MIL-OSI Publisher – Page 114

February 28, 2026

Harwoods roundabout completed

Source: New Zealand Government

Transport Minister Chris Bishop says a newly completed roundabout at the intersection of State Highway 5 (SH5) and State Highway 28–Harwoods Road east of Tīrau will significantly improve safety on a key regional route.

“The SH5/SH28 Harwoods Road intersection had a poor safety record and is part of a corridor that has seen far too many serious crashes. Completing this new three-leg roundabout is an important step in making this stretch of highway safer for everyone who uses it,” Mr Bishop says.

“SH5 is a critical route for locals, tourists, freight, and agricultural vehicles travelling between Waikato and the Bay of Plenty. Improving safety and efficiency on this corridor is essential, and I am pleased to see another project delivered that helps achieve that.

““Between 2014 and 2024, 18 people died and 64 were seriously injured on this stretch of highway.

“Construction of the $6 million roundabout began in August last year, and I am pleased to see it completed on budget and several weeks ahead of schedule. Traffic was flowing through the site today, with temporary speed restrictions lifted as works were cleared.

“This roundabout is one of several safety improvements being delivered along SH5 between Tīrau and Tārukenga Marae Road on the Rotorua side of the Mamaku Range. NZTA has also built a right‑turn bay at nearby Waimakariri Road, and funding has been allocated to complete the design for a similar roundabout at the SH5/SH28–Whites Road intersection. While construction funding for that project has not yet been confirmed, design work ensures it is ready to progress when funding allows.

“We are also making SH5 safer by widening sections of the road to allow the use of wide centrelines, which have proven to be very effective in reducing crashes. The first section east of Whites Road was completed this summer and will be extended to Harwoods Road as funding allows.

“In addition, a section of SH28–Whites Road south of the SH5 intersection is currently being rebuilt, and the intersection itself will receive a new asphalt surface.

“I also want to thank the local MP Tim van de Molen, and other community leaders for their continued strong advocacy for this important project.

“Delivering practical safety improvements like this roundabout helps save lives and ensures the state highway network continues to support regional growth, tourism, and reliable freight connections. I am pleased to see this project completed and making a difference for road users.”

February 28, 2026

Lindis Pass closed, Central Otago

Source: New Zealand Police

Lindis Pass/State Highway 8 is closed from Broken Hutt Road and Old Faithful Road following a single-car crash.

One person sustained serious injuries and was seen by ambulance services.

The Serious Crash Unit has been notified.

The road is likely to be closed for a significant part of the day. Motorists should consider delaying travel.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

February 28, 2026

Cacao-free chocolate is in the pipeline, but it won’t taste the same

Source: Radio New Zealand

As climate change threatens cacao plantations, chocolate manufacturers are investigating “cacao-free pathways” to meet global demand.

Currently, the best options are chocolatey products either grown in labs or produced from fermented plants, according to new research by New Zealand’s Rabobank. But connoisseurs won’t find their taste an exact match, warns research analyst Paul Joules.

“It can be close. But obviously, those who have very specific taste buds will know exactly what they’re looking for, and it probably won’t be exactly that,” he tells RNZ’s Nine to Noon.

Because it only grows close to the equator, cacao is “a very volatile crop”, says Paul Joules.

Pablo Merchan Montes / Unsplash

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Kiwis adore chocolate, but with the average price for a 250-gram block now sitting at $6.89, it’s on the way to becoming a luxury item.

In the West African countries of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, where 60 percent of cacao beans are produced, bad weather, ageing cacao plantations and crop disease have had a “big, big impact” on the chocolate market in recent years, Joules says.

“The fact that cacao does have to be grown in close proximity to the equator really makes it a very volatile crop in terms of its production. It only really works in very specific countries and very specific climates.”

Faux-co: Alternative chocolate production on the rise

Nine To Noon

How big chocolate companies are trying to shore up cacao production and explore alternatives is the subject of Rabobank’s recent global ‘Beyond the Bean’.

