Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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GAZA: Leaders of major aid groups call on world leaders to intervene following UN genocide conclusion – Oxfam

Source: Oxfam Aotearoa

The leaders of over 20 major aid agencies working in Gaza are calling on world leaders to urgently intervene after a UN commission concluded, for the first time, that genocide is being committed. 
The statement is below:
“As world leaders convene next week at the United Nations, we are calling on all member states to act in accordance with the mandate the UN was charged with 80 years ago. 
What we are witnessing in Gaza is not only an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, but what the UN Commission of Inquiry has now concluded is a genocide.
With this finding, the Commission joins a growing number of human rights organisations and leaders globally, and within Israel.
The inhumanity of the situation in Gaza is unconscionable. As humanitarian leaders, we have borne direct witness to the horrifying deaths and suffering of the people of Gaza. Our warnings have gone unheeded and thousands more lives are still at stake.
Now, as the Israeli government has ordered the mass displacement of Gaza City – home to nearly one million people – we are on the precipice of an even deadlier period in Gaza’s story if action is not taken. Gaza has been deliberately made uninhabitable. 
About 65,000 Palestinians have now been killed, including more than 20,000 children. Thousands more are missing, buried under the rubble that has replaced Gaza’s once lively streets.
Nine out of 10 people in Gaza’s 2.1 million population have been forcibly displaced – most of them multiple times – into increasingly shrinking pockets of land that cannot sustain human life.
More than half a million people are starving. Famine has been declared and is spreading. The cumulative impact of hunger and physical deprivation means people are dying every day.
Throughout Gaza, entire cities have been razed to the ground, along with their life-sustaining public infrastructure, such as hospitals and water treatment plants. Agricultural land has been systemically destroyed.
If the facts and numbers aren’t enough, we have harrowing story upon harrowing story.
Since the Israeli military tightened its siege six months ago, blocking food, fuel, and medicine, we witnessed children and families waste away from starvation as famine took hold. Our colleagues too have been impacted.
Many of us have been into Gaza. We have met countless Palestinians who have lost limbs as a result of Israel’s bombardment. We have personally met children so traumatized by daily airstrikes that they cannot sleep. Some cannot speak. Others have told us they want to die to join their parents in heaven.
We have met families who eat animal food to survive and boil leaves as a meal for their children. 
Yet world leaders fail to act. Facts are ignored. Testimony is cast aside. And more people are killed as a direct consequence.
Our organisations, together with Palestinian civil society groups, the UN, and Israeli human rights organisations, can only do so much. We have tirelessly tried to defend the rights of the people of Gaza and sustain humanitarian assistance, but we are being obstructed every step of the way.
We have been denied access, and the militarization of the aid system has proved deadly. Thousands of people have been shot at while trying to reach the handful of sites where food is distributed under armed guard.
Governments must act to prevent the evisceration of life in the Gaza Strip, and to end the violence and occupation. All parties must disavow violence against civilians, adhere to international humanitarian law and pursue peace.
States must use every available political, economic, and legal tool at their disposal to intervene. Rhetoric and half measures are not enough. This moment demands decisive action.
The UN enshrined international law as the cornerstone of global peace and security. If Member States continue to treat these legal obligations as optional, they are not only complicit but are setting a dangerous precedent for the future. History will undoubtedly judge this moment as a test of humanity. And we are failing. Failing the people of Gaza, failing the hostages, and failing our own collective moral imperative. 
CEO SIGN OFF  (alphabetical)
  • Arthur Larok, Secretary General of ActionAid International
  • Othman Moqbel, Chief Executive Officer, Action For Humanity
  • Joyce Ajlouny, General Secretary of American Friends Service Committee
  • Sean Carroll, President and CEO of Anera
  • Reintje Van Haeringen, Executive Director CARE International
  • Jonas Nøddekær, Secretary General of DanChurchAid
  • Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council
  • Manuel Patrouillard, Managing Director, Humanity & Inclusion – Handicap International
  • Jamie Munn, Executive Director, International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA)
  • Waseem Ahmad, CEO, Islamic Relief Worldwide
  • Joseph Belliveau, Executive Director of MedGlobal
  • Joel Weiler, Executive Director of Médecins du Monde France
  • Nicolás Dotta, Executive Director of Médecins du Monde Spain
  • Christopher Lockyear, Secretary General of Médecins Sans Frontières International
  • Kenneth Kim, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee Canada
  • Ann Graber Hershberger, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee US
  • Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council
  • Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International Executive Director
  • Simon Panek, CEO, People in Need
  • Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children International
  • Donatella Vergara, President of Terre des Hommes Italy
  • Rob Williams, CEO of War Child Alliance.
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Greenpeace applauds ECan for declaring nitrate emergency, calls for candidates to pledge real action

