World News – Page 12

Cold-stunned as well as dead green iguanas lie in the back of a pickup truck after being collected by Redline Iguana Removal services during a cold spell on 2 February 2026, in Hollywood, Florida. AFP/JOE RAEDLE

In the US, a winter cold snap blanketing the country has created a new hobby in the usually tropical state of Florida – people there are collecting thousands of frozen iguanas.

Green iguanas were suddenly falling from trees into back gardens, becoming accidental dog toys, freaky fascinations and ice packs.

The reptiles were what locals described as “cold stunned”, not dead.

Iguanas are ectotherms, meaning their internal body temperature is affected by the weather outside.

Blake Wilkins, of Redline Iguana Removal, told the BBC the biggest issue had been the ferocious wind that amplified the cold.

“The ones that seemed to fare the best were that ones that were either in burrows, or under roofs or somehow shielded from the winds.”

Florida, which usually struggled to drop below 20 degrees, had been in single digits, effectively paralysing iguanas.

The reptiles were a pest in southern Florida, Wilkins told the BBC.

With no predators, their numbers had increased exponentially in the ten years he had been in the business.

“They’re able to reproduce extremely fast, they’re excellent diggers. They dig under sea walls causing issues,” he said.

“They get onto roofs, cause damage to them and everyone’s beautiful flowers and landscaping, so it’s a huge problem.”

Blake Wilkins and Andrew Baron, who are Redline Iguana Removal trappers, unload cold-stunned as well as dead green iguanas from the back of a pickup truck after they collected them during a cold spell on 2 February 2026, in Hollywood, Florida. AFP/JOE RAEDLE

One enterprising local took matters into his own hands, introducing lizard as a pizza topping at his restaurant.

A customer called the taste “unbelievable, it’s frog-like – hard to describe”, according to the BBC.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission would rather the picked-up iguanas were not made into a meal, but taken to collection points.

It had temporarily allowed people to pick them up without a permit, but warned people to wear protective clothing and secure iguanas in an “escape-proof cloth sack or bag”.

The Commission said members of the public could humanely kill green iguanas year-round on their property or with landowner permission.

Iguana trapper Ryan Izquierdo told the BBC he had never collected so many in a day before.

“We’ve been very careful storing and capturing the animals, ” he said.

“There are videos online of people being super disrespectful of iguanas, and although they’re invasive, they have a beating heart, so you have to respect them.”

Most of the iguanas handed over to authorities would be euthanised, but some of the frozen finds would be able to thaw out through live animal sales, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

But it warned the public against trying to adopt one themselves.

“Iguanas can recover from cold-stunning more quickly than you might expect and, once recovered, can act defensively, with long tails that whip and sharp teeth and claws,” its website said.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

February 4, 2026

Avoiding seed oils is an online trend, but are they as bad as some would have you believe?

Source: Radio New Zealand

In the past 12 months, seed oils have become a divisive topic, with online claims they are “toxic”, “inflammatory”, and cause chronic health conditions.

When United States secretary of health and human services, Robert F Kennedy Jr announced the new US dietary guidelines on 7 January, he promised to “evangelise real food”.

The 2025-2030 guidelines included a new food pyramid putting protein, saturated fats and whole foods in the spotlight.

Robert F Kennedy Jr has claimed seed oils are toxic.

ANDREW HARNIK / AFP

.

While seed oils are not specifically mentioned in the updated guidelines, Kennedy has previously claimed seed oils were “poisoning Americans”, and the new guidelines point to other types of oil and fats for cooking.

So what are seed oils and are they really the dietary villains that some people make them out to be? And what do the new guidelines say about saturated fat?

What are seed oils?

Seed oils (often sold as vegetable oils), as the name implies, are oils derived from seeds.

There are eight types that have been collectively referred to by critics as the “hateful eight”; canola, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rice bran, safflower, soy and sunflower. (Olive oil and coconut oil are classified as oils from fruits.)

These seed oils are readily available at supermarkets, typically affordable and often used in cooking thanks to some of them having a higher smoke point (meaning they can be heated to higher temperatures than other oils without smoking).

Canola oil is classifed as a seed oil as it is made from the seeds of the canola plant.

ABC Landline

Seed oils contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which include omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

Critics of seed oils claim they cause inflammation due to their high omega-6 content.

But Emma Beckett, a senior lecturer of nutrition and food science at Australian Catholic University, says a lot of claims against seed oils come from “nuggets of truth that are misunderstood”.

Understanding omegas

Unsaturated fats are essential for life, but they can’t be made by your body so you have to get them through your diet.

There are monounsaturated fats, and polyunsaturated fats, which branch into two types; omega-3s and omega-6s.

Omega-3 fatty acids are found in foods such as fatty fish and plant sources like chia seeds and walnuts, while omega-6 fatty acids are more commonly found in vegetable oils, seeds and nuts.

Traditionally it was assumed omega-3s had an anti-inflammatory effect, while omega-6 were thought to be pro-inflammatory.

But Beckett says this concept is outdated and over simplified.

“That comes from some old data that showed that you need omega-6s to create inflammatory mediators in the body.”

A recent study led by Daisy Crick from the University of Queensland’s Institute of Molecular Bioscience shows the relationship between omega-3 and omega-6 is much more complex than previously thought.