Although a synthetic chocolate product made in a Californian lab was deemed “basically indistinguishable from regular dark chocolate” by a Guardian writer last year, recreating chocolate in a laboratory is still too expensive and energy-intensive, Joules says.

Mt Maunganui chocolate company Solomons Gold makes dark chocolate with ethically sourced beans from the Solomon Islands.

The Modern Forager

Soaring cocoa price not all sweet

Pacific Waves

To produce a chocolate-like substance without cacao beans, he says the fermentation of grains and seeds, including oats, sunflower seeds and barley, is looking like the best bet.

Without the magic bean that gives chocolate its health benefits, distinctive creamy texture and “very unique” taste, fermented chocolate alternatives can’t deliver quite the same taste, though, he warns.

“You can’t completely replicate it, particularly if you’re fermenting. That’s actually one of the key issues.

“There are some who’ve tasted and said, ‘Well, the taste, it’s close, but it’s not quite there. There are reports that it can be quite a bit more bitter.

“It can be close. But obviously, those who have very specific taste buds will know exactly what they’re looking for, and it probably won’t quite be exactly that.”

Cacao is also produced around the Pacific in Samoa, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Vanuatu.

Tthe Cacao Ambassador

In the next few years, we’ll likely see chocolatey fermented products turn up as an ingredient in biscuits and cereal bars, Joules says.

Traditional cacao-based chocolate, though, remains the cheapest to produce, and will thankfully be around for a while longer.

“The lion’s share of the market is very much the traditional cocoa bean… That typical chocolate bar is probably going to continue to be [made from] your standard cocoa bean.”

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

February 28, 2026

Live long and prosper – then live longer

Source: Radio New Zealand

Bryan Johnson, the billionaire biohacker, stands next to his son. He has reportedly infused blood plasma from his then-17-year-old son in an effort to live longer. Bryan Johnson

We’re all getting older – but we’re not all happy to admit it. The longevity trend has taken off, with some people paying six figures for protocols that promise to make them live longer.

The numbers on old age are only going in one direction, fuelling a global longevity industry worth billions of dollars as people search for more and more extreme ways to live longer.

“We are now realising that there are as many people over 85 as there are under 14,” says Dr Ngaire Kerse, GP and University of Auckland’s Joyce Cook Chair in Ageing Well.

“In the over-65 age group, it’s heading for one in five. So, older people are more prevalent and they’re more obvious and we have a very ageist society. Of course we want to avoid those negative stereotypes of ageing and we want to be the healthy, positive older person.”

But at the extreme end of obsession, people are paying tens of thousands of dollars or more for intense intervention from experts like Dr Peter Attia, a star of longevity medicine who has a best-selling book, a podcast with millions of followers and charges patients six figures.

Now there’s a backlash against Attia because of the content of his damning email exchanges with Jeffery Epstein. Attia has denied any criminal wrongdoing but apologised for the content of his “embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible emails”.

It’s not just Attia and the Epstein link. There’s been a growing wave of distrust in the messaging of many longevity influencers lately, including the likes of Bryan Johnson, the billionaire biohacker who wants to live forever.

He is reported to have chosen three people from 1500 who applied for his Immortals programme. The three are paying $1 million for access to the “longevity protocols” that he’s been following for the past five years.

Johnson’s pursuit of eternal life has included a plasma exchange between his teenage son, himself and his 70-year-old father.

But even Elon Musk, who declared at Davos that there will be a cure for old age, says there is a limit on our lives.

Kerse agrees and has the statistics to back that up.

“I don’t actually want to be 150. I almost have seen enough now,” she jokes.

“It’s challenging to me to think that people would want to live forever, you know, [to] 200 years. And there’s several novels written about what that might be like, challenging whether it’s a good thing or not.”

She says there’s a biological end point at 110 years, when “our cells run out of puff”.