Source: Greenpeace

Greenpeace is welcoming Environment Canterbury’s decision to declare a nitrate emergency, calling it a long-overdue acknowledgement of a worsening health crisis. But the organisation warns that real action must follow, and is urging election candidates to commit to stronger freshwater protections.
Greenpeace’s Canterbury-based spokesperson Will Appelbe says, “Canterbury is facing a nitrate emergency and today, Environment Canterbury has listened to the voices of their constituents and finally acknowledged the seriousness of this issue.”
This morning, frustrated Cantabrians rallied outside ECan to demand urgent action to defend fresh water from nitrate contamination. Residents with high levels of nitrate ‘returned to sender’ jars of their drinking water, while speakers called on incoming councillors to reduce nitrate pollution at the source.
Appelbe says, “Up until now, Environment Canterbury has completely failed in their duty to protect lakes, rivers, and drinking water from pollution from the intensive dairy industry. Their actions have meant that many families in Canterbury cannot safely drink the water coming out of their kitchen tap.”
“It’s great to see ECan finally acknowledging the scale of this escalating health crisis, but the work doesn’t stop here. It’s one thing to sign onto a pledge but another thing entirely to meet it.”
Today ECan councillors will leave their headquarters for the last time before jumping on the campaign trail to try to win Cantabrians’ votes.
“Candidates in the Environment Canterbury election must defend Canterbury’s freshwater by ending dairy expansion and phasing out the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser. The question is, who will step up to the task?”
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Federated Farmers slam ECan’s shameless political stunt

Source: Federated Farmers

Federated Farmers say Environment Canterbury’s decision to declare a ‘nitrate emergency’ is a shameless political stunt that won’t help anyone.
“It’s incredibly disappointing to see Environment Canterbury (ECan) playing these kinds of petty political games,” says Federated Farmers vice president Colin Hurst.
“Declaring a nitrate emergency isn’t helpful or constructive. All it will do is create unnecessary panic and drive a wedge between our urban and rural communities.
“I think most reasonable Cantabrians will see the declaration for what it is: a cynical and alarmist stunt from a group of councillors trying to score points during the local body elections.”
Hurst says ECan’s decision is divisive and risks undermining the good work done by farmers, councils, iwi and the wider community over the last few decades.
“What I want to know is why this is suddenly an “emergency” for ECan? The data shows the trends have been consistent for decades. That just goes to show it’s all politically motivated.
“Nobody is disputing we have an issue with nitrates in Canterbury. It’s a longstanding challenge that our community have been aware of, and working on, for some time now.
“To suddenly come out and call it an emergency is political theatre.”
He says the situation hasn’t been helped by extreme anti-farming activist groups like Greenpeace spreading harmful misinformation about nitrates.
“Greenpeace have made a lot of false claims trying to link nitrates in drinking water to colon cancer – but that’s just politically motivated misinformation.
“It’s outright scaremongering and simply doesn’t line up with what the credible experts are saying on this issue.”
Federated Farmers say New Zealanders should take their health advice from medical professionals, not environmental activists with an anti-farming agenda.
“The nitrate situation in Canterbury is incredibly complex and hasn’t arisen overnight – and unfortunately it won’t be solved overnight either,” Hurst says.
“Despite a huge amount of work already done to improve the situation, it takes a long time for nitrate-rich water to work its way through the groundwater system.
“Farmers are stepping up and showing real leadership on this issue. It’s just a shame we aren’t seeing the same kind of leadership from our elected councillors.
“Instead of showing real leadership on this issue, ECan councillors are grandstanding, scaremongering and acting like political activists.
“That kind of behaviour is divisive, dishonest, and does absolutely nothing to actually address the issue. Canterbury deserves much better leadership than what we’ve seen today.”
More information about what the experts are saying: 
 – Bowel Cancer NZ: “The weight of evidence strongly suggests that nitrates in drinking water do not cause bowel cancer, and it is not currently understood how dietary nitrates could cause bowel cancer”. Read more here.
 – Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor: “In recent years, an association between nitrate levels in drinking-water supplies and bowel cancer risk in adults has been identified in some overseas studies, but the evidence base is not conclusive with respect to whether the relationship is causal or coincidental”. Read more here.
 – ECAN Director of Science Dr Tim Davie: “For drinking water, the New Zealand Drinking Water Standards set a Maximum Acceptable Value (MAV) of 50 milligrams per litre (mg/l) for nitrate, which is equivalent to 11.3 mg/l nitrate-nitrogen. This is based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) standard. A 2018 review of the science behind the WHO standard, which included the Danish study, concluded there was not enough evidence to change those limits. Read more here.
– The World Health Organisation: “There is no clear evidence of carcinogenicity from nitrate per se in humans.” Read more here.
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Minister must back online safety bill to protect Kiwi kids from online predators after reckless cuts – PSA