“Surprisingly, although we expected to see an anti-inflammatory effect of omega-3 fatty acids, our results suggest that they also increased levels of some biomarkers of inflammation,” Crick says.

Her study also found that higher levels of omega-6 to omega-3s “could result in a chronic, albeit low-grade, inflammatory state.”

But Beckett says worrying about inflammation markers is “reductionist” and it is better to focus on the quality of foods eaten.

“More important is the inflammatory impact of foods high and low in omega-3s, and the inflammatory status of people with high and low omega-3 intakes; because foods with naturally occurring omega-3s will also be high in bioactive compounds that are anti-inflammatory,” she says.

“This is why we can’t assume supplements – specific and concentrated isolates, or highly processed foods with omega-3s as an ingredient, will improve health in the same way whole foods containing omega-3s will.”

Clare Collins, a laureate professor in nutrition and dietetics at University of Newcastle, agrees.

“As a normal person, you have no chance figuring out what your ratio is, you’re better off looking at what types of fats you use at home,” Professor Collins says.

‘Correlation is not causation’

Arguments favoured by critics are that consumption of seed oils has risen at similar rates to chronic disease incidents.

“Oh, that’s a bit of a tired one, isn’t it?” Professor Collins says.

“Car ownership has gone up as well – air pollution has gone up.

“Correlation is not causation.”

She point out a 2022 metanalysis of randomised control trials found no link between effects of omega-6 fatty acids and the risk of cardiovascular disease.

“There was no difference in the risk of either heart disease or death,” Professor Collins says.

Likewise, the World Cancer Research Fund “found no evidence that eating vegetable and seed oils in moderation increases the risk of cancer. In fact a small amount of fat is essential and helps the body absorb vitamins A, D and E.”

Instead, Professor Collins says, the biggest shift we have seen is not due to seed oils – it is the rise in high body weight and obesity.

“When you eat more ultra-processed foods, you take in more kilojoules and fewer micronutrients. That has a far bigger impact on chronic disease risk than which oil you choose.”

Guilty by association

Children and teenagers are being exposed to the widespread marketing of junk food on social media and it’s having an impact on their diet.

Unsplash / Curated Lifestyle

Ultra-processed foods, also referred to as discretionary or industrialised foods are typically lower in micronutrients and higher in calories.

These foods are usually higher in both saturated fats and trans fats.

Trans fats are linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer, and it is recommended that no more than one per cent of daily calories come from trans fats.

Small amounts of trans fats naturally occur in meat and dairy products, but they are largely consumed in processed foods where unsaturated fats have been converted to solids.

Major sources of trans fats include packaged foods like biscuits, crackers, animal products, margarine, potato chips and popcorn.

Seed oils are often used as ingredients in ultra-processed foods thanks to their low cost.

When seed oils are hydrogenated, as they sometimes are for processed foods like pastries, pies, chips and crackers, they can become trans fats.

But seed oils aren’t the only types of oil that can be converted to trans fats, Beckett says.

“Hydrogenating oils makes them act more like saturated fats, but this is true for all hydrogenated oils. And hydrogenated oils are definitely not the major way seed oils are consumed,” she says.

Rather than focus on seed oils, Beckett says it is more important to consider the bigger picture of a diet.

“You find these oils in typically less healthful foods, so it becomes food that is high in seed oils and those foods aren’t healthy, which becomes ‘seed oils aren’t healthy’.

“And because olive oil is typically used on vegetable-based dishes that gives the idea that olive oil is going to be more health-promoting,” she says.

“Demonising seed oil is not the solution.”

“We need to talk more about the whole value of the diet because if we just say seed oils are bad, people just hear ‘We’ll take out the seed oils and make the same unhealthy foods with a different oil that will be better for you’ and that’s not true at all.”

So, what do guidelines recommend?

Health bodies including the World Health Organization, Australian Dietary Guidelines and Dietitians Australia recommend fats of any type should be limited to roughly 30 per cent of daily energy intake.

Of that figure, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats should be the primary source, with no more than 10 per cent of total energy intake from saturated fats.

And, while the new US dietary guidelines suggest using olive oil for cooking, as well as using butter and beef tallow that are higher in saturated fats, the guidelines still recommend keeping saturated fat intake to less than 10 per cent of daily calories.

Saturated fats have traditionally been thought of as “unhealthy” fats that are typically solid at room temperature, like butter.

Beckett says while these kinds of fats were OK in small doses, it is the amount consumed that can cause problems.

“Saturated fats are not inherently bad, but too much, or a high intake, is linked to raising levels of blood cholesterol,” she said.

“A higher intake is linked to raising levels of LDL cholesterol – low-density lipoprotein, which is the one that if too high causes increased risk for cardiovascular diseases.”

All guidance on trans fats is aligned from health bodies, recommending no more than one per cent of daily calories come from trans fats.

According to the World Health Organization, a higher intake of trans fats increases the risk of death by 34 per cent and “has no known health benefits”.

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

February 4, 2026

NZ holds out hope for halted Papua New Guinea electrification project

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand spent $6.7 million over the last six years on the project which aimed to connect at least 4000 households to electricity. RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

The New Zealand government says it hopes an electrification aid project that was halted in Papua New Guinea can still be completed if security improves.

Work on the Enga Electrification Project in PNG’s Enga province has stopped due to ongoing violence around the project area in Tsak Valley.

