Category: World News

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What’s the link between talcum powder and cancer?

Source: Radio New Zealand

More than 1300 Victorians have joined a class action against Johnson & Johnson alleging its talcum powder products left them with ovarian cancer, mesothelioma (cancer affecting the lungs) and other cancers affecting the reproductive organs.

This follows lawsuits in the United Kingdom and the United States, including a prominent case in California. In December 2025, Johnson & Johnson was forced to pay two women US$40 million after a jury found its baby powder was dangerous and that it had failed to warn consumers.

Talc is a naturally occurring mineral mined in many parts of the world. People can come into contact with it during mining and processing, industrial applications, and more commonly, through its use in cosmetics and body powders.

People use talc on their genitals to absorb moisture, reduce friction, disguise odours, or to reduce skin rashes and chafing. Talc increases the opaqueness of face powders and cosmetics, leaving skin feeling smooth and soft.

So how is it linked to cancer? And what does the scientific evidence say?

Contamination with asbestos

Since the 1970s, questions have emerged about whether talc could be contaminated with asbestos. Asbestos is a cancer-causing agent that can affect the lungs when inhaled.

Talc and asbestos are minerals often found close to each other in the Earth, so there is potential for talc to be contaminated with asbestos during the mining process.

Since the 1970s, manufacturers have attempted to produce pure talcum powder free from asbestos. However, it’s unclear how routinely samples are tested and the extent of contamination over the past 50 years.

In 2023, Johnson & Johnson stopped selling talc in its products worldwide, including in Australia, switching instead to a cornflour base. Other manufacturers still sell talcum powder and it’s still used in cosmetics, as well as industrially.

What does the science say about the cancer link?

Two cancers have a possible link with talc use:

Some human studies have found products containing talc are linked with higher rates of ovarian cancer. Other studies have found no link.

Studies that examined the use of talc on the genital area found no evidence to suggest a link between talc and uterine or cervical cancer.

But there are several challenges to overcome when studying the link between talcum powder and cancer. It can be difficult to recall details about talc use (brand, amount, and so on) many years later. Some people who developed cancer will have died before being identified and studied, so won’t be included.

However, when researchers investigated how often participants used talc powder and compared those who used it frequently with those who didn’t, they found an increased risk of ovarian cancer among frequent users.

So what does it all mean?

When there are differing results from multiple studies, those results can be summarised together to answer the research question. So what does all the currently available evidence say about the relationship between talc usage and ovarian cancer?

This summary study concludes there appears to be a weak risk of some types of ovarian cancer, meaning it’s linked to a small increase in risk, but the reasons why remain unclear.

The evidence suggests talc does not increase the risk of other gynaecological cancers, such as uterine and cervical.

Talc contaminated with asbestos is clearly linked to an increased risk of lung cancer. However, cosmetic use of talc doesn’t seem to increase the risk of lung cancer because users don’t breathe it in.

In 2024 the World Health Organization (WHO) updated its advice to say that talc is “probably carcinogenic” which means it probably causes cancer in humans. This is the second-highest risk level for cancer, which includes the herbicide glyphosate (Roundup) and red meat.

If you use talcum powder and are concerned about an increased risk of cancer, it’s recommended you stop using it or limit how much you use. As with all decisions in life, consider the balance between potential harms and benefits, especially if you’ve used talc for a long time and want to minimise your risk of getting cancer.

Tam Ha is an Associate Professor of Cancer Epidemiology, University of Wollongong.

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

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Red alert issued for Vanuatu province as Cyclone Urmil passes nearby

Source: Radio New Zealand

Tropical cyclone Urmil near Vanuatu, 28 February 2026 Zoom Earth

Vanuatu’s national disaster management office has issued a red alert for TAFEA province as a tropical cyclone hovers near the province.

Tropical Cyclone Urmil formed southwest of Port Vila on Friday.

It has now been upgraded to a Category 2 according to the Fiji Meteorological Service.

“At 5am local time, 28 February, analysis put this cyclone at 20 degrees South, 169.9 degree East, and that is roughly south east of Tanna island in the TAFEA province,” according to the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazard Department’s Tropical Cyclone Supervisor, Jerry Timothy.