Source: PSA

The Minister responsible for online safety must support Labour MP Reuben Davidson's Online Safety members' bill launched today if she's serious about protecting children from online predators and extreme content.
“New Zealanders, including our kids, should be able to go online without being exposed to extreme and harmful material,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
The Online Safety (Duties for Providers of Internet-Based Services) Bill seeks to hold platforms accountable for harmful content by setting out three duties for online service providers in the interest of creating safe online environments. These are duties regarding the safe use of services, safety by design, and duties regarding transparency.
“Minister van Velden slashed funding and jobs for the very public workers at DIA's Digital Safety Team who are working hard to keep kids safe from online predators and other bad actors.
“Now she has a chance to show she actually cares about protecting children by supporting legislation that makes digital platform companies step up and do their part.
“It's time for the Government to stop expecting our public servants to do more with less and instead make the companies running these platforms take responsibility for the harmful content they host.
“These are the dedicated public servants the Government has been cutting while the problem gets worse. The evidence is clear – online harm is rising and becoming more sophisticated with the explosion of AI.”
DIA told the Minister in November 2023 its Digital Child Exploitation Filtering System had blocked 4.6 million views of child exploitation in the last five years. The Department received 238,000 reports of potential scams to their 7726 service in 2022/23 – that's ninety times more than in 2019/20.
“The Government promised evidence-based policies,” said Fitzsimons. “Well, the evidence is clear. If Minister van Velden genuinely wants to keep our kids safe from online predators and violence, she will support this bill instead of leaving overstretched public workers to fight this battle with one hand tied behind their backs.
“The Government's priorities are all wrong – cutting the very services that protect New Zealanders while expecting the same outcomes. It's another short-sighted decision that puts our children at risk.”
Background: Online Safety (Duties for Providers of Internet-Based Services) Bill. The bill can be downloaded at this link.
PSA statements on DIA cuts to digital safety team
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand's largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.
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GAZA: Leaders of major aid groups call on world leaders to intervene following UN genocide conclusion – Save the Children