New Zealand spent NZ$6.7 million over the last six years on the project which aimed to connect at least 4000 households to electricity.

It was part of combined efforts with the US, Australia and Japan to help 70 percent of PNG homes get connected by 2030, as agreed to in 208 when PNG hosted the APEC Leaders Summit.

However, contractors had to be withdrawn from the area after a surge in tribal fighting in August last year, according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

“Ending New Zealand’s involvement is a disappointing outcome, particularly given New Zealand’s longstanding and extensive efforts to deliver energy infrastructure in Enga Province,” the spokesperson said.

“New Zealand is working on a transition plan with partners in Papua New Guinea. It is hoped this will allow for the successful completion of the project if security improves.”

The ministry said 13.5 kilometres of distribution lines in the North of the project area were largely installed but were yet to be commissioned or connected to houses.

It said 12km of distribution lines in the south of the project area remain at various stages of construction.

PNG Power office, Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea. RNZ / Johnny Blades

Meanwhile, PNG’s Foreign Minster Justin Tkatchenko told local media that New Zealand would hand over equipment from the project to PNG Power Limited, a state-owned entity.

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

February 3, 2026

The Epstein files are rocking Britain from the palace to parliament

Source: Radio New Zealand

By Christian Edwards, CNN

Peter Mandelson, Sarah Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor are facing fresh questions about their ties to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Getty via CNN Newsource

The US government’s release of more than 3 million documents related to Jeffrey Epstein has raised further questions about the ties of three prominent figures in British public life to the disgraced financier, who appears to have been granted access to the heart of Britain’s government and royal family.

The former Prince Andrew, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and Peter Mandelson, the former UK ambassador to the US, are all listed multiple times in the latest trove of Epstein files, ramping up pressure on the trio to explain their ties to the late sex offender and further distance themselves from British institutions.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to testify before the US Congress, while Mandelson – who resigned from the Labour Party on Sunday – is facing calls from leading figures, including Starmer, to retire from the House of Lords.

Here’s how the Justice Department’s latest drop of files is scandalizing Britain.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

The former Prince Andrew has for years attempted to bat away questions about his links to Epstein. In a now-infamous interview with the BBC in 2019, Andrew claimed that he had severed all ties with Epstein in 2010, following the financier’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl.

Emails uncovered last year called Andrew’s claim into question. The British media reported that Andrew appeared to contact Epstein again in 2011, telling him to “keep in close touch” and that they were “in this together.” Soon after, King Charles III stripped Andrew, his brother, of his royal titles in October, and began the process to evict him from the royal estate at Windsor.

But the latest trove of Epstein files has heaped further scrutiny on the disgraced royal. Three undated photos appear to show the former prince, now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, kneeling over what appears to be a female – whose face has been redacted – who is lying fully clothed and supine on the floor. In two photos, Andrew touches her stomach and waist; in a third, he looks at the camera while on all fours, leaning over her body.

It is unclear when or where the images were taken; no captions or context for the photographs was provided with the document release. Neither the photographs nor the email messages suggest any wrongdoing.

Andrew previously faced pressure to explain a 2001 photograph which showed him standing with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and a convicted child sex trafficker, and Virginia Giuffre, a prominent accuser of Epstein who died by suicide in April.

Newly released images from the US DOJ appear to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – formerly Prince Andrew – on the floor with an unidentified person. US Department of Justice/Handout via CNN Newsource

In her posthumous memoir, Giuffre accused Andrew of sexually abusing her when she was 17. She wrote that Andrew “believed that having sex with me was his birthright”. Despite claiming never to have met her, Andrew reportedly paid millions of dollars to Giuffre in 2022 to settle a civil case she brought against him. He has repeatedly denied all allegations of wrongdoing and said he never witnessed or suspected any of the behaviour that Epstein was accused of.

The latest Epstein documents also contain an email exchange between Epstein and Andrew in August 2010, in which the financier invites the royal to meet a “friend” – whose name was redacted – for dinner in London. Andrew replied that he would be “delighted to see her” and told Epstein to pass on his contact details. Epstein then describes the woman as a 26-year-old Russian who is “clevere (sic) beautiful, trustworthy,” and confirms that she has Andrew’s email.

In November, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee requested that Andrew come to Washington to give evidence as part of the panel’s investigation into Epstein. Although Andrew did not respond to the request at the time, Starmer on Saturday urged the former prince to submit himself to questioning.

“Anybody who has got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they are asked to do that,” Starmer said. “You can’t be victim-centered if you’re not prepared to do that.”

Sarah Ferguson

Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson – known as “Fergie” – is also mentioned several times in the latest tranche of files, although this does not indicate any wrongdoing. Ferguson was dropped last year as the patron or ambassador to several British charities after earlier documents showed she had called Epstein her “supreme friend”. At the time, a spokesperson for Ferguson said she regretted her association with Epstein.

But the latest documents are further evidence of the depth of their relationship. In March 2009, Ferguson – then the Duchess of York – sent an email thanking Epstein, touting fashion and media outlets which she said now wanted to work with her.

“In just one week, after your lunch, it seems the energy has lifted. I have never been more touched by a friends (sic) kindness,” she wrote. “Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for.”

Sarah Ferguson, pictured in March 2023, said Jeffrey Epstein was her “supreme friend.” Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP via CNN Newsource

In January 2010, she wrote: “You are a legend. I really don’t have the words to describe, my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness. Xx I am at your service. Just marry me.”