TAFEA province is made up of the islands of Tanna, Aneityum, Futuna, Erromango and Aniwa.

Timothy said the cyclone moved into the TAFEA province from the West, from the Western side of the island group, there.

“Most probably the first island, Erromango hasn’t that much of the cyclone, maybe to the west of the island, but Tanna, which is the island in the middle, the tropical cyclone came very close to the south of the island, moving to the south,” he said.

The latest cyclone warning bulletin from the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazard Department said damaging gale force winds of 90km/h will continue to affect Tafea Province today.

It said heavy rainfalls with flash flooding are expected over low lying areas and areas close to river banks, including coastal flooding over TAFEA today. Very rough seas with heavy to phenomenal swells are expected over the area mention above.

A marine strong wind warning is also current for central and southern waters of Vanuatu. High Seas wind warning is also current for all open waters of Vanuatu. People, including sea going vessels are advised to take precautions.

Jerry Timothy said people can expect wind gusts of up to 105km/h.

Communities on Tanna island were preparing for a night of heavy weather as Tropical cyclone Urmil passed close-by.

Mora Kapum of White Grass Ocean Resort in Lenakel told RNZ Pacific that there was heavy rain and strong winds last night, leading to some minor flooding.

She said there is no serious damage there but there is a lot of cleaning up today, and it’s still very windy.

Red alert

When a RED ALERT is issued, you need to stay in a safe shelter:

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Watch: Rocket Lab blasts off on hypersonic mission for US Department of War

Source: Radio New Zealand

‘That’s Not A Knife’ on the launch pad at LC-2. Supplied / Rocket Lab

New Zealand-founded company Rocket Lab has successfully launched its latest space mission for the US Department of War.

The HASTE rocket, called ‘That’s Not A Knife’, lifted off from Wallops Island in Virginia in the US at 1pm on Saturday (NZ time) from Launch Complex 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.

It was Rocket Lab’s second successful launch of a hypersonic test mission for the US Department of War’s Defense Innovation Unit, and the seventh HASTE rocket launch overall. Rocket Lab said all HASTE missions to date have achieved 100 percent success.

The launch was the company’s third of the year and its 82nd overall.

HASTE stands for hypersonic accelerator suborbital test electron, and is a suborbital testbed launch vehicle.

Suborbital missions enter space but don’t stay there.

The mission deployed DART AE, a scramjet-powered aircraft developed by Australian aerospace engineering firm Hypersonix, into a suborbital hypersonic flight environment at several times the speed of sound.

‘That’s Not A Knife’ mission payload. Supplied / Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab said the work was supporting a critical national priority to advance hypersonic technology for the United States and its allies.

Rocket Lab’s vice president of global launch services, Brian Rogers, said the launch was another proud moment for the HASTE team and a great showcase of the important commercial platform it has become for the Department of War.

‘That’s Not A Knife’ on the launch pad at LC-2. Supplied / Rocket Lab

“Regular and reliable HASTE launches are helping to accelerate hypersonic readiness for the nation, and we take pride in providing the foundation to a new era of testing of this critical technology to protect the United States space security,” said Rogers.

Hypersonix chief executive Matt Hill said successfully flying DART AE in a real hypersonic environment marked a major milestone for the company’s flight test programme and moved it closer to delivering reusable hypersonic capability.

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

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

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

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

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

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

Pablo Merchan Montes / Unsplash

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

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Vanuatu and Fiji on alert as tropical depression gains strength

Source: Radio New Zealand

TD09F is currently located 90 kilometres southwest of the Vanuatu capital Port Vila. Zoom Earth

Met services in Fiji and Vanuatu are closely monitoring a tropical depression forecast to become a cyclone on Friday afternoon.

According to the Nadi Tropical Cyclone Centre in Fiji, the centre of the system, designated TD09F, is currently located 90 kilometres south west of the Vanuatu capital Port Vila.

Senior forecaster Stephen Meke said it is expected to continue intensifying.

“At the moment the system is gradually tracking towards the south-southeast. It is expected to move just to the west of the southern parts of Vanuatu in the next few hours,” Meke said.

“The anticipation is for it to become a tropical cyclone sometime around midday to evening today (Friday).”