Source: Save the Children

GAZA, 17 Sept 2025: The leaders of over 20 major aid agencies working in Gaza are calling for urgent intervention after a UN commission concluded, for the first time, that genocide is being committed.
The statement is below:
“ As world leaders convene next week at the United Nations, we are calling on all member states to act in accordance with the mandate the UN was charged with 80 years ago.
What we are witnessing in Gaza is not only an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, but what the UN Commission of Inquiry has now concluded is a genocide. With this finding, the Commission joins a growing number of human rights organisations and leaders globally, and within Israel.
The inhumanity of the situation in Gaza is unconscionable. As humanitarian leaders, we have borne direct witness to the horrifying deaths and suffering of the people of Gaza. Our warnings have gone unheeded and thousands more lives are still at stake.
Now, as the Israeli government has ordered the mass displacement of Gaza City – home to nearly one million people – we are on the precipice of an even deadlier period in Gaza’s story if action is not taken. Gaza has been deliberately made uninhabitable.
About 65,000 Palestinians have now been killed, including more than 20,000 children. Thousands more are missing, buried under the rubble that has replaced Gaza’s once lively streets.
Nine out of 10 people in Gaza’s 2.1 million population have been forcibly displaced – most of them multiple times – into increasingly shrinking pockets of land that cannot sustain human life.
More than half a million people are starving. Famine has been declared and is spreading. The cumulative impact of hunger and physical deprivation means people are dying every day.
Throughout Gaza, entire cities have been razed to the ground, along with their life-sustaining public infrastructure, such as hospitals and water treatment plants. Agricultural land has been systemically destroyed.
If the facts and numbers aren’t enough, we have harrowing story upon harrowing story.
Since the Israeli military tightened its siege six months ago, blocking food, fuel, and medicine, we witnessed children and families waste away from starvation as famine took hold. Our colleagues too have been impacted.
Many of us have been into Gaza. We have met countless Palestinians who have lost limbs as a result of Israel’s bombardment. We have personally met children so traumatized by daily airstrikes that they cannot sleep. Some cannot speak. Others have told us they want to die to join their parents in heaven.
We have met families who eat animal food to survive and boil leaves as a meal for their children.
Yet world leaders fail to act. Facts are ignored. Testimony is cast aside. And more people are killed as a direct consequence.
Our organisations, together with Palestinian civil society groups, the UN, and Israeli human rights organisations, can only do so much. We have tirelessly tried to defend the rights of the people of Gaza and sustain humanitarian assistance, but we are being obstructed every step of the way.
We have been denied access, and the militarization of the aid system has proved deadly. Thousands of people have been shot at while trying to reach the handful of sites where food is distributed under armed guard.
Governments must act to prevent the evisceration of life in the Gaza Strip, and to end the violence and occupation. All parties must disavow violence against civilians, adhere to international humanitarian law and pursue peace.
States must use every available political, economic, and legal tool at their disposal to intervene. Rhetoric and half measures are not enough. This moment demands decisive action.
The UN enshrined international law as the cornerstone of global peace and security. If Member States continue to treat these legal obligations as optional, they are not only complicit but are setting a dangerous precedent for the future. History will undoubtedly judge this moment as a test of humanity. And we are failing. Failing the people of Gaza, failing the hostages, and failing our own collective moral imperative.”
CEO Signatories:
Arthur Larok, Secretary General of ActionAid International
Othman Moqbel, Chief Executive Officer, Action For Humanity
Joyce Ajlouny, General Secretary of American Friends Service Committee
Sean Carroll, President and CEO of Anera
Reintje Van Haeringen, Executive Director CARE International
Jonas Nøddekær, Secretary General of DanChurchAid
Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council
Manuel Patrouillard, Managing Director, Humanity & Inclusion – Handicap International
Jamie Munn, Executive Director, International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA)
Waseem Ahmad, CEO, Islamic Relief Worldwide
Joseph Belliveau, Executive Director of MedGlobal
Joel Weiler, Executive Director of Médecins du Monde France
Nicolás Dotta, Executive Director of Médecins du Monde Spain
Christopher Lockyear, Secretary General of Médecins Sans Frontières International
Kenneth Kim, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee Canada
Ann Graber Hershberger, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee US
Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council
Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International Executive Director
Simon Panek, CEO, People in Need
Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children International
Donatella Vergara, President of Terre des Hommes Italy
Rob Williams, CEO of War Child Alliance.
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Cantabrians say "enough": Nitrate-polluted tap water returned to ECan – Greenpeace