The emails also appear to suggest that Epstein wanted to use Ferguson to help clear his name. In one undated email, Epstein wrote to Mike Sitrick, chair of the crisis management firm Sitrick and Company, which was retained by Epstein’s law firm, saying: “I would like you to draft a statement that in an ideal world fergie would put out.” Sitrick told CNN that he had never contacted Ferguson or her representatives directly.

In a March 2011 email to Sitrick and two others, Epstein wrote: “I think Fergie can now say, I am not a pedo.” In reply, Sitrick said there is a “strategy” to “get newspapers to stop calling you a pedophile and get the truth out,” and that one tactic was to “get Fergie to retract”.

The next month, Ferguson wrote in an email to Epstein and James Henderson, her spokesperson at the time, saying she “did not” and “would not” call him a “P”.

In October 2009, she wrote to Epstein saying that she “urgently” needed £20,000 for rent, and that her landlord had “threatened to go to the newspapers if I don’t pay”.

It was not clear if Epstein sent that money. However, in 2001 – years before Ferguson’s request – newly released documents appeared to show that Epstein wired the former Duchess $150,000 after helping her to cash in the share options she earned from her work for Weight Watchers. CNN has asked a spokesperson for Ferguson for comment.

Peter Mandelson

Mandelson, widely known in political circles as the “Prince of Darkness” for his Machiavellian approach to power, was fired as the UK’s ambassador to Washington in September over the deepening scandal surrounding his ties to Epstein. That month, US lawmakers had released a “birthday book,” compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, in which Mandelson penned a handwritten note describing the financier as “my best pal”.

The latest tranche of documents has revealed that Mandelson appeared to leak sensitive UK government tax plans to Epstein. They also show that his partner, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, regularly received undisclosed payments from him.

In September 2009, da Silva – who married Mandelson in 2023 after three decades together – emailed Epstein to ask for £10,000 to help fund his osteopathy course. Epstein replied: “I will wire your loan amount immediated’y (sic).”

In April 2010, da Silva emailed Epstein again, sharing his bank details. Epstein forwarded the message to his accountant, Rich Kahn, adding: “send 13k dollars”.

That same month, Epstein told Kahn to “send 2k per month to reinaldo.” When Kahn asked if this was in addition to the original $13,000, Epstein replied: “no after rethinkoing (sic) send 4000 dollars only.”

Peter Mandelson speaks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a welcome reception at the British ambassador’s residence in Washington, DC, in February 2025. Carl Court/Getty Images via CNN Newsource

In October that year, Mandelson asked Epstein, jokingly: “Have you permanently stopped the reinaldo sub?! I may have to put him out to work on the streets.”

The latest files also revealed that Mandelson leaked a sensitive UK government document to the financier while he was business secretary in 2009. The memo, written for then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown, advocated £20 billion asset sale to help relieve Britain’s debt burden following the 2008 financial crisis, and revealed Labour’s tax policy plans.

On Sunday, Mandelson – who also sits in the House of Lords – announced his resignation from Labour, saying he did not want to cause the party “further embarrassment.” He also apologized “to the women and girls whose voices should have been heard long before now”. CNN was unable to contact Mandelson for further comment.

Some lawmakers have called on Mandelson to refer himself to the House of Lords Commissioner for Standards, which investigates alleged breaches of the code of conduct.

Mandelson has been on a leave of absence from the House of Lords since February last year, to allow him to serve as the UK ambassador to the US. On Monday (local time), a Downing Street spokesperson said that Starmer believes that Mandelson should be stripped of his peerage.

“The prime minister has asked for this to be urgently looked at. The prime minister believes that Peter Mandelson should not be a member of the House of Lords or use the title,” the spokesperson said.

– CNN

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

February 3, 2026

Bad Bunny uses Grammy Award win to protest ICE

Source: Radio New Zealand

One week before he’s set to headline the Super Bowl LX half-time show and on a night when he made Grammys history, Bad Bunny used his time on stage to deliver a pointed political message that protested the recent actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Accepting the award for best música urbana album, Bad Bunny began his speech saying, “Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say: ICE out!”

The crowd inside the show, which took place in Los Angeles, overwhelmingly responded with cheers, according to what was heard on the telecast.

Bad Bunny attends the 68th GRAMMY Awards.

Amy Sussman / Getty Images / AFP

.”

After pausing while the audience applauded, Bad Bunny continued: “I know it’s tough not to hate on these days, and I was thinking, sometimes we get contaminados – I don’t know how to say that in English – the hate gets more powerful with more hate.”

“The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love,” he said. “So, please, we need to be different. If we fight, we have to do it with love.”

The phrase “ICE out” has been used at protests as a call for an end to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Bad Bunny won a total of three awards on Sunday, one of which was a history-making win for album of the year for “Debí Tirar Más Fotos (I Should Have Taken More Photos).” It is the first time a Spanish-language album has claimed the Recording Academy’s top prize.

During his emotional acceptance speech, delivered mostly in Spanish, Bad Bunny dedicated his win to “all the people who had to leave their homeland, their country to follow their dreams.”

