explosive munitions on villages last year, killing dozens of civilians, including children.

The United Arab Emirates has fuelled the conflict in Sudan by providing advanced Chinese weaponry to the Rapid Support Forces, who seized control of El Fasher last October after an 18-month siege of the city and committed mass civilian killings and sexual violence. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the M23 armed group, with the active support of Rwanda, captured the cities of Goma and Bukavu and unlawfully killed civilians and tortured detainees.

In early 2026, the USA and Israel’s unlawful use of force against Iran, in violation of the UN Charter, has triggered retaliatory Iranian strikes on Israel and Gulf Cooperation Council countries, while Israel has escalated its attacks on Lebanon. From the killing of over 100 children in an unlawful US strike on a school in Iran, to the devastating attacks by all parties on energy infrastructure, the conflict has endangered the lives and health of millions of civilians and threatens to inflict vast, predictable and long-term civilian and environmental harm, impacting access to energy, healthcare, food and water across an already turbulent region and beyond.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban escalated its predatory policies against the female population, with further bans prohibiting them from education, work and freedom of movement, while in Iran, the authorities massacred protesters in January 2026, in what was likely the most lethal such repression for decades.

The USA, Israel and Russia further undermined international accountability mechanisms, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) in particular, last year. The Trump administration enacted sanctions against ICC staff, collaborators and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, while Russian courts issued arrest warrants against ICC officials. Several other states withdrew or announced their intention to withdraw from the Rome Statute and treaties banning cluster munitions and anti-personnel mines.

The vast majority of states have been unwilling or unable to consistently denounce predatory acts by the USA, Russia, Israel or China, or to chisel out diplomatic solutions. The European Union and most European states appeased US assaults on international law and multilateral mechanisms. They have failed to take meaningful action to stop Israel’s genocide or end the irresponsible arms and technology transfers fuelling crimes under international law around the world. They have also been unwilling to enact blocking statutes to protect the targets of US sanctions, including on ICC judges and prosecutors. Italy and Hungary declined to arrest individuals subject to ICC warrants in their territory, while France, Germany and Poland implied they would do the same.

“World leaders have been far too submissive in the face of attacks on international law and the multilateral system. Their silence and inaction are inexcusable. It is morally bankrupt and will bring nothing but retreat, defeat and the erasure of decades of hard-fought human rights gains. To appease aggressors is to pour fuel on a fire that will burn us all and scorch the future for generations to come,” said Agnès Callamard.

“Some may be tempted to dismiss the system built over the last 80 years as nothing but an illusion. This is to ignore the hard-fought achievements towards the recognition of universal rights, the adoption of multiple international conventions and national laws protecting against racial discrimination and violence against women, enshrining the rights of workers and trade unions, and recognizing the rights of Indigenous Peoples. It is to forget the poverty addressed, the reproductive rights strengthened and the justice delivered when states chose to uphold the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  

“The political and economic predators, and their enablers, are declaring the multilateral system dead not because it’s inefficient but because it’s not serving their hegemony and control. The response is not to proclaim it an illusion or beyond repair, but to confront its failures, end its selective application and keep transforming it so that it’s fully capable of defending all people with equal resolve.”

Ramped-up assaults on civil society spread around the world

The proliferation of attacks on civil society and social movements deepened in 2025, with sustained efforts to silence and disempower human rights defenders, organizations and dissenters spreading to almost every part of the world.

Authorities in Nepal and Tanzania were particularly brazen in their unlawful use of lethal force to repress protests expressing political and socio-economic grievances. The governments of Afghanistan, China, Egypt, India, Kenya, the USA and Venezuela, among others, also violently repressed protests, criminalized dissent through counterterrorism and security laws, or used abusive policing tactics, enforced disappearances or extrajudicial executions.

In the United Kingdom, authorities proscribed Palestine Action, a direct-action protest network primarily targeting Israeli arms manufacturers and their subsidiaries, under overly broad counterterrorism laws and arrested more than 2,700 people for peacefully opposing the ban. The UK High Court ruled this unlawful in February 2026. The government is appealing the decision.

Turkish authorities detained hundreds of peacefully protesters after the arrest of Istanbul mayor and presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is among over 400 people facing politically motivated prosecution under alleged corruption charges.

US authorities launched an unlawful clampdown on migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, committing unnecessary and excessive use of force, racial profiling, arbitrary detention, and practices that amounted to torture and enforced disappearance. In Latin America, states such as Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela adopted or reformed legal frameworks that impose disproportionate controls on civil society organizations directly impacting their ability to operate, access resources, support communities and defend human rights.