Source: Greenpeace

Fed-up locals are rallying outside Environment Canterbury this morning, handing back contaminated drinking water in protest at years of council inaction that has left rural families unable to safely drink from their kitchen tap.
Greenpeace’s Canterbury-based spokesperson Will Appelbe says “Today, we’re delivering nitrate contaminated drinking water from homes across the region to the people responsible for that contamination, because Environment Canterbury have failed in their duty to protect lakes, rivers, and drinking water.”
“Instead of defending Canterbury’s water, ECan has waved through intensive dairy expansion and the excessive use of synthetic fertiliser. That has to change.”
Today’s rally takes place as councillors head into their final meeting before the local elections. At this meeting, councillors will vote on a motion to declare a 'Nitrate Emergency’ – put forward by Councillor Vicky Southworth.
“We’re calling on all Environment Canterbury candidates running in the local elections to make a serious commitment to fresh water by protecting lakes, rivers, and drinking water in our region.”
In July, news broke that Environment Canterbury had approved more than fifteen thousand extra dairy cattle onto the Canterbury plains in just seven months. Last week an Environment Canterbury study revealed 48% of private drinking wells tested for nitrate near Burnham exceeded the legal health limit of 11.3 mg/L
Appelbe warns that Environment Canterbury hopefuls will face scrutiny over freshwater pollution if elected to council.
“Today ECan councillors will leave this building for the last time before jumping on the campaign trail to try to win Cantabrians’ votes. And we’re here with people from across the region to say that we don’t want more dirty dairying.
“Candidates in the Environment Canterbury election must defend freshwater by committing to end dairy expansion and phasing out the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser. The question is, who will step up to the task?”
Greenpeace has released a scorecard ranking each candidate standing for election to Environment Canterbury, based on their commitment to protecting fresh water. Candidates were asked five questions, with current council members also assessed based on voting history. More information on the methodology and scorecard can be found on Greenpeace’s website.
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Economic Growth – NZ’s Economy Will Take Three Decades to Double Without Intervention – OECD Data

Source: Impact PR

New OECD data shows NZ’s economy will take more than 30 years to double in size unless major structural and cultural changes are made to how organisations operate.

The modelling shows New Zealand’s real GDP, currently at US$216 billion, is not expected to double until 2055.[1]

While the nation’s economy is projected to grow by nearly 48% by 2040, this expansion is largely driven by population growth and increased labour input, rather than meaningful improvements in productivity.

New Zealand's GDP per hour worked, once comparable to Scandinavian countries like Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, is now on average 40% lower than those economies. This long-term underperformance highlights the depth of NZ’s productivity challenge and signals a widening gap not just in economic output, but in living standards, wage potential and long-term competitiveness.[2]

Experts say that the rapid adoption of AI will not be enough on its own to reverse this trend and significantly boost productivity. Despite the transformative potential of AI and automation, they say that without a simultaneous shift in how organisations lead, structure and empower their people, the implementation of new technology risks amplifying the structural inefficiencies holding back productivity gains.

Craig Steel, a workplace performance expert from Vantaset and author of Transforming New Zealand’s Productivity, says the country has overestimated what technology alone can deliver without first building the leadership capability and workplace culture needed to make those tools effective.

“There’s a misguided belief that AI will close the gap for any organisation that applies it. But what we’ve seen is that when organisations adopt technology without modernising their leadership and culture, the gains they were seeking rarely occur

“If AI is layered on top of disconnected leadership models and compliance-based systems, it won’t lift people, it will marginalise them,” he says.

Steel warns that New Zealand is at risk of becoming a two-speed economy, where a small number of digitally advanced sectors pull ahead while the rest fall further behind.

“AI will benefit some industries more than others. High-tech services, finance and digital commerce are naturally positioned to leverage AI quickly. But for our traditional sectors like construction, agriculture, tourism and logistics, the path to impact is slower, more convoluted and more dependent on leadership clarity and workforce capability.”

Steel says that this uneven adoption is already starting to show as tech-savvy organisations begin to accelerate.

“You’re seeing early gains in digitally native firms that have agile structures and strong investment in talent. Meanwhile, labour-intensive sectors are struggling to adapt their business models, and without support, they’ll be left behind.”

Steel says the real barrier isn’t technology itself, but the lack of modern systems and the leadership needed to make it work.

“Despite the hype, AI’s promise of efficiency is often delayed by years of integration, upskilling and business model adaptation. In New Zealand, many small and mid-sized firms lack the scale or leadership frameworks to carry that burden effectively.

