World News – Page 16

Italian fashion legend Valentino Garavani, whose elegant evening gowns were favoured for decades by some of the world’s most glamorous women, has died at 93, according to his foundation.

Born in the northern town of Voghera, Italy, in 1932, Valentino – who was popularly known by his first name – learned his trade in the haute couture ateliers in Paris before founding his own line in Rome in 1959.

Early on, he became known for his red dresses, in a rich scarlet shade that became his signature colour to the extent that it was known within the industry as “Valentino red”.

In 1960, he met his long-time business partner (and, for 12 years, romantic partner) Giancarlo Giammetti, then a young architecture student. Together, the pair turned Valentino SpA into an internationally recognised brand.

One of Valentino’s first famous customers was the actress Elizabeth Taylor, whom he met while she was filming Cleopatra in Rome in the early 1960s.

Other glamorous followers – and buyers – of Valentino’s work in the early years of his career included Begum Aga Khan, Queen Paola of Belgium, the actresses Audrey Hepburn and Joan Collins and Jacqueline Kennedy, who even wore a Valentino gown to wed Greek shipping giant Aristotle Onassis in 1968.

His popularity would continue as the decades progressed.

Valentino spent much of the 1970s in New York, surrounded by a wide circle of friends that included the artist Andy Warhol and Vogue editor Diana Vreeland. In the 1990s, he became a favourite of the decade’s supermodels, including Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell.

His creations also featured regularly on the red carpet.

At the Oscars alone, noteworthy Valentino ensembles over the years have included the heavily-beaded gown Jane Fonda wore in 1981 when she accepted the Best Actor prize for her father, Henry; the vintage black-and-white gown Julia Roberts wore in 2001; the pastel mint caftan-style gown Jennifer Lopez wore in 2003 and the sunshine yellow gown Cate Blanchett wore in 2005. (Both Roberts and Blanchett won Oscars in those respective years.) At the 2002 Academy Awards, Anne Hathaway walked the red carpet in an ornate Valentino gown, accompanied by the designer himself.

In more recent years, Zendaya, Carey Mulligan and Gemma Chan have been among fashion plate Oscars attendees wearing the label to much acclaim.

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

January 20, 2026

Kiwi photographer Max Alexander turns camera on ‘planetary defence’, space junk

Source: Radio New Zealand

Max Alexander will photographing New Zealand skies, while travelling here this summer. RNZ/Robin Martin

An award-winning New Zealand photographer, who has an asteroid named after him for his work in space sustainability, describes the honour as a “tremendous thrill”.

Papakura-raised, but UK-based Max Alexander is quick to point out his namesake ‘6548 Maxalexander’, discovered in 1988 by Belgian astronomer Henri Debehogne, is no threat to Earth, despite being 12km wide.

“It’s in the asteroid belt, so there’s no need to worry about it,” he said. “It’s the same size as the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, but you don’t need to wear a hard hat to work tomorrow – it’s all fine.”

The former New Plymouth Boys’ High School student describes himself as a science communication specialist, who uses visual storytelling to get messages across.

He said the timing of the International Astronomical Union honour – which followed a nomination from a former professor of his at the University Collage of London – was interesting, as his current work involved illustrating “planetary defence”.

Two hours before dawn, the sunlit trails of constellations of Orion, Taurus and the Milky Way are captured individually, using long-exposure photography. Max Alexander

“Deflecting asteroids is the only natural disaster you can do something about,” he said. “You can’t do anything about an earthquake or a volcano here in Taranaki, or a tsunami or whatever, but an asteroid, you can deflect it.”

Alexander explained NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission a few years ago had successfully changed the orbit of the asteroid Dimorphos.

“I’m involved with the Hera mission – the European Space Agency’s follow up mission – that will go and characterise the impact crater from the American DART mission, which fired a 600kg mass at the asteroid and managed to deflect it very successfully.”

Alexander said the work was important work, because one day an asteroid would need to be deflected from its orbit, as it had a chance of hitting the Earth.

“Importantly, there’s an asteroid called 2024 YR4 and, in 2032, it has a 4 percent chance of hitting the moon. That probability is likely too high for NASA, so they may be deflecting that asteroid.”

The photographer, who trained at the Wellington Polytechnic School of Design, would take pictures of efforts to protect the Earth from asteroids, so-called “planetary defence”.

The work included photographing the people and facilities at the forefront of this important project, and also impact craters around the world over the next two years.

It would culminate in an exhibition, also featuring still and video images taken from the RAMSES spacecraft, which will accompany Apophis, a 375m asteroid, as it safely passes close to Earth in 2029.

This hypervelocity impact test hangs like a piece of art in the home of Donald Kessler. In the 1970s, Kessler and colleague Burt Cour-Palais studied the build-up of space debris in Earth’s orbit. Max Alexander

Alexander said he was working as a freelance commercial/editorial photographer in Britain, when a trip to shoot the Northern Lights awakened an interest in astronomy and astrophysics, which he subsequently studied at University College London.

“I sort of changed career paths from then, and so now I specialise in the astronomy sector for international and inter-governmental organisations, and also the space industry, the UK Space Agency, European Space Agency.