“The maintenance and repair mechanisms don’t work any more and so they get clogged up with stuff and you get diseases that are associated with ageing.

“We’re pushing up against being healthy for as long as you can. It’s ideal to live a fulfilled and healthy and contributing life and then drop dead. Wouldn’t that be lovely.”

Kerse is more concerned with finding ways to make lives better for all old people. She has co-led a world-leading longitudinal study, called Life and Living in Advanced Age, which started in 2010 with groups of Māori and non-Māori born between 1920 and 1930.

Hundreds of people in the cohort were interviewed about their lives every year for five years and again at 10 years.

“Now we’re at 15, 16 years follow-up, most of them are gone of course, because they’d be over 100.”

Kerse sets out the study’s findings and the factors behind participants’ long, healthy lives in today’s podcast.

The Detail also talks to 89-year-old Garth Barfoot of the real estate dynasty about his passion for running and what keeps him healthy, happy and alert.

In 2024 he was the oldest runner to finish the New York Marathon and still takes part in events with his grandchildren.

Listen to the podcast to find out what he believes is the main reason for living long and well.

Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.

You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.

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

February 28, 2026

How a ‘weekend wānanga’ kickstarted the Māori art revolution

Source: Radio New Zealand

It was just a “weekend wānanga” but an artists hui in Te Kaha in 1973 ushered in Ngā Puna Waihanga, the Maori artists and writers collective and drove a revolution that shaped the renaissance of Māori culture.

It makes a fitting starting point for new RNZ podcast Pūtātara: Revolutions in Māori Art, produced by Jamie Tahana and Matariki Williams and funded via the Creative New Zealand, NZ On Air and RNZ arts and culture podcast co-fund.

“Actually, so many of our revolutions, because it’s in the title there, start in small communities like Te Kaha. It was a bunch of concerned artists and writers who just decided to have a get together,” producer Jamie Tahana told Māpuna host Julian Wilcox.

Pūtātara: Revolutions in Māori Art podcast hosts Matariki Williams and Jamie Tahana.

Taylor Galmiche/RNZ

. She was the first wahine Māori to do so.

Tahana says the idea for the podcast came up around the 40th anniversary of the landmark Te Māori exhibition in New York in 1984. Realising that Te Māori was itself a response, they decided to move the start date back a decade.

“I guess what we were trying to do, Matariki in particular…. was, you know, say that so many things flourish from places that aren’t the Metropolitan Museum, that aren’t Te Papa, that, you know, these were just a bunch of people concerned for their whānau, their reo.”

Protesters on Waitangi bridge clash with police photographed by John Miller, 1996.

Image courtesy of John Miller

Throughout the 70s, pressure from Māori protest was beginning to bear down on the government and wider New Zealand society, Ngā Tamatoa delivered the Māori Languge Petition to Parliament in 1972 and Whina Cooper led a march across the North Island in 1975. As in many protest movements, artists were part of the revolution.

“The rising visibility brought on by protest was bearing fruit and museums and galleries were by no means immune,” Williams says in the podcast.

“Māori wanted toi Māori to be looked at differently, to be seen, to be heard, for it to be known that Māori art was alive.”

From that consequential hui in Te Kaha, the podcast moves on to New York and the opening of Te Māori at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the exhibition’s return to Aotearoa, through the tumultuous 90s, eventually returning to the Met for the reopening of its permanent Oceania exhibition in 2025.

Tahana says museums and institutions like the Met and Te Papa are as much sites of power as they are sites of art and wonder.

Māori artists and writers have been a leading voice in challenging institutions, for example in how taonga Māori are displayed and cared for, he says.

“In many strands of society, artists and writers from communities like Te Kaha have provoked challenges… there’s one episode where we go to the 90s when all the debate around the foundation of Te Papa was happening which came off the back of things like Haeata, Te Māori and all of those things and that debate was coming up when Te Papa was being formed and people have held it accountable since.”