Bad Bunny’s comments come amid nationwide anti-ICE protests that took place over the weekend. On Friday, Bruce Springsteen made a surprise appearance at a concert organized by Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello in Minneapolis, an event that benefited the families of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, who were both killed by federal officers last month.

Springsteen released a song last week titled “Streets of Minneapolis,” which he dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, as well as Good and Pretti’s memory.

Other artists gets political

Billie Eilish also spoke out against ICE on stage at the Grammys, but viewers at home did not hear the full extent of her comments.

While accepting the Grammy for song of the year for “Wildflower,” Eilish, who has been an outspoken critic of actions made by ICE officials in recent weeks, said “no one is illegal on stolen land.”

“It’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now,” she continued, going on to encourage everyone to “keep fighting and speaking up and protesting.”

The end of her speech was bleeped by television censors but, according to video footage posted online, Eilish said, “F**k ICE.”

Earlier in the telecast, best new artist winner Olivia Dean also made a politically-tinged statement on stage.

The British singer and songwriter, who has Caribbean roots, acknowledged during her acceptance speech that she is the “granddaughter of an immigrant.”

“I’m a product of bravery, and I think that those people deserve to be celebrated,” she said. “We’re nothing without each other.”

Grammys host Trevor Noah took a more lighthearted approach to commenting on the state of the union.

During his opening monologue, he made a joke about rapper Nicki Minaj – who recently called herself President Donald Trump’s “number one fan” – was not at the Grammys because she was “still at the White House discussing very important issues.”

Trump later shared his thoughts on the telecast on Truth Social, calling the Grammy Awards “virtually unwatchable.”

Noah also did a bit with Bad Bunny prior to the musician’s win, asking if he could live in Puerto Rico if things keep getting worse in America.

“Well, I have some news for you,” Bad Bunny said. “Puerto Rico is part of America.”

A controversy-filled road to halftime

Bad Bunny’s comments will likely fan the flames of controversy that have dominated the conversation around his halftime performance since his selection was announced.

Some in conservative circles have been opposed to his appearance on sports’ biggest stage since it was announced, stemming from the fact he excluded the continental United States from his 2025-2026 concert tour, a decision he said he made out of fear that ICE could potentially raid the concert venues.

Others on the right have been critical of Bad Bunny’s music catalogue, which exclusively contains Spanish songs.

Conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA created counter-programming to Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show performance that the organisation says is more aligned with their values. The lineup of performers has not been confirmed.

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

February 3, 2026

AI actress Tilly Norwood could soon do her own interviews

Source: Radio New Zealand

AI-generated actress Tilly Norwood will enhance the film industry, her creator says.

Norwood is the creation of Dutch comedian, writer and actress Eline Van der Velden through her new AI talent studio Xicoia – a spin-off of AI production studio Particle6.

Using AI in this way is building on what went before, she told RNZ’s Sunday Morning.

“It’s like building on top of the shoulders of giants and building on the top of humanity and going forth from what has been before and trying to make something original from there onwards.”

“We have lots of directors approaching us. They want to play with Tilly. We’re reskilling production designers, costume designers, all sorts of people who work in the traditional film and TV industry who want to move and be able to work in the new AI realm.”

AI creations such as Norwood could help to future proof the industry, she says.

“I felt, in order to be part of this new AI realm or this AI medium, I wanted to create an AI actor to be part of it.

“So that was my way of dealing with it. But everyone in their own way will have to upskill or change the way that they work with AI because I think it’s actually going to affect almost every single person in our world.”

Once AI is married to industry talent, some “incredible work” will emerge, she believes.

“New people could rise to the top, which is always nice.”

And it’s inevitable that similar AI characters will emerge in the future, she says.

“We are not putting any actors out of work; we’re actually just creating new work.

“… So, you’re going to have to make incredibly amazing stuff with AI tools. You can’t just make something average. You have to be making amazing things, and we have to all step up our game.”

Using AI tools has “ignited a childlike creativity” in her, she says.

“Because it lets you create so spontaneously. It’s a whole new creative force, and it’s wonderful, it’s absolutely wonderful as a creative to be playing around with these tools.”

She hopes eventually Norwood will be able to do media interviews herself.

“I’m currently in the process of building her brain, but it takes a lot of creativity to build a brain. It takes a lot of human ideas and input.”

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

February 2, 2026

Her agency crushed her K-pop idol dreams. Her reinvention brought them back to life

Source: Radio New Zealand

Her voice defeated soul-eating monsters during the emotional finale of the blockbuster animated film KPop Demon Hunters.

But for Korean American singer EJAE, the triumph gave her something beyond fame and fortune.

Validation.

Ejae accepted a Golden Globe for Golden, which she co-wrote and sang for KPop Demon Hunters, on 11 January in Beverly Hills, California.

Christopher Polk/2026GG/Penske Media/Getty Images via CNN Newsource

. Starting at age 11, she had endured over a decade of demanding round-the-clock practice. It’s a common path for K-pop wannabes: Sign with an agency, train in dancing and singing, then hope the agency selects you to debut as an artist.

EJAE never debuted; her agency let her contract run out without ever selecting her for a group.

“I worked hard. I tried my best to make sure my voice sounded cleaner or dance better and to look a certain way. But I think I just didn’t make my mark,” EJAE told CNN in a recent interview. And when the constant competition and pressure began to affect her schoolwork, “I just felt like I was failing at everything.”