“I’m a commissioned photographer for them, but also run my own projects as well, mainly about environmentalism for space, how we’re now starting to pollute space and what are we doing about the problem space sustainability.”

Alexander said much of his work was artistic in nature and the exhibition ‘Our Fragile Space’, put together over three years, was shown at the UN General Assembly and the Lloyds Building, and would soon be exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts Courtyard in London.

Aluminium scrap piled high at a junkyard at Andalusia, Spain. Most of the debris in space is made of aluminum and there is about 10,000 tonnes of it up there. Max Alexander

It had been credited with influencing European space policy and contributing to the UK government’s creation of ISAM (In-orbit, Servicing, Assembly and Manufacture), which Alexander described as a policy of moving towards a circular-economy in space.

“There are studies showing that, in 10 years’ time, there will likely be 10 times the number of satellites in Low Earth Orbit from 10,000 to 100,000, which is the trajectory we’re currently on.

“This is the trend. You could end up affecting the delicate balance of the upper atmosphere.”

Essentially, satellites breaking up while re-entering Earth’s atmosphere released particles that could impact atmospheric chemistry and potentially slowing the repair of the ozone layer, for example.

A Space X Falcon 9 rocket heads for orbit, leaving a trail of exhaust vapours behind it. The effect of these gases in our atmosphere is now a subject for environmental investigation. Max Alexander

Alexander, whose work also showcased the benefits of the space programme, said he favoured “an everything in moderation” approach.

“We need to become good stewards of the near-space environment, to be more sustainable in space. One tangible example would be to refuel satellites.

“Satellites, as soon as they run out of fuel, that’s the end of them and they’re not just floating around. They’re travelling at tremendous velocities – you’ve essentially created space debris.

“To address the problem today, you could refuel them, you could extend the life of these missions. You could try and recycle the materials.”

As part of the ‘Our Fragile Space’ exhibition, Alexander took long-exposure photographs of the sky to illustrate the number of satellites in space and used his access in the sector to secure images of examples of material sent into orbit, creating a visual representation illustrating the potential amount of space debris already existing.

Spanish astronomer Amelia Bayo contemplates the Milky Way in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Max Alexander

His work on the project – in collaboration with Steve Kelly and Stuart Clark – was recognised with the Sir Arthur Clarke Space Achievement Team Media Award (2025), presented by the British Interplanetary Society.

Alexander also had the unique experience of teaching British astronaut Tim Peake how to take photographs while he was aboard the International Space Station.

“I photographed him during his training at different times and he was very interested in my cameras, because the same Nikon cameras were on the International Space Station.

“After some informal training, he invited me to go on his email list and to give him training when he was on the space station. I waited about a month, just so he’d got settled in, sent him an email, and then we then went through the process and the technical requirements of shooting from space.”

Alexander said they discussed good photography practice, both technical and aesthetics, and applying that to working in zero and microgravity.

“The European Space Agency ended up publishing all those emails and notes, and they asked me to choose my favourite 20 pictures that he took. He got very well known for his photography.

“I don’t want to take the credit – he very quickly took to being a photographer in space.”

Alexander said he would turn his camera towards New Zealand skies for his latest project, while travelling here over the summer, but would also bask in the honour of having an asteroid named after him – at the same time as Polynesian navigator Tupaia, who sailed on the Endeavour with James Cook, no less.

“I’m extremely proud of it, absolutely,” he said. “It’s very motivating for my work to have that asteroid named after me.

“My family is going to make me an asteroid-themed cake down in Christchurch, I’ve been told, to mark the event, with sparklers and all sorts.”

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

January 18, 2026

The rise of the autistic detective – neurodivergent minds at the heart of modern mysteries

Source: Radio New Zealand

There never seems to be a shortage of good crime shows on TV, and network television is teeming with detectives who think – and act – differently.

This fall, new seasons of Elsbeth, High Potential, Patience and Watson have aired, and they all feature leads who share similar characteristics: They’re outsiders, they’re socially awkward, they can be emotionally distant, and their minds operate in unconventional ways.

In fact, they all possess traits that align with what many people now associate with neurodivergence – what scholar Nick Walker defines as “a mind that functions in ways that diverge significantly from the dominant societal standards of ‘normal.’”

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As a scholar of popular culture, I’ve long been fascinated by this recurring character type – detectives who might, today, be diagnosed as having autism spectrum disorder.

While researching my forthcoming book, The Autistic Detective, I’ve come to realise that most detectives in popular culture – yes, even Sherlock Holmes – exhibited neurodivergent characteristics, long before the term existed.

The thin line between genius and madness

In the late 19th century, when Sherlock Holmes was created, there was widespread scientific interest in the workings of the mind, particularly the thin line between genius and madness.

British psychologist James Sully described “men of genius” as exhibiting “intellectual or moral peculiarities which are distinctly symptomatic of mental disease,” naming Edgar Allan Poe as an example of the “tragic fatefulness of geniuses.” Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso, meanwhile, proposed that madness, genius and criminality were all closely intertwined.