The People Gather

Pūtātara: Revolutions in Māori ArtEpisode 1

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

February 28, 2026

Plea for information on offshore water quality on Wellington’s South Coast after sewage spill

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellington Mayor Andrew Little took a dip in Lyall Bay on Wednesday to prove it was safe, but by Friday the Land Air Water Aotearoa (LAWA) website listed much of the south coast as being unsuitable for swimming. RNZ / Mark Papalii

The chair of Lyall Bay Surf Lifesaving club says despite the partial lifting of a rahui on Wellington’s South Coast information on offshore conditions remains unavailable.

Mayor Andrew Little took a dip in the water on Wednesday to prove residents could swim again at southern beaches after a major sewage leak at the Moa Point Wastewater Plant earlier this month pumped thousands of litres of raw sewage into the sea, closing the beaches for weeks.

He did however caveat that people should follow advice on the Land, Air, Water Aotearoa website before they dive in.

Club chair Matt Flannery said he was delighted that lifesaving teams could resume training in the bay but said ocean swimmers, kayakers and divers were still in the dark.

“The LAWA website, unfortunately, doesn’t include tests beyond the shoreline. That’s probably okay when you’re looking at shoreline discharges from stormwater drains and contaminations but it’s inappropriate when your dealing with an ocean outfall that has the potential to be coming back into the bay,” Flannery said.

“We’ve had to already make some decisions as to the limits that we feel acceptable in the bay but we would truly benefit from the experts stepping up here and giving guidance.”

Flannery said the club’s teams had been training at swim spots within the harbour ahead of the upcoming national championships next month.

He said prior to the spill nearly 70 lifesavers a day were training in the waters off Lyall Bay.

“We’ve shuffled our training around to be using locations such as Scorching Bay, Worser Bay and Evans Bay [and] we’re delighted to have access back on the beach – that’s the most important thing – but we’d just like a bit more information to reflect actually what’s going on in the bay.

“I think it’s a little bit unfair in the sense that they put the risk back on the other users, declare the beach open, without actually giving all the information that’s necessary to make an informed decision,” Flannery said.

Flannery said he raised the point at a local meeting with councillors, experts and Wellington Water staff last week.

Greater Wellington director knowledge and insights David Hipkins said the advice on the LAWA website only reflected public health advice for near shore activities.

“All samples have been taken close to the shore and not near the end of the long outfall pipe. This is why the advice from public health officials is that activities further from the shore are ‘to be conducted at people’s own risk’.”

He said the regional council was talking to the Department of Conservation and other research agencies about any additional monitoring that may be required further out to sea.

The LAWA website also advises people not to collect any kai moana from the area previously under the rahui.

“Testing of kai moana is not being undertaken by Greater Wellington and we are referring the public to advice from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), the agency responsible for the safety of food gathered from the wild,” Hipkins said.

“MPI recommends not gathering shellfish from densely populated urban areas, areas near pipes or culverts, areas near to where wastewater or stormwater is being discharged, and to wait a few days after heavy rain before gathering shellfish.”

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

February 28, 2026

No further fruit flies spotted in Papatoetoe in Auckland

Source: Radio New Zealand

An Oriental fruit fly on a piece of fruit. Supplied / Biosecurity NZ

No more fruit flies have been spotted in Papatoetoe after a single male was found in a surveillance trap in the South Auckland suburb on Wednesday.

The new find comes as Biosecurity just wrapped up a six-week operation in Mount Roskill after a single male was found there.

Biosecurity Commissioner Mike Inglis said they had laid 114 additional traps in Papatoetoe since the latest fruit fly discovery, but there had not been further signs of the pest.

“At this stage, it’s just one single male fruit fly in that trap, so these additional traps are very important.

“These traps are very effective for the Oriental fruit fly; they attract the males extremely well.

“We have evidence of that from when we’ve dealt with this before, including about this time last year in Papatoetoe and the North Shore.”

He said biosecurity staff would be collecting fruit from residents for inspection this weekend.