“For a long period of time after (leaving the agency), I did feel very hopeless,” EJAE added. She’d risked it all, spending her youth on a dream that hadn’t panned out.

But EJAE wasn’t done with the K-pop industry just yet. She took one more risk: She reinvented herself as a songwriter.

That path led her back to New York and, eventually, to KPop Demon Hunters.

The movie, the most-watched Netflix original film ever, centres around a Korean girl group that hunts demons with their songs to protect the world. EJAE co-wrote and recorded demos for the chart-topping soundtrack — most notably its uplifting anthem, Golden, which won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song in January. (EJAE is also the singing voice for the film’s purple-haired protagonist, Rumi.) It’s also up for an Oscar in March.

And this week, Golden became the first K-pop song ever to win a Grammy, landing the award for best song written for visual media.

“It’s pretty rare for someone like EJAE, who’s a former trainee, to really blow up this big,” said Claire Marie Lim, an associate professor at Berklee College of Music and K-pop expert.

Lim, who was a K-pop trainee around the same time as EJAE, said most people she knew left the professional music world if they didn’t debut as K-pop idols. Some current K-pop stars might be involved in songwriting and production, but it was more unusual a decade ago — especially for former trainees.

“The attitude at the time, like 10-plus years ago, was: ‘You’re meant to sing, dance, rap, model, do a lot of forward-facing things, but not really take part in the creative process behind the scenes,’” Lim said. EJAE was pursuing a “super rare” path that she would essentially have to create herself.

Ejae arrives at the CFDA Fashion Awards in New York in November 2025.

Carl Timpone/BFA.com/Shutterstock via CNN Newsource

The grueling K-pop machine

Ironically, the movie that made EJAE a star is an ode to the Korean pop music machine that disillusioned her all those years ago.

KPop Demon Hunters reflects how K-pop artists, also known as idols, bask in the glow of light sticks and fan chants. But in real life, their fame comes with a high price: harsh beauty standards, 3 am call times for broadcasts, public backlash for dating and more.

Even becoming a K-pop star often requires years of intense training, spending “hours a day dancing and singing and rapping,” Lim said.

On The Zach Sang Show, EJAE described going to vocal and dance practices after school and staying until midnight. (She also wasn’t the first in her family to pursue a career in entertainment; her grandfather was a famous actor and producer in South Korea in the 1960s and ‘70s.)

The massive K-pop machine is notorious for its artist development and production programs. Agencies meticulously plan out public debuts, coordinate every detail of schedules and fan interactions and even oversee many parts of stars’ personal lives.

Trainees are also heavily scrutinized for their skills and appearance, often starting when they’re very young. EJAE was 11 years old when she joined SM Entertainment, one of South Korea’s biggest entertainment companies.

“There’s a lot of competition, a lot of critiquing. There were competitions within the training system where I’ve failed a lot and was rejected a lot,” EJAE told CNN. “I’d constantly been hearing, ‘You’re not good enough, you’re not good enough.’”

In KPop Demon Hunters, K-pop stars Rumi, Mira and Zoey secretly protect the world from demons with the power of music. Ejae is the singing voice of Rumi.

Netflix via CNN Newsource

When her contract ended in 2015, EJAE was in her early 20s — already old for a K-pop trainee.

It’s an exceptional case when agencies do debut older idols, “and I didn’t meet that exception,” she said.

With ‘Golden,’ she went platinum

EJAE described her departure from SM as a breakup: a mutual breakup, but heartbreaking nonetheless. She had spent her formative years enmeshed with the company, and now she was on her own.

“I didn’t know what to do with my life,” she said.

She’d developed an interest in producing while at New York University, where she studied music during a break from training. Encouraged by her mom and brother, she would go to DJ performances in New York and ask them questions after shows.

“‘If you want to get something, you have to be proactive’ — that’s always been instilled in me, and that was honestly the start of my journey of discovering myself as a writer, whether it be producing or not,” EJAE said.

She spent hours each day teaching herself to use music software and how to make beats. She was intrigued by production, in part because she didn’t see many women in that side of the industry.

While figuring out her next move after SM, she did a studio session with a Korean producer. She thought they were going to make beats. Instead, he wanted her to write a song.

“The last song I’d written…like actually wrote the melody and lyrics — was in college for a project, and it was a Christmas song and it was terrible,” she recounted. “So I was like, ‘What?’”

But she gave it a go, and to her surprise, she fell in love with writing pop songs. The song she wrote that day was picked up and released as “Hello” by K-pop singer Hani.

Although EJAE never debuted as an idol, the training helped her understand the structures and melodies that would work for songs. Andrew Choi, who would become her mentor, heard “Hello” and brought her onto his team and to SM songwriting camps. (Choi is the singing voice for Jinu in KPop Demon Hunters.)

“I think he saw potential in me, which I didn’t see,” she said. “Sometimes it just takes other people to see something in you for you to believe in yourself, too.”

Since then, she has co-produced or co-written for a string of big-name K-pop acts, including Twice, Suzy and Aespa. Perhaps her most recognisable hit is Psycho, by Red Velvet.

For KPop Demon Hunters, she’s credited on four tracks, including Golden.

Maggie Kang, the movie’s creator and co-director, said she contacted the songwriter at the suggestion of her husband. EJAE was initially brought on as a songwriter in 2019 and offered the lead singing role around 2022.