Tropical cyclone threat track map: TD09F as at 6am NZT Friday 27 February 2026. Fiji Meteorological Service

Meke said parts of central and southern Vanuatu will already be experiencing wet weather.

“Currently they are experiencing heavy rain. Most parts of Vanuatu there is a lot of cloud cover. The anticipation is for it to bring in a lot of strong winds and that is what is observed.

“Especially over where the cloud band is, which is basically over the central and southern parts of Vanuatu which is getting some 20 to 30 knot winds, near gale force winds over Vanuatu at the moment.”

If it becomes a cyclone this afternoon the system will be named Cyclone Urmil.

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

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Hillary Clinton faces off with House lawmakers in Epstein probe

Source: Radio New Zealand

By Annie Grayer, CNN

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, pictured in February 2026. ADAM BERRY / AFP

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is facing off with the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door interview as part of the panel’s investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Thursday’s (local time) deposition in Chappaqua, New York, is the culmination of a vigourous fight by both the former secretary of state and former Democratic President Bill Clinton over testifying in what they denounced as a Republican plot against them.

Clinton has said she cannot recall ever meeting Epstein and only interacted with his former associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, a handful of times. Republicans, however, insist her testimony is vital to their probe, while Democrats have argued their colleagues’ fixation on the former secretary of state is purely political.

“I want everybody treated the same way. That’s not true for my husband and me because other witnesses were asked to testify. They gave written statements under oath. We offered that,” she told the BBC in an interview earlier this month. “Why do they want to pull us into this? To divert attention from President (Donald) Trump. This is not complicated.”

Clinton is being interviewed the day before her husband’s appearance, which will be the first time a former president has been forced to testify in a congressional probe. The pair of interviews will be videotaped and transcribed, and lawmakers from both parties will have the opportunity to ask questions.

The Clintons only agreed to comply with their subpoenas for closed-door depositions after the House had moved toward a bipartisan vote to hold them in criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to appear as scheduled.

The former secretary of state was accompanied by her attorneys, who have been working through painstaking details of what areas could be covered during questioning.

The location for the depositions, the Clintons’ hometown of Chappaqua, was negotiated between Kendall and Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, in hopes of avoiding the indignity and precedent-setting move of summoning a former president to Capitol Hill for questioning.

Proceedings halted for a short time

Lauren Boebert WIN MCNAMEE / GETTY / AFP

Meanwhile, AFP reports the hearing was paused after a photo of the former Secretary of State taken during the deposition was posted online, an apparent breach of the rules.

The photo appeared on the X account of right-wing commentator Ben Johnson who credited the image to Republican committee member Lauren Boebert, prompting lawyers to discuss how to proceed.

“Benny did nothing wrong. Proceeding with deposition,” Boebert wrote on X after an advisor to Clinton, Nick Merrill, told journalists the hearing was paused while lawyers established “why possibly members of Congress are violating House rules”.

The hearing, while closed to the public, is being recorded. Images and video may be released later, possibly following Bill Clinton’s testimony to the committee on Friday (Saturday NZ time).

The hearing has now resumed.

Days of preparation

To prepare, the Clintons in recent days have hunkered down to not only refresh their memories about the Epstein years, but to prepare to counter potentially hostile congressional investigators. Their separate appearances speak to the differences in information the two could offer to the committee.

The Clintons and members of the House Oversight Committee have agreed to five topic areas for the depositions, a person familiar with the agreement told CNN. They are:

Initially, the Clintons wanted their subpoenas for depositions to be waived for sworn statements under oath, an accommodation that Comer granted to several other witnesses in the investigation. But the Oversight Committee chairman wanted them to appear on his terms.

Clinton attorneys and the Republican-led panel negotiated behind the scenes for months, through email exchanges, letters and phone calls to try and find an off-ramp.

When the Clintons did not appear for their scheduled depositions in January, Comer scheduled a vote to hold the pair in criminal contempt.

“Every person has to decide when they have seen or had enough and are ready to fight for this country, its principles and its people, no matter the consequences. For us, now is that time,” the Clintons wrote in January when they announced they would not be appearing for their in-person scheduled depositions.

Triple the number of Democrats voted to hold the former president in contempt compared to the former first lady, but the bipartisan votes took House Democratic leadership by surprise.