“We’ve already collected some fruit. We’ll also be visiting high-risk businesses and talking to shopkeepers, and our team will be at local night markets providing flyers and information.

“We know from previous years that by getting in early, engaging the community, and putting controls in place, we’ll make sure it doesn’t impact the community too much and that this pest isn’t established.”

Legal controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables affecting roughly 10,000 properties would remain in place while Biosecurity investigated whether any more fruit flies could be hidden.

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

February 28, 2026

Reds v Highlanders at Suncorp Stadium – Super Rugby Pacific

Source: Radio New Zealand

Photosport

The Highlanders have suffered another heartbreaking loss, after the Reds bounced back in style.

The Reds defeated the Highlanders by 17 points at Suncorp Stadium after leading by 12 at the break. It was a statement performance in front of a lively Brisbane crowd, the home side running in five tries to two and playing with far more clarity than they showed in Round 1.

The first half set the tone. Fraser McReight opened the scoring in the 18th minute after a stunning passage that started with Harry Wilson flicking a miracle ball through his legs to ignite the break, before a clever series of kicks ended with the flanker diving over beside the posts. Matt Faessler added another off a well-timed peel from a driving maul, and although the Highlanders hit back through Adam Lennox after spotting space around the ruck, the Reds struck again before the break. Slick hands left put Tim Ryan over in the corner, giving Queensland a deserved lead at half-time. It was high tempo, physical stuff, with the Reds well on top and the visitors guilty of too many costly errors.

The Highlanders showed some fight early in the second half. Lucas Casey powered through three tackles to score under the sticks in the 52nd minute and cut the margin, briefly shifting momentum. But just as quickly, the Reds responded. McReight pilfered possession at the breakdown, territory followed, and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto crashed over from close range to extend the lead. Moments later, a grubber forced panic at the back and Vaiuta Latu was on hand to dive on the loose ball for another Reds five-pointer.

From there, Queensland comfortably controlled the contest. The forwards went at it relentlessly, the backs continued to find space out wide, and the bench added real punch, with Filipo Daugunu especially lively. The Highlanders had patches of pressure but they lacked polish, their attack clunky at times and undermined by unforced errors. Jamie Joseph will be disappointed and know there were plenty of opportunities left out there.

Ryan brought real spark on the edge, Salakaia-Loto laid a strong platform, and McReight was a menace all night at the breakdown. For the Highlanders, Timoci Tavatavanawai impressed with his physicality and TK Howden worked tirelessly, but they lacked support at key moments.

This win lifts the Reds to 1-1 and restores confidence ahead of a trip to Canberra to face the Brumbies, while the Highlanders slip to 1-2 and return home to Dunedin to host the Force in Round 4, searching for a response.

See how the game unfolded in our blog:

Highlanders: 1. Ethan de Groot. 2. Jack Taylor. 3. Rohan Wingham. 4. Will Stodart. 5. Mitch Dunshea. 6. Te Kamaka Howden. 7. Sean Withy (cc) 8. Lucas Casey. 9. Adam Lennox. 10. Cameron Millar. 11. Jona Nareki. 12. Timoci Tavatavanawai (cc) 13. Jonah Lowe. 14. Caleb Tangitau. 15. Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens.

Impact: 16. Soane Vikena. 17. Daniel Lienert-Brown. 18. Sosefo Kautai. 19. Oliver Haig. 20. Veveni Lasaqa. 21. Folau Fakatava. 22. Reesjan Pasitoa. 23. Tanielu Tele’a.

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

February 27, 2026

Amateur golfer among three leading Kiwis at NZ Open

Source: Radio New Zealand

Yuki Miya of New Zealand Chris Symes / www.photosport.nz

Christchurch amateur golfer Yuki Miya has the lead at NZ Open going into day three at Millbrook Resort on Saturday.

The 20-year-old is 12-under-par after firing a second round of 4-under-par 67 to follow an opening 63 that he completed early on Friday.