Such a fascination with exceptional minds – and the idea that madness and genius are two sides of the same coin – fed into the heart of detective fiction. And although later scholars have criticised the linking of neurodivergence to pathology, violence or genius, the trope remains common in popular culture, where it’s often used to signal the exceptional mind of a detective figure.

Now, however, many fans are able to connect these characteristics to specific diagnostic labels. According to CDC data from April 2025, autism diagnoses in US children have risen sharply over the past two decades – from about 1 in 150 in 1998 to roughly 1 in 31 today. This reflects not only a broadened definition of the autism spectrum but also signals greater public awareness and acceptance of neurodivergence.

That growing understanding has led to renewed interest in Holmes. From online fan forums to The New York Times, people have debated whether Holmes might be autistic, wondered whether another label would be more appropriate, or highlighted the futility of trying to diagnose a fictional character.

Super intelligence and social dysfunction

That said, it’s hard not to see some neurodivergent traits in Sherlock Holmes and other fictional detectives.

Tunnel vision, pattern recognition and attention to detail are all traits that could be exhibited by autistic people.

Holmes was fixated on minute details: One story highlighted how he authored a study on the ashes of 140 different varieties of pipe, cigar and cigarette tobacco. He had an unmatched talent for noticing overlooked details and piecing together disparate clues. And he was obsessed with forensic science.

He could also come off as cold. As Holmes declared in The Sign of the Four, “Emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning.”

In Edgar Allan Poe’s 1841 short story The Murders in the Rue Morgue, which is widely considered the first detective fiction story, the protagonist, C. Auguste Dupin, also hyperfocuses on small details, reasons through “pure logic” and is socially reclusive – all qualities displayed by Holmes.

Even Dr. Watson, Holmes’ sidekick, noticed the resemblance.

“You remind me of Edgar Allen Poe’s Dupin,” he tells Holmes in A Study in Scarlet. “I had no idea that such individuals did exist outside of stories.”

When Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle famously killed off the detective at Reichenbach Falls in his 1893 story The Final Problem, there was so much public outrage that the author was eventually forced to bring him back from the dead.

These 19th-century Sherlock enthusiasts were predecessors to today’s media fandoms. Their level of devotion, unlike anything previously seen for a fictional character, was a testament to the power of Doyle’s formula: an extraordinary investigator with savantlike cognitive abilities who upholds logic over emotion, thrives in solitude and yet still depends on his companion – in Holmes’ case, Dr. Watson, who serves as an emotional counterbalance.

In the 21st century, that formula has been revived in wildly popular TV shows such as Bones, Criminal Minds and Sherlock.

In 2016, Sherlock co-creator Steven Moffat told the BBC, “Doyle began the idea that super-intelligence comes at the price of some kind of social dysfunction, something that we’ve grasped as a narrative possibility ever since.”

In other words, the more eccentric – or socially dysfunctional – a detective is, the more ingenious the hero seems.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ is a Korean series centered on an autistic, early-career attorney.

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A new era for the detective

Detective fiction might have started as a way to explore the deviant, non-normative minds of detectives and the criminals they pursued. But it has since become a space for neurodivergent self-representation.

Today, scholars, fans, reviewers and scientists openly discuss diagnostic labels for fictional characters. This surge in interest coincides with a rise in research on portrayals of autism in the media and a growing number of autistic voices examining how those portrayals shape public understanding.

Disability scholars have long warned of disabled characters being used as mere plot devices and have criticised the lack of diversity in representations of detectives who appear to be autistic on screen.

Yet many of the new shows push back against some of the stereotypes of autistic people as cold, lonely and incapable of affection. Instead, they have friends. They have romantic partners. They’re empathetic.

The series Elsbeth and High Potential center on quirky, intelligent female investigative leads who appear to be on the autism spectrum. In HBO’s 2020 miniseries The Outsider, detective Holly Gibney appears as one of the first Black, autistic female detectives on television.

While most of these characters aren’t explicitly identified as autistic in their shows, Extraordinary Attorney Woo features a female attorney whose diagnosis is openly discussed by the show’s characters.

The British-Belgian series Patience, meanwhile, is the first detective show to feature an explicitly autistic character played by a neurodivergent actress, Ella Maisy Purvis.

“It was really important to me that she wasn’t this kind of robotic, asexual drone,” Purvis told the Big Issue in 2025. “Patience is highly empathetic. She cares so much about her job and the people around her. It’s just expressed in a different way.”

These varied portrayals coincide with the rise of online fan communities where neurodivergent fans share what these stories mean to them. If the archetypal detective once tried to “make sense” of neurodivergent minds, today’s neurodivergent fans and creators are now having a hand in shaping them.

Perhaps most importantly, they no longer have to wonder whether they’re being represented on screen.

Soohyun Cho is an Assistant Professor at the Center for Integrative Studies in the Arts & Humanities, Michigan State University.

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

January 16, 2026

Longest ever lull in nuclear testing – but record already on shaky ground

Source: Radio New Zealand

By Brad Lendon, CNN

Firework displays in North Korea, as the state held a rally days after its last test of a nuclear weapon on 3 September 2017. KCNA VIS KNS / AFP

The world passed a nuclear milestone this week. And, perhaps surprisingly given the recent run of saber-rattling from the likes of Russia and the United States, it’s a positive one.