“OECD research shows that digital adoption only translates to higher productivity when it’s coupled with managerial capability, workforce training and capital investment. New Zealand firms consistently underperform in all three. Without a cultural and strategic reset, AI risks becoming just another cost with limited return,” he says.

Steel says technology must enhance human capability, not just replace it.

He says organisations that use AI to support clarity, autonomy and purposeful work are far more likely to see sustained productivity gains. When AI is implemented simply to reduce workforce size or centralise control, it can backfire – weakening morale, diminishing trust and stalling innovation.

“The opportunity with AI isn’t automation for its own sake, it’s augmentation – giving people better tools so they can make a bigger difference,” says Steel.

Steel says there are five interdependent drivers of performance: strategy, culture, leadership, capability and performance management.

He says his research shows that organisations consistently fail not because they lack data or technology, but because they fail to align these drivers.

Steel has worked with hundreds of organisations over the past 30 years, including some of New Zealand’s largest exporters across sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, transport, infrastructure and financial services. He says the common thread among high-performing organisations is not scale or sector, but clarity and conviction.

“Regardless of industry, when people understand the strategy, see how they contribute, and are trusted to make decisions, performance improves. That doesn’t happen by accident; it happens by design.

“New Zealand businesses are at a crossroads. The current economic environment, shaped by global volatility, rapid technological disruption, and the changing nature of work, demands an entirely new approach to organisational performance.”

Darren Shand, former All Blacks manager and now delivery partner to Vantaset says New Zealand must look to the systems that underpin its sporting success.

“The All Blacks didn’t win because of tools. They won because of belief, clarity and discipline.

“Every player knew their role, how they contributed and how to excel under pressure. That same clarity is missing from many organisations right now.”

Shand draws a stark comparison between elite teams and underperforming industries.

“A factory floor is no different from a forward pack. If you have great individuals but no connection to purpose or feedback loops, performance breaks down. AI won’t fix that – systems, leadership and culture will.”

The OECD has further warned that rising energy costs, minimal R&D spending, and fragmented digital leadership are eroding New Zealand’s competitiveness just as other economies accelerate their investment in integrated performance systems.

Shand says the solution is not to discard AI, but to reposition it.

“You can’t fix a performance problem by swapping people for algorithms. You fix it by creating an environment where AI supports human decision-making, where strategy is clear and where people are trusted to lead.”

Shand says the message from elite sport is simple: adapt your model, not just the tools.

“In rugby, if you’re behind on the scoreboard, you don’t wait for momentum to shift. You change tactics. That’s what New Zealand needs now. A new playbook, not just a new platform”, he says.

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Tech – Norton Unveils Advanced Deepfake Protection Powered by Intel® Core™ Ultra processors

Source: Botica Butler Raudon Partners for Gen Digital

Norton Deepfake Protection on Intel processors accelerates real‑time protection against AI-powered scams

AUCKLAND – 17 September 2025 – Norton, a leader in Cyber Safety and part of Gen (NASDAQ: GEN), has teamed up with Intel® to provide powerful detection against AI-powered scams on the newest generation of Intel® Core™ Ultra processors. Norton 360 customers with Norton Genie Scam Protection now have advanced deepfake protection on AI PCs with the latest Intel processors, enabling faster, always-on detection that proactively protects against today’s most sophisticated scams.

The partnership with Intel puts Norton Deepfake Protection at the heart of people’s devices without the need to send data up to the cloud and back. With Intel’s leading processing power, Norton instantly analyses suspicious material, providing immediate warnings to help people avoid potential personal or financial harm resulting from advanced deepfake scams.

“From the early days of fighting email and web scams to now tackling sophisticated video deception, Norton has always stayed a step ahead continuously evolving its protection to outsmart new threats,” said Leena Elias, Chief Product Officer at Gen. “Now, with scam detection for videos powered by the latest Intel processors, we’re raising the bar again. Norton Deepfake Protection delivers real-time, private, and ultra-fast protection right on people’s devices, so they can feel confident they’re a step ahead of scammers and their latest AI-generated tricks.”