“We cast EJAE first. We had the demos and knew that we wanted EJAE to do the vocals,” Kang told Forbes last July. In a social media post, she said the demos helped the film get the green light.

EJAE, for her part, was more hesitant. She had never been cast in a movie before, and, at the time, no one knew KPop Demon Hunters would go on to become a global phenomenon. She enjoys being behind the scenes, where there’s less pressure, she said in an interview with The New York Times.

“What made me say yes is the efficiency,” she said. “I wrote the song; I know the nuances and how to sell it. I was confident about that.”

Now audiences are belting out her lyrics, and the music has given the movie a life beyond the screen. Golden held the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 for weeks last year, heard everywhere from grocery stores to dentist offices. Other KPop Demon Hunters songs similarly dominated the charts worldwide, with hundreds of millions of Spotify streams.

It’s a full-circle moment for EJAE. Twenty years after she hoped to be a K-pop star and 10 years after her dream was crushed, her voice and lyrics are reaching listeners across the world.

“Golden” even found its way into global affairs: The leaders of Japan and South Korea recently played the song on the drums together in an usually loud display of diplomacy.

When Golden won its Golden Globe, EJAE referenced her time as a trainee – and her reinvention.

“This award goes to people who’ve had their doors closed at them,” she said, accepting the accolade with her co-writer and producers. “I can confidently say rejection is redirection, so never give up.”

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

February 2, 2026

Grammy Awards 2026: All the winners as they are announced

Source: Radio New Zealand

It’s music’s biggest night, and we’re waiting to see who will take home those golden gramophones.

Going into the night, Kendrick Lamar leads with nine nominations, including for album of the year for his GNX.

Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny and Sabrina Carpenter all follow close behind with nods for album, record and song of the year.

Bad Bunny made history by becoming the first Spanish-language artist to simultaneously snag nominations in the coveted best album, record and song categories in the same year with Debí Tirar Más Fotos (I Should Have Taken More Photos).

The Grammys, hosted once again by Trevor Noah, will see performances from Gaga and Carpenter, as well as Justin Bieber and all eight best new artist nominees – Addison Rae, Alex Warren, KATSEYE, Leon Thomas, Lola Young, Olivia Dean, SOMBR and The Marías.

Below is a list of nominees, with the winners denoted in bold as they are announced on the telecast:

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

February 2, 2026

NZ pulls plug on $6.7m power project in Papua New Guinea amid tribal violence

Source: Radio New Zealand

A home destroyed in tribal fighting in PNG’s Highlands region. BTT Newscast

A New Zealand aid project in Papua New Guinea has been halted due to security concerns, and appears unlikely to be completed.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) confirmed work on the Enga Electrification Project in PNG’s Highlands region had “stopped due to ongoing violence around the project area”.

New Zealand invested $6.7 million over the last six years into the project which aimed to connect at least 4000 households in the area to electricity. It was part of combined efforts with the US, Australia and Japan to help 70 percent of PNG homes get connected by 2030.

However, tribal and election-related violence has surged in numerous parts of Enga Province in the past few years, with police largely unable to quell the unrest.

A spokesperson for the MFAT said contractors stopped work at the site in Tsak Valley in Enga’s Wapanamanda District last August.

Complexities

The choice of Enga for the electrification project was laden with risks, not just because of its remoteness and rugged terrain, but also due to the high level of tribal and election-related violence.

Development researcher Terence Wood of the Development Policy Centre said while the project’s goal was worthy, New Zealand appeared to rush into the project without giving enough thought to the complexities involved.

“You’d think very carefully about the country context, and contexts in different parts of the country, and that would guide where you work and also how you worked,” Dr Wood said.

“So violent parts of the Highlands, or the upper Highlands, of Papua New Guinea would be the last places you’re engaged with.”

He noted that large swathes of PNG’s population lack reliable access to electricity, so many rural communities in PNG would benefit from electrification, but added that challenges were compounded by the country’s poor governance.

“With work such as electricity, it’s one thing to build it, you also need a functioning government to maintain it.

Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill displays a document for electricity projects signed by Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, US Vice President Mike Pence and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. AFP

Geopolitical motivation

When PNG hosted the APEC Leaders Summit in 2018, the country’s prime minister at the time, Peter O’Neill agreed on the PNG Electrification Partnership with with leaders from Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the US.

Wood said geopolitics had driven New Zealand, alongside the other countries, to plunge into the project.

“We’ve sort of jumped in thanks to a perceived threat that China might be going to engage in this type of aid work in Papua New Guinea, and because of our haste, we didn’t pay sufficient attention to some of the complexities associated with providing electricity to Papua New Guinea.

“Aid donors often race in propelled by other motivations, and therefore don’t think carefully enough about the context and about how they might design their aid work to make sure it’s effective.”

Wood said there was a high probability that the project would not be completed successfully.

‘No respect for authority’

Enga governor Sir Peter Ipatas, admitted that escalating tribal violence and the build-up of illegal weapons in the province had got out of hand, putting many innocent lives at risk.

“In my province, my people have taken the lawlessness to another level using modern weapons, guns, and this has been also a sign of no respect for authority.”

He said a vacuum of law enforcement made the problem worse, as Engan warlords and their fighters were rarely arrested or prosecuted for fighting and destroying villages.