“As of today, the world has gone eight years, four months, and 11 days without a nuclear test … From now on, every day without a nuclear explosion will set a new record,” Dylan Spaulding, senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), wrote in a blog post Wednesday noting the milestone.

Wednesday’s (local time) watershed means the planet has seen its longest period without a nuclear explosion since the dawn of the nuclear era on 16 July , 1945, when the US exploded an atomic device in Alamogordo, New Mexico – the Trinity test – leading up to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, near the end of World War II.

North Korea conducted the world’s last nuclear test on 3 September 2017.

The previous longest period without a test was from May 30, 1998, when Pakistan conducted its last test, to 3 October, 2006, when North Korea conducted its first.

Spaulding cautions how fragile this “winning streak” has become, given threats by US President Donald Trump to resume nuclear testing.

“Reopening this Pandora’s box is both unnecessary and unwise,” Spaulding wrote.

“Unrestrained tests lead to competition, instability, and a degree of uncertainty that can scarcely be afforded on top of our existing global precarity,” he wrote.

In another warning sign, Trump has said he’s willing to allow the expiration on 5 February of a US-Russia treaty that caps the number of deployable nuclear weapons each side has.

Russia maintains the world’s biggest stockpile of nuclear weapons with more than 4300, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The US has about 3700, with Moscow and Washington together accounting for 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons, the SIPRI says.

Decades of nuclear testing

Since the Trinity test, the world has seen 2055 nuclear tests by eight nations, according to the Arms Control Association.

The US has conducted the most tests – 1030, followed by Russia/USSR, 715; France, 210; China and the UK, 45; North Korea, six; India, three; and Pakistan, two.

Those tests have occurred in places ranging from Pacific atolls to deserts in the US and China to the Russian Arctic, often with heavy tolls on human and environmental health.

Widespread nuclear testing stopped in the late 1990s, when the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was opened for signature.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz (6R) stands with officials in front of the nuclear-capable missile Hatf VI (Shaheen II) prior to its test fire at an undisclosed location on 29 April 2006. AFP / ISPR

Though it’s never come into force – mainly because the US signed but never ratified it – nations have largely abided by its conditions, with the exception of North Korea, which has been regarded as a rogue state and put under United Nations sanctions.

And since that 2017 test at North Korea’s Punggye-ri test site, much of the world has been on watch for Kim Jong Un to conduct another, given his enormous investment in a missile program that has given him weapons capable of reaching the continental US.

But in recent months, attention has turned to Washington and Moscow as Trump and subsequently Russian leader Vladimir Putin have threatened to restart nuclear testing in their countries.

The US last tested a nuclear weapon on 23 September, 1992. And Russia last exploded a nuclear device in 1990, when it was still the Soviet Union.

New threats to test

During a visit to South Korea in October, Trump vowed to begin testing US nuclear weapons “on an equal basis” with Russia and China, saying he had instructed the Defense Department to begin immediate preparations for such testing.

A week after Trump’s announcement, on November 5, Putin directed the Russian military to begin preparing for weapons tests.

Nuclear weapons tests are conducted to gauge the effects of new advances in the bombs or to ensure existing weapons will still work if fired.

Trump has vowed to begin testing US nuclear weapons “on an equal basis” with Russia and China. JIM WATSON / AFP

Spaulding and other scientists say it’s all unnecessary. That’s because the nuclear powers now have the technology to conduct “sub-critical” tests, which can mimic a nuclear process right up to the point of detonation.

“Advanced nuclear states are technically well beyond the point of exploring whether their weapons will detonate reliably,” he wrote.

Any US testing now brings into question whether Washington has been a reliable steward of its huge nuclear arsenal, according to Spaulding.

“While the Trump administration may view a test as a contribution to deterrence, it may actually have the opposite effect by projecting an irreconcilable lack of confidence in the US stockpile,” he said.

START treaty to lapse

The fears of renewed nuclear testing are being exacerbated by the impending lapse of the New Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (START), implemented in 2011, which limits the number of nuclear warheads the US and Russia can deploy to 1550.

According to a report this week from the Union of Concerned Scientists, those numbers could spike quickly after 5 February.

“Within weeks, the United States could field another 480 nuclear weapons at bomber bases. Within months, it could load almost 1000 additional nuclear warheads onto submarines. And within years, it could load an additional 400 nuclear warheads onto land-based missiles. Russia could do the same, increasing the stakes of political tension and the possibility of deeply catastrophic miscalculations,” the UCS said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. MIKHAIL METZEL / POOL / AFP

“Both Russia and the United States already have more than enough nuclear weapons to devastate each other many times over. Adding more to the mix increases the chances of an accident, and the consequences of miscalculation or escalation,” said report author Jennifer Knox, a policy and research analyst at the UCS.

START has been on shaky ground since 2023, when Putin suspended Russian participation in it, citing among other reasons US support for Ukraine in the aftermath of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

Moscow has stopped allowing verification inspections, and the US has reciprocated.

But the Russian leader last September offered to extend observance of START’s limits by a year after 5 February.

Trump, however, seems inclined to let it lapse.