Deepfake Protection for Videos: Reading Between the Lines

To detect scams in video content, Norton Deepfake Protection doesn’t just look for technical hiccups, it reads the message between the lines. Norton AI has been trained on an ever-expanding library of real-world scams including financial fakes, phony giveaways, crypto cons, and more. And it grows sharper with every scam it sees. Norton Deepfake Protection also analyses the audio in videos to identify deepfake content, operating like a team of expert sound detectives, combing through a recording with magnifying glasses, searching for the tiniest clues of audio manipulation. Each snippet of audio is examined like a piece of evidence, and when all the clues are put together, the truth in the audio content is revealed.

Private, Fast, and Efficient Protection

Through the partnership with Intel, Norton enables malicious deepfake scam analysis directly on the device by offloading the compute to the NPU. This on-device processing helps ensure sensitive data remains private while increasing the speed of detection.

“Today's cyber threats demand real-time detection, which is why Intel is excited to partner with Norton to bring AI-powered cybersecurity directly to users' devices.” said Carla Rodríguez, Vice President and General Manager, Client SW Enabling at Intel. “Together, we are demonstrating the power of local compute right on the AI PC, enabling instant detection of AI-generated scams in video content without compromising privacy or requiring cloud connectivity. We're proud to help Norton deliver the protection that today's digital landscape requires.”

Staying a Step Ahead of Scammers

The availability of Norton Deepfake Protection on Intel-based AI PCs is part of a longer journey, widening the scam detection net and adapting to new scam types over time. In July this year, Norton added Deepfake Protection to the Genie AI Assistant in Norton 360 products on mobile so that people who don’t have AI hardware can still benefit from protection against manipulated video content. Moving forward, Norton will continue to put scam busting technology in the hands of more people, faster.

Norton Deepfake Protection on Intel® Core™ Ultra processors supports YouTube and Facebook1videos, with support for other social media platforms planned for future releases. It is available now in the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand as part of Norton Genie Scam Protection and Scam Protection Pro in Norton 360 products. For more information, visit https://us.norton.com/feature/ai-scam-protection.

 

[1] Automatic Deepfake Detection is available for YouTube in any browser. Automatic Deepfake Detection for Facebook is supported on Chrome with compatibility for other browsers coming soon.

About Norton

Norton is a leader in Cyber Safety, and part of Gen (NASDAQ: GEN), a global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom with a family of trusted consumer brands. Norton empowers millions of individuals and families with award-winning protection for their devices, online privacy, and identity. Norton products and services are certified by independent testing organizations including AV-TEST, AV-Comparatives, and SE Labs. Norton is a founding member of the Global Anti-Scam Alliance North America Chapter and the Coalition Against Stalkerware. Learn more at Norton.com and GenDigital.com.
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Health – Unsettled spring weather likely to spark asthma and allergy flare-ups

Source: Asthma and Respiratory Foundation

Spring has sprung, and with it comes the annual surge in sneezing, wheezing, and asthma flare-ups as unsettled weather drives pollen into the air.
This year’s season is already proving unsettled, with strong winds and fluctuating temperatures stirring up allergens – and more change is on the way.
Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ Chief Executive Ms Letitia Harding says these shifting conditions make spring one of the hardest times of year for people with respiratory conditions.
“Pollen loves warm, dry weather, and when the wind picks up, it gets everywhere, which is why this time of year can be so tough for people with respiratory conditions.”
“For people with asthma and allergies, that can quickly trigger symptoms.”
It is important for asthma patients to ensure their medication is up to date – and is always on hand, Ms Harding says.
“Being prepared and taking some simple steps can make all the difference.”
Earth Sciences NZ principal scientist Chris Brandolino says this spring will be a season of two halves – typical of La Niña weather conditions.
“The first part will be a bit like a teenager – lots of mood swings and ups and downs.
“We’ll see plenty of windy days, and a blend of cooler and warmer-than-usual days, and a fair bit of rain,” he says.
“But the second part of spring will pivot and bring more settled weather across the country.”
La Niña will bring high pressure, which Brandolino calls “happy weather” in the second half of spring – less wind and rain, more sunshine, and warmer temperatures.
Up to 80% of asthma is associated with allergies, with one in eight adults and one in eight children in New Zealand affected.
Top tips for the spring allergy season
  • Avoid going outside when the pollen count is very high (midday is usually peak)
  • Keep windows closed – at home and in the car – to avoid pollen coming inside with the breeze
  • Dry your clothes indoors because pollen will stick to them if they are outside
  • Invest in an air purifier with a HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filter
  • Keep your medication to hand in case of an emergency
  • Do a spring clean using allergy-friendly products
  • Take a shower at night to wash the pollen off.
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Retirement Commission – New report reveals why women retire with less – and how to fix it

