Holiday Breakfast

Some governments are being branded laggards, for failing to come up with an international system to verify people have had the Covid-19 tests and vaccinations they say they have.
Pre-departure Covid-19 testing for travellers arriving in New Zealand from the United Kingdom could be in place by mid-January.
Minister for Covid-19 Response Chris Hipkins yesterday revealed planning is currently underway for pre-departure risk reduction measures.
He says these include selecting the most effective forms of testing in the circumstances.
However, international aviation commentator Irene King says that Governments have been laggards by not coming up with international agreements around testing. 
She told Tim Dower we need to be able to trust the tests other countries say have been done.
"We've got to have a lot of confidence that these certificates, when they are issued, are actually credible."
King says that there are restraints around what airlines are able to do legally, which prevents them from going ahead and making these tests mandatory themselves.
Additional risk measures for other countries are also being considered.
Returnees will still need to go through the 14-day managed isolation and quarantine process once they arrive in New Zealand.
Hipkins says they're going beyond what's been done in the past, to stay ahead of what appears to be a worsening situation globally and, in doing so, reduce the risk of Covid-19 spreading during transit and entering our managed isolation facilities

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Doctors, nurses and the elderly rolled up their sleeves across the European Union to receive the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine Sunday in a symbolic show of unity and moment of hope for a continent confronting its worst health care crisis in a century.
Weeks after the U.S., Canada and Britain began inoculations with the same vaccine, the 27-nation bloc staged a coordinated rollout aimed at projecting a unified message that the shot was safe and Europe's best chance to emerge from the pandemic.
For health care workers who have been battling the virus with only masks and shields to protect themselves, the vaccines represented an emotional relief as the virus continues to kill. But it was also a public chance for them to urge Europe's 450 million people to get the shots amid continued vaccine and virus skepticism.
"Today I'm here as a citizen, but most of all as a nurse, to represent my category and all the health workers who choose to believe in science," said Claudia Alivernini, 29, the first person to be inoculated at the Spallanzani infectious disease hospital in Rome.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz called the vaccine, which was developed in record time, a "game-changer."
"We know that today is not the end of the pandemic, but it is the beginning of the victory," he said.
Italian virus czar Domenico Arcuri said it was significant that Italy's first doses were administered at Spallanzani, where a Chinese couple visiting from Wuhan tested positive in January and became Italy's first confirmed cases.
Within weeks, northern Lombardy became the epicenter of the outbreak in Europe and a cautionary tale of what happens when even wealthy regions find themselves unprepared for a pandemic. Lombardy still accounts for around a third of the dead in Italy, which has the continent's worst confirmed virus death toll at nearly 72,000.
"Today is a beautiful, symbolic day: All the citizens of Europe together are starting to get their vaccinations, the first ray of light after a long night," Arcuri told reporters.
But he cautioned: "We all have to continue to be prudent, cautious and responsible. We still have a long road ahead, but finally we see a bit of light."
The vaccine developed by Germany's BioNTech and American drugmaker Pfizer started arriving in super-cold containers at EU hospitals on Friday from a factory in Belgium. Each country was only getting a fraction of the doses needed — fewer than 10,000 in the first batches for some countries — with the bigger rollout expected in January when more vaccines become available. All those getting shots Sunday have to come back for a second dose in three weeks.
Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Union's Executive Commission, said with additional vaccines in development, the EU will have more shots than necessary this year and could share its surplus with the western Balkans and Africa.
"Europe is well positioned," she insisted.
In the Los Olmos nursing home in the Spanish city of Guadalajara, northeast of Madrid, 96-year-old resident Araceli Hidalgo and a caregiver were the first Spaniards to receive the vaccine.
"Let's see if we can all behave and make this virus go away," Hidalgo said.
The Los Olmos home suffered two confirmed COVID-19 deaths and another 11 deaths among residents with symptoms who were never tested.
The Czech Republic was spared the worst of the pandemic in the spring only to see its health care system near collapse in the fall. In Prague, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis received his shot at dawn Sunday and asserted: "There's nothing to worry about." Sitting next to him was World War II veteran Emilie Repikova, who also received a shot.
Altogether, the EU's 27 nations have recorded at least 16 million coronavirus infections and more than 336,000 deaths — huge numbers that experts say still understate the true toll of the pandemic due to missed cases and limited...