“If it expires, it expires,” he said. “We’ll do a better agreement,” he told The New York Times earlier this month, while indicating China should be part of any new pact.

So in this record-setting week, there is more unease than celebration among those who watch nuclear proliferation closely.

“While the world has quietly broken a record for the longest period of time without a nuclear test, it is clear that this stability is fragile,” the UCS’s Spaulding wrote.

– CNN

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

January 16, 2026

New Zealand vacates embassy in Iran as threat of violence escalates

Source: Radio New Zealand

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

New Zealand’s embassy in Iran has temporarily closed due to what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) says is a “deteriorating” security situation.

Human rights groups estimate the death toll has reached over 2500 since protests against the regime began last month.

A ministry spokesperson said all diplomatic staff left Iran on commercial flights overnight (NZ time), shifting operations to Ankara in Turkey.

On Thursday, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said New Zealand was “appalled” by an escalation of violence and repression.

“We condemn the brutal crackdown being carried out by Iran’s security forces, including the killing of protesters,” Peters said.

“Iranians have the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and access to information – and that right is currently being brutally repressed.”

The government has continued to advise against all travel to Iran, and for any New Zealanders in the country to leave now.

“The ability of the New Zealand Government to provide consular assistance to New Zealanders in Iran remains extremely limited,” the MFAT spokesperson said.

“There are severe communication challenges in Iran, which are limiting the ability of people to get in touch with family and friends. When they are able to, New Zealanders in Iran should let family and friends know they are safe.”

Earlier this week the United Kingdom also temporarily closed its embassy in Tehran, with all staff evacuated.

Protests against the regime began in the capital Tehran in late December, sparked by the country’s dire economic conditions, and have since spread across the country.

US President Donald Trump had threatened military action over Tehran’s severe response to the protests.

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

January 16, 2026

After an epic journey around Australia, the Riley family’s world was shaken

Source: Radio New Zealand

Five years ago, Australian pastor David Riley, his wife, two high school aged daughters and their youngest son, set off on an epic journey to lap Australia.

During that adventure, Riley came across the story of Nevill Westwood and Greg Davies, the first to lap the continent by car, driving a tiny Citroen cabriolet called Bubsie.

The young pair left Perth bound for Darwin in Bubsie. They had been sent by their church with a simple, but daunting, task, to establish a mission in the Northern Territory.

Nevill Westwood and Greg Davies became the first people to drive around Australia in 1925.

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A hundred years previously. Westwood and Davies had no maps. There were no petrol stations, no mechanics en route, and they navigated by following telegraph wires, Riley told RNZ.

The car driven by the two six-foot-tall men was tiny, he says.

“A little two-seater cabriolet soft top, seven and a half horsepower engine size, that’s half the engine size of most modern-day ride on lawnmowers. There was barely enough room for the two of them.”

The car now sits at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra.

“If you looked at it in the museum today, you would think, how could this car make it all the way around Australia?”

Keeping Bubsie ticking over on the mammoth journey required some primitive and inventive bush mechanics, he says.

David Riley has written a book about Nevill, Greg and Busbie’s great adventure.

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“One of the ways they overcame all their flat tyres up north was to take a freshly killed cow, skin it and to wrap the skin into tight balls and stuff it in their deflated tyres with holes in it to create solids.”

The pair would travel for hundreds of kilometres with tyres filled with animal carcass slowly cooking from the heat and friction, he says.

“The outback flies swarmed to their car and it stunk. And the irony of two vegetarian 7th Day Adventist missionaries travelling the outback with their tires full of animal carcass is quite funny.”

Bubsie also developed fuel leaks, he says, the duo buying or being given petrol at cattle stations on the way.

“The fuel tank was located underneath the dashboard and so one of the fellas, Nevill, would drive but with his head and hand under the dashboard stopping the leaks with his fingers but not able to see where he was driving and Greg his partner would stand on the side of the car on the running board and give him directions as they drove through the outback.”

When they eventually reached Darwin, they decided rather than stay and develop the mission, to continue circumnavigating Australia, however another three people were setting out from Perth with the same idea.

Westwood and Davies found themselves vying to be the first people to drive all the way around Australia up against a retired butcher and a mother and daughter pair.

Although they had a considerable head start, their competitors drove bigger more powerful cars, Riley says.

“They had a 4000 kilometre start in a race of about 13,000 kilometres. But they knew that a mechanical problem of any sort would hold them up for a week or two.”

There was a point in their race where it was thought others would overtake Bubsie and the boys, Riley says.

“But it didn’t happen, they managed to hold on to their lead and be the first to arrive back into Perth, Western Australia, five months after they set out.”

The journey and its deprivations tested their friendship, Riley says, and it all came to head in Sydney. They had a falling out and Davies decided to leave Westgate and Bubsie.

After Riley and his family completed their own journey. tragedy struck. His eldest daughter Jess became ill with headaches.

“She was hospitalised, diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer, glioblastoma; in less than three months we lost Jess.”

Jess had a rare cancer related syndrome and the whole family was tested.

“It was discovered that I was the one that had passed it on to Jess and also as a result of that testing it was discovered that I have terminal cancer as well,” Riley says.