Just one shot back is the highest-ranked player in the field, world No.100 Daniel Hillier.

Unhappy with his game, Hillier has still managed rounds of 63-68 in front of an expectant home crowd craving a first New Zealand victory in their national championship since 2017.

Newly married Hillier shares second with Australian duo Travis Smyth (63) and Wade Ormsby (65), while another New Zealand hope, Kerry Mountcastle, is just two shots adrift at 10-under-par following a 64 in the near-perfect scoring conditions.

Miya’s eye-catching performance was capped by a three-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole on the Remarkables course, moving him out of a tie at the top of the leaderboard.

The Golf NZ National Academy member may be still an amateur with no immediate plans to turn professional, but he’s had significant exposure to the pro game.

He showed great composure when he bounced back from a double-bogey five on the par-3 sixth with a run of three straight birdies that started two holes later.

“That double set me back a bit. I definitely had to regroup after that one, but I clawed my way back,” Miya said.

“Obviously there’s a long way to go, still 36 holes to play, but I’ll do my best, stick to my processes and see how it goes.”

Hillier’s only bogey in his second round came on his final hole, the water-ringed par-3 ninth hole on the Remarkables which will be the closing hole on the composite course over the weekend.

After struggling with his swing for most of the day, his tee shot found the hazard to the left of the green, but a four was rescued by a tidy chip and putt.

“Probably should have happened a lot earlier than it did,” he said of his last hole error.

“The swing wasn’t feeling that great. I stood up on the tee and tried to hold one up against the wind and just flipped it a bit and away she went. But a nice little up and down at least to limit the damage.”

Hillier’s day did have plenty of highlights, however, including an eagle on the par-5 14th to sit alongside four birdies.

“It’s been a long couple of days. Obviously a lot of golf crammed into a short period of time,” he said.

“A little bit tired at the moment, but nice to hang in there today. Hopefully get some good rest and come out firing tomorrow.”

A top-10 machine on the Asian Tour, Smyth does not expect to have too much crowd support on his side as he chases his second victory as a pro with three New Zealanders amongst his chief competition.

“It’s going to be fun,” he said after closing with four straight birdies.

“It’s not going to worry me at all. I’ve played in Korea towards the last groups and you get literally zero claps from the Koreans over there.

“I feel like the crowds this week, they’re pretty supportive of good golf and hopefully I can show them good golf.”

Ormsby finished his round after sunset, rolling in birdies on the 16th and 17th before missing from three metres on the last to tie Miya at the top.

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

February 27, 2026

Cricket: White Ferns v Zimbabwe – second T20 International in Hamilton

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand’s Izzy Gaze bats during the White Ferns vs Zimbabwe Women, Twenty20 International cricket match at Seddon Park, Hamilton, New Zealand on Wednesday 25 February 2026. DJ Mills / Photosport DJ Mills

The White Ferns were much more ruthless with the ball as they bowled Zimbabwe out for just 86 to seal a 110-run win in the 2nd T20I in Hamilton.

Set 197 runs to win, the tourists were rocked early when Nyasha Gwanzura spooned one straight to short cover off Jess Kerr’s first over.

Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano played a couple of nice shots before she was cleaned up by Bree Illing in the fourth.

A 21-run stand third-wicket stand between Kellie Ndhlovu and Beloved Biza provided some hope for Zimbabwe but once that was broken it all unraveled.

While Chiyedza Dhururu hit three boundaries in a flashy 20 off 13, she received very little support from the Zimbabwe lower order.

Nensi Patel and Kayley Knight both got through some valuable overs and the Northern Districts’ pair were rewarded for their efforts with two wickets apiece.

Patel’s 2/11 off four could have been even better if not for some ordinary fielding efforts.

The White Ferns will be looking to claim a clean sweep at the third T20 International on Sunday afternoon at Seddon Park in Hamilton.

See how every ball played out on our blog:

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