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A specialised police unit is using artificial intelligence technology to scour New Zealanders' Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and other social media channels as part of its bolstered intelligence capabilities after the March 15 terrorist attack.
An independent review into "Operation Deans" – the police response to the Christchurch mosque shootings which killed 51 people on March 15, 2019 – made a raft of recommendations into how police could improve future responses.
Tackling the issue of social media, the 49-page review recommended AI-robotics scanning capacity for open source, social media and internet for "key public safety posts", saying it would be "beneficial".
It said such a system was in initial trial stages.
After inquiries from the Herald, New Zealand Police have confirmed that it established an open source intelligence (OSINT) capability following the March 15 attacks.
Former intelligence analyst Paul Buchanan told Tim Dower this will be beneficial.
"Any technology is a time and labour saving device. It just speeds up the process of eventually sending a human to track down a lead."
Buchanan said that this is better late than never.
"Police already have access to the technologies, including artificial intelligence.
"They are going to utilise what's been sitting in front of them for at least 10 years."
He said that the report showed in 2014 that the Police stopped using an earlier version of this monitoring program citing "resource constraints".
There are already examples of incidents being prevented because of tips from social media, Buchanan said.

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Kiwis have opened their wallets for retailers this year, big time.
Which brings us to our next interview, with the founder of Laybuy, the country's largest buy-now-pay later service.
Business has been booming for these guys, too.
Laybuy founder Gary Rohloff joins Tim Dower.
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It's almost a year since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex turned the British Royal Family on its head, announcing to the world their intention to take a step away from royal life and become financially independent.
The Royal Family is due to review the couple's situation in march next year.
Suffice to say, with Covid dominating life, the Duke and Duchess have had a different first year away than they would have expected.
Sean Smith is the author of a new biography, called 'Meghan Misunderstood', and he joins Tim Dower to talk about his new book.
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Summer festival attendees are being warned of an "incredibly dangerous" substitute increasingly turning up in MDMA being tested.
Know Your Stuff has reported in its drug checking clinics over the past few months increasing incidents of what people thought would be pure MDMA either turning out to be just cathinones or only just enough MDMA to "spoof" the tests.
Synthetic cathinones, also known colloquially as "bath salts", have a similar euphoric onset to MDMA but wear off faster leading people to redose, running into trouble.
However other effects are more potent, and can lead to anxiety, paranoia, gastric distress, seizures, or respiratory failure.
Mephedrone, a common cathinone found here, has been linked to a number of deaths in the United Kingdom and Europe.
The finding comes after toxic industrial chemical methylenedianiline was found this month being sold in place of MDMA in Auckland.
Know Your Stuff warned that chemical has been linked to several poisoning cases in Auckland where the patients suffered liver damage.
Cathinones are a family of stimulants often sold in place of MDMA.
Know Your Stuff deputy manager Dr Jez Weston said it was likely used as MDMA simply because they it was available on the illicit market.
They had found the substitute in testing right across the country, and they were already seeing more than last year, Weston said.
17 Dec, 2020 03:00 PMQuick Read
They'd found cathinones in both pressed pills and crystal form.
The more common ones found in New Zealand include N-ethyl pentylone, mephedrone and eutylone.
On rare occasions methylone, mexedrone, 4-methylmethcathinone, MDPV, and Alpha-PVP have also been found.
Cathinones are usually more potent than MDMA, so what a person might think was a manageable amount could end up being dangerous.
Cathinone effects last between two and five hours, but after-effects - including sleeplessness - generally last in your body between six and 24 hours.
Redosing will extend these after-effects.
One person who presumed they had weak MDMA and took several doses experienced what they called "48 hours of hell" from what turned out to be eutylone.
There was no way to visibly tell the difference, and Know Your Stuff recommended for people to visit their testing sites if possible, or buy their own reagent tests.
"Cathinones are incredibly dangerous, and we'd rather see you regularly in the checking tent summer after summer than in hospital even once," Weston said.
"We'll be busy this summer at festivals up and down the country and looking forward to being more open and public about what we are doing."