“The doctors have given me another few months to live, but with treatment over the last few months it is possible I might make it through to the end of this year.”

This shattering news makes the memories he made travelling around Australia with his family for two years even more precious, he says.

“Every evening lying in bed with the lights out, talking with my wife and three kids in their bunks as we talk about the day and talk about the plans for tomorrow that was the best memory that I’ve got.

“… And every night I would think the same thing, the most important priorities in my life were all lying within a five-metre radius of me, my family.”

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

January 15, 2026

Tongans still ‘broken’ four years on from Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano eruption

Source: Radio New Zealand

It is known as the day Tonga went black. January 15th marks four years since the devastating eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano and the tsunami that followed.

Three people lost their lives and major damage was caused to infrastructure and crops in the surrounding islands. But it is the mental impacts which have scarred the local community the deepest.

Scientists described the underwater volcano as one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history, equivalent to five underground nuclear bombs. It was an explosion that no one who experienced it could ever forget.

Business owner Liz Cowley remembers that fateful day clearly. She was driving to safety with her late mother.

“As soon as we just turned this little turn, the world went dark and we could hear the bang, bang, bang and ash was down, falling, you know,” she recalled.

Hours later, she looked out at a surreal scene.

“When we went out and saw the ash was almost ankle high and it was just a very airy feeling in Tonga, you know, it was like something out of a movie. You never thought this would happen to us, but it did,” Cowley explained.

Consulate of the Kingdom of Tonga

Survivor Lusiana Kikau and her family are just grateful to be alive. They were employees of Fafa Island Resort. The small island, which is a 30-minute boat ride away from Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa, was destroyed by the tsunami.

Kikau remembers sitting on the beach when the tsunami hit, and her main priority was to save her daughter who was 10 years old at the time.

“So, we just trying to save, save our daughter, so we try to clear with other two Fijian staff we were together on that island, just try to save our daughter. So, she climbed up on the tree. I just used the rope to tie around my waist when the waves start coming in,” Kikau recalled.

Kikau admitted that she was still traumatised by the event.

“Sometime when I heard loud sound like I’m scared, I always remember what happened on that day, when the loud sound like thunder or any sound,” she said.

This handout photo taken on January 16, 2022 and received on January 25 courtesy of Rev. Kisini Toetu’u via Matangi Tonga shows survivors praying on a hilltop at dawn on Mango Island, following the January 15 eruption of the nearby Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcano. AFP PHOTO / Courtesy of Rev. Kisini Toetu’u via Matangi Tonga” –

In the immediate wake of the disaster, the Pasifika Medical Association Group sent an emergency response team of medical professionals to Tonga. It has subsequently returned each year with support focused on addressing the well-being of individuals.

PMA’s CEO Debbie Sorensen said today many people will be feeling overwhelmed by the legacy of the disaster.

“I think the anniversary brings up all sorts of feelings for people, you know, there are feelings of grief over what people have lost.

“There’s anxiety and fear, you know, I imagine quite a lot of people will be looking at that horizon wondering whether it’s going to be another one on the same day. You know, those are quite normal feelings,” she notes.

Sorensen said it’s important for those suffering trauma to seek help from the resources available, including reaching out to local mental health professionals

“The Tongan Mental Health Group is actually very well known amongst our community and in Tonga,” she said.

Volcanic clouds cover the skies over Tongatapu at around 5pm on 15 January 2022, as the Hunga Tonga – Hunga Ha’apai volcano started erupting. Iliesa Tora

The traumatic event has left devastating effects on people’s well-being in Tonga. For some people, the full impacts of trauma are delayed, and four years on many people are still grappling with the worst of it – a complex set of fears and emotions that may not be visible to others but is very real for the people affected.

Cowley said she is deeply concerned about the people around her, and said more professional help is needed to help the community.

“Someone passionate that can a listener you know, to help these people, they’re broken,” Cowley said.

“Because I don’t think some will ever be able to recover from this at all.”

Sorensen agreed that more needs to be invested in resources.

“I think that technology, you know, has played its part in being able to extend the services that are offered. But there’s no question that there needs to be more investment in more resources applied.”

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

January 15, 2026

Qatar says some personnel departing US base over ‘regional tensions’

Source: Radio New Zealand

A US military transport aircraft is pictured on the tarmac at the Al-Udeid air base southwest of Doha on 21 March 2024. AFP/GIUSEPPE CACACE

Some personnel have been told to leave Qatar’s major US military base over “regional tensions”, Doha said, while Saudi Arabia’s US mission urged caution as Washington and Iran traded threats of military action.

The United States has repeatedly warned it could intervene against a deadly Iranian government crackdown on protests, while Tehran has said it would strike US military and shipping targets if attacked.

The precautions at Al Udeid, the region’s biggest US base, are “in response to the current regional tensions”, Qatar’s International Media Office said.

The base was targeted by Iranian strikes in June after the US briefly joined Israel’s war against the Islamic republic.

“Qatar continues to implement all necessary measures to safeguard the security and safety… including actions related to the protection of critical infrastructure and military facilities,” a statement said.

A diplomatic source told AFP earlier that a number of personnel were asked to leave the base by Wednesday evening (local time). A second source confirmed the information, also on condition of anonymity.