Many governments, facilitated by corporate actors, used spyware and digital censorship to restrict freedom of expression and the right to information. US authorities used AI-powered surveillance tools to target foreign students expressing solidarity with Palestinians with arrest and deportation. Serbia’s government used spyware and digital forensics tools against student protesters, civil society and journalists. Kenyan authorities systematically deployed technology-facilitated repression tactics, including online intimidation, threats, incitement to hatred and unlawful surveillance, to suppress youth-led protests.

The USA, Canada, France, Germany and the UK, among others, announced or enacted sweeping cuts to international aid budgets, despite knowing they would likely result in millions of avoidable deaths, and in several cases while committing to massive parallel hikes in military expenditure. This has had a catastrophic impact on NGOs’ efforts to advance press freedom, climate resilience, and gender justice, to protect refugees, migrants and asylum seekers, and to provide healthcare and sexual and reproductive rights.

Many states continued to resist reining in the aggressive tax avoidance and evasion by billionaires and corporate giants while weakening further restraints on corporate power. In the USA, strategic lawsuits against public participation had a chilling effect on civil society, with one such lawsuit resulting in a court ordering Greenpeace to pay a fossil fuel company $345 million (reduced from an initial $660 million).

In a context dominated by the US president describing climate change as a “scam”, governments did nowhere near enough to address climate displacement, equitably transition away from fossil fuels, or adequately ramp up finance for climate action – even as the UN Environment Programme warned that the world is on track to reach 3°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100.

“What alternative do the bullies and predators offer to the imperfect global experiment they’re so intent on destroying? The world order they propose is one that mocks and discards racial, gender and climate justice, treats civil society as an enemy, and rejects international solidarity. It is built on silencing dissent, weaponizing the law and dehumanizing those deemed ‘others’. Their vision of the world is predicated not on respect for our common humanity, but on military force, trade domination and technological hegemony. It is, ultimately, a vision with no moral compass,” said Agnès Callamard.

Protesters, civil society and international bodies lead efforts to resist, disrupt and transform

Undeterred by adversity, millions around the world are resisting injustice and authoritarian practices.

Gen Z protests swept over a dozen countries in 2025, including Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Nepal and Peru, and around 300,000 people defied Hungary’s ban on Budapest Pride to defend LGBTI rights. Throughout early 2026, demonstrators from Los Angeles to Minneapolis have organized street by street and block by block against violent and highly militarized US immigration enforcement raids.

Mass demonstrations against Israel’s genocide spread around the world last year and humanitarians from over 40 countries launched flotillas to show solidarity with Palestinians. Global activism against the flow of arms to Israel expanded, with dockworkers in France, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Spain and Sweden seeking to disrupt arms shipment routes. Activism and legal pressure also led several states to restrict or ban arms exports to Israel.

While many governments appeased attacks on international justice, several states and bodies bucked this trend by demonstrating their commitment to multilateralism and rule of law. A growing number acknowledged that Israel was committing genocide and several states joined the Hague Group, a collective committed to holding Israel accountable for violations of international law, and contributed to South Africa’s case against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The Philippines handed former president Rodrigo Duterte over to the ICC to face charges of the crime against humanity of murder, and the court issued warrants against two Taliban leaders for gender-based persecution. The Council of Europe and Ukraine agreed to establish the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, and a hybrid court in the Central African Republic convicted six former members of an armed group for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The UN Human Rights Council established an independent investigative mechanism for Afghanistan and a fact-finding mission and Commission of Inquiry on Eastern DRC, and expanded the mandate of its fact-finding mission on Iran. Significant progress was made toward a binding UN tax convention and a Crimes Against Humanity Convention, and the ICJ and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued landmark advisory opinions affirming state human rights obligations to respond to climate damage.

More states have started speaking out against authoritarian practices and attacks on the rules-based order in 2026, with the Spanish government notably taking principled stands, but such calls must be backed up with decisive and sustained action.

“From city streets to multilateral forums, 2025 brought powerful displays of resistance and solidarity from protesters, diplomats, political leaders and many others around the world. We must build on their example and courage and forge bold coalitions to reimagine, rebuild and re-centre the global order around human rights, the rule of law and universal values,” said Agnès Callamard.

“Let 2026 be the year we assert our agency and demonstrate that history is not merely something imposed upon us; it is ours to make. And for the sake of humanity, the time to make history is now.”

MIL OSI