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The mighty Waikato we go in our next Hidden Spot for this summer.
And we're visiting Over the Moon Cheese - they have a Putaruru factory and a deli in Cambridge.
So what have they got to offer on your road trip?
Owner and Manger Sue Arthur joins Tim Dower to explain why you should pay a visit next time you're in the area!
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Work is underway to ensure police recruits don't get caught up in organised crime.
Police have established a National Integrity Unit to investigate links between cops and organised crime groups.
This comes as it's revealed a police recruit was filmed taking drugs with Australian motorcycle gang the Comancheros.
The recruit was dismissed from Police College, just weeks before graduation.
Herald investigative reporter Jared Savage told Tim Dower this is becoming a common occurrence.
He says they hope to get it under control before it becomes widespread.
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New South Wales has recorded seven new cases of coronavirus, all linked to Sydney's Northern Beaches cluster.
NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said that the Northern Beaches cluster has now risen to 122 cases and called for continued testing over the festive period.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said that in light of the new cases she will not yet be addressing restrictions around New Year's Eve.
"I appreciate frustration levels are increasing as we get closer to New Year's Eve and days we stay at home increase," she said. "We hope to have some clear information for everybody tomorrow."
Berejiklian also reminded people that singing, dancing and speaking loudly were all "accelerants" of the virus to be avoided.
It's believed the Northern Beaches cluster originated from a US strain of Covid-19. While this hasn't been confirmed, serological testing and PCR have largely pointed to the strain being of US origin.
"At this stage the only strain we have identified in the community is theUS-associated strain. But clearly our experts here in New South Wales are watching very closely information around the UK strain and also other parts of the world that are detecting a mutation," Berejiklian said.
When asked about the possibility of future outbreaks, Berejiklian was blunt.
"I can't make any assurances that this won't happen again," she said.
"This is a very contagious disease. And I don't think any Government in any place on the planet can give an assurance that outbreaks won't occur.
"In fact, I think I said consistently we should expect outbreaks."
She said that returning Australian citizens from overseas could create risk for future outbreaks but New South Wales have a "very, very strong system in place".
Sydneysiders ignore restrictions
Sydney's shopping precincts have been swarmed by bargain hunters looking for Boxing Day deals, just hours after Berejiklian praised the community for staying away.
Some stores were nearly empty on Boxing Day morning, as customers heeded warnings to keep out of the CBD while NSW battles to contain its latest coronavirus outbreak.
However, by mid-afternoon, crowds had flocked to popular shopping areas, including Pitt Street Mall and Parramatta Westfield.
Photos captured lines forming outside stores and some - but not all - visitors wearing masks.
The Parramatta Westfield in Sydney's west was seen heaving with shoppers.
Although some were seen wearing masks, the majority were not following social distancing requirements.
"This makes me sick to my stomach - we will see the effects of this in a few days at Westmead," read one response to the Parramatta Westfield video.
"As a Victorian, this is heartbreaking. We stayed home for months, missed out on seeing family & friends while the rest of the country went about enjoying life and looking on us with disdain. NSW couldn't stay home for one week?! You were even allowed 10 adults over for Xmas!" shared another user.

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US police officers have given harrowing details of the Christmas morning explosion in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, at times getting choked up reliving the moments that led up to the blast and offering gratitude that they were still alive.
"This is going to tie us together forever, for the rest of my life," Officer James Wells, who suffered some hearing loss due to the explosion, told a news conference. "Christmas will never be the same."
Meanwhile, Nashville Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron said that a Tennessee resident was under investigation in relation to the blast. He said the resident was 63-year-old Anthony Warner but did not provide any more details.
The five responding officers gave their accounts of what happened while investigators continued to chip away at the motive of the bombing of a recreational vehicle that blew up on a mostly deserted street just before it issued a recorded warning advising people nearby to evacuate.
"I just see orange and then I hear a loud boom. As I'm stumbling around, I just tell myself to stay on my feet and to stay alive," Wells said, at times tearing up and repeating that he believed he heard God tell him to walk away moments before the blast.
Officer Amanda Topping said she initially parked their police car beside the RV while responding to the call before moving it once they heard the recording playing. Topping said she called her wife to let her know that "things were just really strange" as she helped guide people away from the RV.
That's when she heard the announcement from the RV switch from a warning to playing the 1964 hit Downtown by Petula Clark. Moments later the explosion hit.
"I felt the waves of heat but I kind of just lost it and started sprinting toward [Wells]," Topping said. "I've never grabbed someone so hard in my life."
Officer Brenna Hosey said she and her colleagues knocked on six or seven doors in nearby apartments to warn people to evacuate. She particularly remembered knocking on a door where a startled mother of four children answered.
"I don't have kids but I have cousins and nieces, people who I love who are small," Hosey said, adding she had to plead with the family to leave the building as quickly as possible.
The attack, which damaged an AT&T building, has continued to wreak havoc on cellphone service and police and hospital communications in several Southern states as the company worked to restore service.
The FBI has revealed that it was looking at a number of individuals who may be connected to the bombing. Officials also said no additional explosive devices have been found — indicating no active threat to the area. Investigators have received around 500 tips and leads.
"It's just going to take us some time," Douglas Korneski, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Memphis field office, said at a Saturday afternoon news conference. "Our investigative team is turning over every stone" to understand who did this and why.
Investigators said they were working to identify human remains found at the scene. Beyond that, the only known casualties were three injured people.
The infrastructure damage, meanwhile, was broadly felt, due to an AT&T central office being affected by the blast. Asked whether the AT&T building could have been a possible target, Korneski said: "We're looking at every possible motive that could be involved."
Investigators shut down the heart of downtown Nashville's tourist scene — an area packed with honky-tonks, restaurants and shops — as they shuffled through broken glass and damaged buildings to learn more about the explosion.
AT&T said it was rerouting service to other facilities as the company worked to restore its heavily damaged building.

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