The US embassy in Qatar declined to comment on personnel movement at Al Udeid.

In Saudi Arabia, the US embassy told staff and American citizens “to exercise increased caution and limit non-essential travel to any military installations in the region”.

UK withdrawals

Britain is withdrawing some personnel from an air base in Qatar, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, mirroring similar moves by the United States at bases in the Middle East after an Iranian official said Tehran had warned neighbours it would hit American bases if Washington strikes.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said the department did not comment on details of basing and deployments due to security, Reuters is reporting.

“The UK always puts precautionary measures in place to ensure the security and safety of our personnel, including where necessary withdrawing personnel,” the spokesperson added.

‘Respond to any attack’

Meanwhile, two sources close to the government in Riyadh said Saudi Arabia had told Iran it would not let its airspace or territory be used to launch attacks.

“Saudi Arabia has informed Tehran directly that it will not be part of any military action taken against it,” a source close to the Saudi military told AFP.

A second source close to the government confirmed the message had been communicated to Tehran. The US has several military sites in the Gulf, including in Saudi Arabia.

Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) that the June strike on Al Udeid demonstrated “Iran’s will and capability to respond to any attack”.

After the strike, Qatari, US and Iranian officials held a series of calls that led to de-escalation and a ceasefire.

Washington has repeatedly said the US is considering air strikes on Iran to stop the deadly crackdown on protests.

Trump on Tuesday (local time) told CBS News that the US would act if Iran began hanging protesters.

Iranian authorities called the American warnings a “pretext for military intervention”.

The protests in Iran have posed one of the biggest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 Islamic revolution ousted the shah.

Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said it had confirmed at least 3428 people killed during the crackdown.

– AFP / Reuters

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

January 15, 2026

Simple ways to reduce your exposure to microplastics around the home

Source: Radio New Zealand

If you’re feeling concerned about microplastics it can be hard to know what to do about it. After all, aren’t they everywhere?

“We are constantly exposed to microplastics and nanoplastics, even smaller particles,” Cassandra Rauert says.

“We really don’t have a good understanding of any links to potential health outcomes,” the senior research fellow at The University of Queensland says.

Rauert says she uses wooden chopping boards and cooking utensils instead of plastic as it’s an “easy swap” to make.

Caroline Attwood

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But, if you are wanting to reduce your exposure as a precautionary measure, researchers say there are simple ways to do this at home.

Chopping boards, cooking utensils and water bottles

Environmental chemist and Macquarie University Research fellow Yunlong Luo says if you’re applying heat, heavy friction or strong chemicals to plastic, “there’s a good chance it’s breaking down and releasing particles”.

With this in mind, Luo says it might make sense to swap items that get this kind of use for alternative materials, for example plastic cutting boards for wooden ones.

Rauert says she uses wooden chopping boards and cooking utensils instead of plastic as it’s an “easy swap” to make.

Okoffo also suggests trading plastic chopping boards for alternatives, such as silicone or wood.

Where possible, he recommends choosing different materials such as metal water bottles, wooden utensils and glass containers.

If you do have plastic water bottles, avoid leaving them in a hot car or direct sunlight, Okoffo says.

Plastic containers

Okoffo avoids microwaving plastics whenever possible, “especially if they’re reused, old, or scratched”.

This is because “temperature actually plays a major role” in the release of microplastics and chemicals.

Instead, he says to move leftovers into ceramic or glass before microwaving or consider trading your plastic containers for glass or ceramic options.

Rauert says she minimises the amount of plastic food containers she uses, and doesn’t put plastic in the microwave.

“Cheaper plastic containers do shed a lot of plastics and it’s worse when you put hot food in them”.

Because of this, Okoffo recommends waiting for food to cool down before putting it in a plastic container.

He also suggests handwashing plastics, because conditions in the dishwasher (the high temperature and detergent) aid the release of plastic particles from containers.

Handwashing plastic containers still releases particles, he notes, so it’s a case of reduction rather than removal.

Chemicals in plastic containers can also potentially leak or migrate into food, “especially when containers are used in ways they’re not supposed to be”, Okoffo says.

The kettle

One of the authors of a recent study into the release of microplastics and nanoplastics from plastic kettles, Okoffo says these appliances are another source of exposure for many of us.

The highest levels of plastics were detected in water after the first few boils of a new plastic kettle, but research found that “the plastic concentration reduced drastically” from 50 to 150 boils, he says.

One of the study’s recommendations is for manufacturers to let consumers know to boil the kettle and discard the contents before using it, rather than simply rinsing it.

Okoffo says cost is undeniably a factor and “people will still definitely go for the plastic kettle”, but the research did lead him to upgrade from a plastic kettle to a more expensive stainless steel option at home.

One of the major sources of plastics into the environment is from synthetic clothing.

Unsplash

The clothes dryer

“One of the major sources of plastics into the environment is from synthetic clothing,” Okoffo says.

Luo says clothes dryers can be a “significant source” of microfibres at home and “air drying clothes is a great way to cut down on this”.

Rauert agrees and says there are also vented clothes dryers (that expel humid air outside the house using a vent), which will mean more particles will go outside.