Bill Clinton has never been accused by law enforcement of any wrongdoing related to Epstein, and a spokesperson has repeatedly said he cut ties before Epstein’s arrest on federal charges in 2019 and was unaware of any crimes.

A CNN review showed the former president travelled on Epstein’s private plane at least 16 times, and he was pictured in Epstein case files released by the Justice Department with women in a jacuzzi, as well as with Maxwell.

Survivors of Epstein’s abuse and lawyers representing them told CNN that they believe it is important for the Clintons, and especially the former president, to testify. In interviews, they stressed that the presence of an individual in the Epstein files and their cooperation with Congress does not indicate wrongdoing.

In the current political environment, victims of Epstein hold far more sway with many Democratic lawmakers than a sense of loyalty to the Clintons. More than 40 current House Democrats were born in 1980 or later, giving them different memories of Bill Clinton’s presidency than party leaders who were in Washington when he ended 12 years of Republican control of the White House.

–CNN / AFP

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The ‘first-night effect’: Why it’s hard to sleep when you’re somewhere new

Source: Radio New Zealand

It’s nighttime and you’re exhausted. But the hotel bed feels wrong. The mini fridge won’t stop making that low, irritating hum. The power outlet lights feel brighter than the sun. Outside, random car honks and noises make sleep feel like a distant possibility.

Many of us struggle to sleep in new environments, even when we’re physically tired.

But why? The short answer: a mix of biology and psychology.

Don’t toss and turn all night. Sleep can come to you.

IAN HOOTON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

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

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What people with tourette’s want you to know

Source: Radio New Zealand

Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson has explained he left the British Film and Television Awards (Baftas) ceremony early on Monday night, aware his outbursts were causing distress.

Davidson was attending the ceremony to support the film I Swear, which tells the story of his life living with the syndrome. Tourette’s can cause involuntary movements and sounds, including words.

Davidson’s outbursts during the ceremony included a racial slur while actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindon, who are Black, were presenting an award.

Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo present during the BAFTA Film Awards in London.

Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for BAFTA

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UK police finish search of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s property in Berkshire

Source: Radio New Zealand

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Max Mumby/Indigo

British police say they’ve finished searches of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s property in Berkshire following his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

The former British prince was released last Thursday, pending further investigation, after he was questioned at a Norfolk police station about his links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The US Department of Justice published millions of files related to Epstein last month, which revealed information that’s put a cloud over numerous high-profile figures in the UK and US.

It’s believed Mountbatten-Windsor was under investigation for his time as a trade envoy from 2001 and 2011.

Emails appeared to show him discussing confidential information obtained in that role with Epstein.

Mountbatten-Windsor had not commented on the latest allegations but had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The New Zealand government yesterday said it would back a move to remove him from the line of succession, should the UK government propose to do so.

Mountbatten-Windsor had already been stripped of his royal titles by his brother, and New Zealand’s head of state, King Charles.

Thames Valley Police Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright today said “Officers have now left the location we have been searching in Berkshire. This concludes the search activity that commenced following our arrest of a man in his sixties from Norfolk on Thursday.”

He confirmed their investigation is ongoing, but there were unlikely to be further updates “for some time”.

Searches of Mountbatten-Windsor’s property in Norfolk concluded last Thursday.

Former UK ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, was also arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, relating to his time as UK Business Secretary on Tuesday.

Emails released by the US Department of Justice appeared to show him discussing confidential information with the disgraced financier too.

He was released on bail later the same day, pending further investigation.

Mandelson hadn’t commented on the latest allegations, but had previously denied any wrongdoing.

He was removed as UK Ambassador to the US by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer last September, when it emerged he’d maintained a relationship with Epstein after his conviction.

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Will a couples therapist take sides? An expert explains

Source: Radio New Zealand

Should we do couples counselling? Are we happy? Are we both pulling in the same direction? How can we get our spark back?

These kinds of questions are normal in a society that places such importance on coupledom, despite there being no handbook or one-size-fits all approach.

Many people seek out couples counselling when going through a rough patch, or wondering how to improve their relationship. And no doubt the hit show Couples Therapy has boosted public interest in this type of counselling.

Many who seek couples counselling do so because they’re arguing and disagreeing a lot with their partner.

Unsplash / Rizki Ardia

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