Source: Retirement Commission

The Retirement Commission has released new analysis revealing the gender retirement savings gap cannot be attributed to a single cause but emerges from cumulative disadvantages across women’s lifetimes.

The comprehensive report, compiled by Martin Jenkins to support the Retirement Commission’s 2025 Review of Retirement Income Policies, delves into how key events and moments contribute to poorer retirement outcomes for women and what can be done to address it.

Men’s KiwiSaver balances are on average 25% higher than women's. This gap gets more significant with age: it is a 37% gap for those aged 56-65.

The Improving Women’s Retirement Income report identifies six critical life stages where policy interventions can make the most significant difference for women:

  • Formal education and training
  • Work
  • Relationship status
  • Parenting
  • Housing tenure
  • Retirement.

The report proposes changes across several policy areas such as education, employment, housing, caregiving, and health. Suggestions include extending the Government’s KiwiSaver contributions for parental leave, including for those not contributing, and automating entitlement to a spouse’s KiwiSaver when a couple separate.

Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson says the report lifts the lid on the setbacks women face on their path to retirement and where action should be taken.

“It’s no surprise that women in Aotearoa reach retirement with less in their KiwiSaver accounts than men — we’ve seen this pattern for years. What’s important now is that we understand why.

“This research gives us clarity: it’s not just about earnings, it’s about the cumulative impact of life events, caregiving roles, and structural inequalities that shape women’s financial journeys. If we want to close the gap, we need to confront these realities head-on.”

The report draws on research and evaluation findings from New Zealand and overseas, which show that preventative policy levers can have substantial social and economic benefits in the long run.

MartinJenkins researcher EeMun Chen says, “The evidence shows that while earlier, preventative measures during women’s working lives may be costly, when we look at them in the long-term, there are substantial positive social and economic returns.”

A panel of experts will discuss the research at the National Strategy for Financial Capability’s Connection Series event in Auckland on Wednesday 17 September.

Policy levers worth investigating further for New Zealand, to reduce the retirement income gap between men and women:

  1. Formal education and training
  • Increase women’s financial capability through providing education and support at the right time and right place, with appropriate behavioural prompts and information
  1. Work
  • Improve equity in KiwiSaver entitlements for low-income employees and sole traders 
  • Enable KiwiSaver contribution top-ups from different sources by lowering transaction and administration costs 
  • Revisit the default KiwiSaver fund strategy
  1. Relationship status
  • Consider education, awareness raising, and automating the entitlement to a spouse’s KiwiSaver when a couple separate
  1. Parenting
  • Extend the government’s KiwiSaver contributions for parental leave, including for women who are not contributing, and make employer contributions during parental leave easier for employers to administer
  1. Housing tenure
  • Do further work to determine what proportion of older women (and men) who may be eligible for the Accommodation Supplement are not in fact receiving it 
  • Improve awareness of, and access to the Accommodation Supplement 
  • Raise the cash-assets limit, or make other similar interventions to improve the effectiveness of this policy
  1. Retirement
  • Retain NZ Super and ensure there is cross-party support for a stable, long-term retirement income system 
  • Topping up of retirement contributions for caregiving

About the research

Prepared by MartinJenkins for Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission, the report takes a life-course approach to understanding the key events and moments that contribute to the gap. The report identifies six critical stages where policy interventions could improve women’s retirement income outcomes and reduce that gap. The report should be read in conjunction with the accompanying journey map, which highlights and summarises the diversity of women’s experiences within each stage, the differences between women’s experiences and men’s, the effects of those differences for women’s retirement income, and the key policy levers that are available to address those effects.