She also looks for natural fibres over synthetics, where possible, when shopping for new clothes.

Dusting and mopping

Cleaning can also help reduce microplastics, according to Rauert and Luo, as well as some of the chemicals used to make plastics, which can also “settle into the dust”.

Luo says using a damp cloth to wipe surfaces and vacuuming and mopping floors is likely to help minimise the tiny particles in the dust at home.

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

January 14, 2026

How realistic is Mattel’s new autistic Barbie?

Source: Radio New Zealand

Autistic people are so rarely depicted in media and entertainment, it’s no wonder most people don’t really understand much about the neurotype.

So we were pleased to see the launch of autistic Barbie.

Autism is a life-long neurodevelopmental difference, meaning autistic children grow into autistic adults. As autistic researchers, who advocate for the increased meaningful representation of our community, it was a good sign that multinational toy company Mattel worked with an autistic-led advocacy organisation based in the US, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, in creating this new toy.

The autistic Barbie doll.

Mattel

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Here are some considerations about her features to help you make up your own mind.

The tablet

Autistic Barbie is shown with a tablet with an augmented and alternative communication (AAC) application, which speaks aloud when buttons are pressed.

Some autistic people find communicating extremely challenging, and around a third cannot communicate reliably by speaking. This leads to needs going unmet, feeling misunderstood and often significant distress.

That is, unless an alternative mode of communication is available. Applications available on tablets, such as Proloquo2Go and Coughdrop, are helpful for some autistic people to communicate their needs and preferences.

Although some non-speaking autistic people find it easier to communicate with non-digital options such as printed cards, or using a low-tech signboard with letter tiles alongside a skilled communication partner, we think it’s great that this Barbie comes with a tablet.

The headphones

Sensory sensitivities are a core element of autistic lived experience. Autistic people are commonly sensitive to noise, light, smells, textures and taste. To represent this, autistic Barbie comes with noise-cancelling headphones which can be vital for some autistic people with noise sensitivities. However, other autistic people may find them too uncomfortable to wear and prefer in-ear options. For this reason, autistic people should be allowed to wear ear protection any time it is safe.

Eye contact

The development team reportedly gave Barbie a sideways glance, which aimed to show that eye contact may be uncomfortable and thus avoided in autistic people. An additional way to strengthen autistic Barbie could be to show the potential of visual distress, and to provide her with a coloured glasses accessory. Coloured lenses are a helpful tool to reduce the pain some autistic people feel in response to light, movement and colours. In reality, a specialist test can be used to help autistic people figure out what colour is best for them.

The outfit

Mattel seem to have invested thought in making Barbie’s outfit comfortable from a sensory point of view. Her outfit does not come with labels sewn in – a common cause of irritation to autistic people.

Her dress is loose and flowing, which may appeal to those with tactile hypersensitivity. We didn’t have an autistic Barbie to hand, so we aren’t sure what the fabric is like, but soft and comfortable fabric is a must for many autistic people.

It is worth noting that autistic people often have individual clothing preferences, and some may prefer tight – or even restrictive – clothing as it provides proprioceptive feedback, which can be comforting. It can also support hypermobile joints, which are at least three times as common in autistic people compared to non-autistic people. Furthermore, many autistic people are gender non-conforming, so may not see themselves represented in this outfit.

Autistic Barbie is wearing Mary Jane-style flat shoes, rather than Barbie’s typical high heels. Many autistic people struggle with shoes and rigid slim shoes may be uncomfortable for some. Almost half of autistic young people also walk on their tiptoes as a way of stimming, so allowing a movable ankle would have allowed this to be visible.

The stim tool

Stimming is an important way for autistic people to stay comfortable and regulated. It can undo some of the pain and discomfort of an unsuitable sensory environment. For this reason, we were really pleased to see that Barbie has two opportunities to stim. First, she has bendable elbows and wrists – many autistic people do some form of repetitive movement of their arms and hands as part of stimming. Also, Barbie holds a fidget spinner. This is a small toy that creates an interesting tactile and visual response.

Although not all autistic people will like fidget spinners, most engage in stims with their hands, so this is a good representation of one object that autistic people use to stim.

So how did Mattel do?

Social science researchers have claimed that Barbie – regardless of neurotype – has historically been reductive and problematic. Barbie is unachievably thin, extremely feminine and all too often white. It is important not to ignore these criticisms, however, Barbies are very popular toys and have a reach beyond other brands, and their range of disabled Barbies feels important to raise awareness.

There is no single “look” to being autistic, so the Barbie Mattel created can’t represent everyone, especially as her design is limited to visual elements. Despite these issues, we think, in general, that Mattel and the Autistic Self Advocacy Network have done a great job of creating the autistic Barbie doll.

Her existence is an overall positive. Her inclusion creates a much-needed opportunity for representation, education and normalises the use of disability accommodations.

Aimee Grant is an Associate Professor in Public Health and Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow, Swansea University. Rebecca Ellis is an Assistant Researcher in Public Health, Swansea University.

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

Category: World News

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Simple ways to reduce your exposure to microplastics around the home

How realistic is Mattel’s new autistic Barbie?