However, Ipatas said the problem with the high level of Engan tribal fights was an internal one, not directed at foreigners.

“Now the guns are only used for tribal fights. Nobody outside the the tribes that are involved are in any danger in our context as Engans, because you only fight your enemy. That’s the rule from our tradition.”

He urged PNG’s national government to ensure police do their job, suggesting more police assistance from Australia and New Zealand would be helpful.

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

February 2, 2026

The Brazilian Best Actor contender on sharing his beautifully ‘complex’ country

Source: Radio New Zealand

In one of Wagner Moura’s favourite scenes in The Secret Agent, his character Armando Solimões suddenly realises he’s being hunted by contract killers – then opens a door and steps out into a Brazilian carnival.

To the 49-year-old actor, the scene represents not only an “amazing” celebratory aspect of his culture but the emotional depth within all of us.

“He’s being persecuted by hitmen, he can get killed in any moment, and he just gives himself to the carnival and goes with the crowd, dancing,” he tells RNZ’s Saturday Morning.

This video is hosted on Youtube.

.

The oppressive censorship of Emílio Garrastazu Médici’s authoritarian government didn’t really end in 1985, Moura says, and in today’s “very diverse and culturally unique” Brazil, there are still echoes of its history of violence, misogyny, homophobia and elitism.

Wagner Moura: Golden Globe winner and Oscar-tipped Best Actor

Saturday Morning

Wagner Moura – here in a scene from The Secret Agent – made his feature film debut in the 2000 Penelope Cruz film Woman on Top.

MK2 Films via CNN Newsource

Although the South American country that gave the world samba and football and happiness is “liberal in many senses”, Moura says, it’s still the most “socially unfair” country in the world.

“The difference between who has lots of money and the ones that live in poverty is huge.”

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was “the physical manifestation of American colonialism over Brazil”, says actor Wagner Moura.

Sergio Lima / AFP

Moura has been an outspoken critic of now-jailed former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro – an “obscure far-right congressman” who rose to power after Donald Trump’s election in 2016.

From 2018 to 2022, he says Bolsonaro – “the physical manifestation of American colonialism over Brazil” – led a vicious attack on the country’s art and culture.

“His heroes were torturers and killers and people that did despicable things against civilians. And also he followed the manual of fascism… The first people that they attack are journalists, [academics] and artists.”

Although Brazil today is “liberal in many senses”, there are still echoes of the violence perpetrated by its authoritarian government in the 1970s, Moura says.

Victor Juca

In 2019, Bolsonaro was “very upset” by Moura’s directorial debut Marighellaand made it impossible for the film to be released in Brazil, he says.

“I was a very clear target for him because I was never afraid or ashamed of being vocal against him.”

A “victory” came at the end of 2021, though, when, despite threats and with metal detectors at the entrance to screenings, Marighella debuted in Brazilian theatres.

“The film went super well and sold many tickets because it was supported by a big part of the population in Brazil.”

Director and screenwriter Kleber Mendonca Filho and actor Wagner Moura at the Cannes Film Festival for “O Agente Secreto” (The Secret Agent) in May 2025.

Valery HACHE / AFP

Like Moura, The Secret Agent‘s director Kleber Mendonça Filho was a vocal, long-term critic of Brazil’s authoritarian government.

Both men also happen to hail from Recife – a coastal city in the northeast of the country that’s “the target of internal xenophobia”, Moura says, and before The Secret Agent rarely seen on screen.

The Secret Agent is set in Recife – a coastal Brazilian city plagued by tiger shark attacks and the hometown of the film’s director and lead actor.

Arne Müseler / CC BY 3.0

Although Filho is now someone that Moura loves and respects, he was a “very mean” film critic back when they first met at the Cannes Film Festival 20 years ago, he says.

After seeing Filho’s 2012 debut feature film Neighbouring Sound – “one of the greatest Brazilian films ever” – the former TV reporter became obsessed with the idea of collaborating with him.

In 2024, the actor and director returned to their shared hometown of Recife to film The Secret Agent – a movie that Moura says reveals the complexity of Brazil’s history and culture as it reflects the paradoxes within every human.

Wagner Moura in his Golden Globe-nominated performance as Pablo Escabar in Narcos.

Photo12 via AFP

Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, who Moura learned Spanish and gained over 18 kilograms to play in Narcos, was simultaneously a “very despicable man” and also just a “person”, he says.

“I guess that’s what we all want [to express] as artists, and that’s what you want to see when you go see a film.

“You don’t want to see, like, Disney characters that are either evil or good. People are complex, and that’s the beauty of being alive, I guess.”

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

Category: World News

People collect frozen iguanas as US cold snap continues to bite

Avoiding seed oils is an online trend, but are they as bad as some would have you believe?

NZ holds out hope for halted Papua New Guinea electrification project

The Epstein files are rocking Britain from the palace to parliament

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

Sarah Ferguson

Peter Mandelson

Bad Bunny uses Grammy Award win to protest ICE

AI actress Tilly Norwood could soon do her own interviews

Her agency crushed her K-pop idol dreams. Her reinvention brought them back to life

Grammy Awards 2026: All the winners as they are announced

NZ pulls plug on $6.7m power project in Papua New Guinea amid tribal violence

Complexities

Geopolitical motivation

‘No respect for authority’

The Brazilian Best Actor contender on sharing his beautifully ‘complex’ country