Month: August 2022

Alex Lim/Things David Clark and Jacinda Ardern announce the Government’s decision regarding supermarkets. The government will force Countdown and Foodstuffs to sell groceries to rival retailers at prices set by regulation if they do not voluntarily supply rivals “adequately” The rule change was not recommended by the Commerce Commission after it conducted its $22 billion review of the grocery industry. Countdown and Food Products would be required to negotiate wholesale offers to competitors on commercial terms The Commerce Commission estimated that Countdown and Groceries were making excessive profits of about $430 million a year, a finding contested by supermarket companies….

A bill seeking to establish a National Electoral Offenses Commission, which is being considered by the National Assembly, has proposed to classify hate speech as an electoral offense that can carry a 10-year prison sentence or a 40 millions of N or both. The House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Affairs held a public hearing on the “Bill to establish the National Commission on Electoral Offenses and Related Matters 2022” in Abuja on Tuesday. In Part IV of the Bill, entitled “Electoral Offences”, Clause 32, which includes an explanatory note “Prohibition of hate speech”, criminalises speech that may provoke violence….

Pastor Deborah Tyler talks about the theft of her trailer from the parking lot of Congress Church off East Jackson in Medford. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune] Pastor Deborah Tyler’s trailer with all her belongings was stolen from the Medford Congregational Church parking lot off East Jackson Street the day after she moved to town. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune] When she arrived in town Thursday night, Deborah Tyler, the new interim pastor at Medford United Congregational Church of Christ, had been on the road from Kewaskum, Wis., for four long days. Reporting for an 18-month commitment to her new…

Aha Airlines flights from Medford to Reno are grounded after the airlines’ parent company filed for bankruptcy. [Mail Tribune/file photo] The planes flew directly from Medford to the Nevada airport Less than a year after it began serving Rogue Valley-Medford International Airport, Aha Airlines’ direct flights to the Reno and Lake Tahoe area in Nevada have been halted due to bankruptcy. Atlanta-based ExpressJet Airlines, the parent company of Aha Airlines, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday and ceased all flight operations on Wednesday due to a combination of economic conditions and market, the company announced. Aha Airlines first…

Serena Williams plans to celebrate her retirement with a glass of champagne with the Duchess of Sussex. The 40-year-old sporting icon will step away from tennis after the US Open, and Serena has revealed to the Duchess how she plans to retire. The Duchess, who has previously watched Serena play at Wimbledon, said during the first episode of her new Spotify podcast: “We’re going to have fun. We’re going to make sure you get a good one.” Serena, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, revealed that she is looking forward to a…

A blast of ice has gripped New South Wales and Victoria overnight, with late winter snowfall in the Blue Mountains. Temperatures fell 10C in just two hours across Sydney, driven by a sudden southerly wind shift that brought a mass of bitterly cold air. Katoomba, west of Sydney, reached -1.5°C but felt like -7°C, leading to ground snow. More snow fell in parts of Victoria, days out from the start of spring on September 1. Meanwhile, there is a severe weather warning for New South Wales today. Surf and swell are expected to be dangerous along the coast from Byron…