Source: Palestinian Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA)

PSNA is calling for the New Zealand government to demand Israel release the activists kidnapped from the global flotilla in international waters and allow them to sail to Gaza with humanitarian aid for the people under Israel’s genocide.

There are four New Zealand activists in the group of ships intercepted by Israel and some have been kidnapped by Israel already from boats in international water.

These New Zealanders represent the absolute best of our country – taking part in an aid mission to millions of people suffering a genocide in Gaza.

“Our government must stand beside them and insist their humanitarian mission must continue”

“Our government has failed to hold Israel to account for genocide but it can stand by other New Zealanders and demand Israel allow them to deliver aid to Gaza.

Bianca Webb-Pullman  

New Zealander Bianca Webb-Pullman (a medical doctor) is on the flotilla and the boat she is on (the “Florida”) has been rammed by an Israeli naval vessel. Bianca has thrown her phone overboard and the boat is on its way again. 

Media can speak with Bianca’s partner Stephen Rowe in Raumati South on 0211177379.

Rallies around NZ

Various events are being held around the country including a rally in Ōtautahi/Christchurch at 5pm at the Bridge of Remembrance this evening (see poster below) where large posters will identify our political leaders who are complicit with genocide.

John Minto

Co-Chair PSNA

Protest Israel's attack on humanitarian flotilla to Gaza – 5pm Bridge of Remembrance TODAY Oct 2. 

As a teenager, Lance Corporal Elia Fata didn’t really know what career he wanted to take up, but getting involved in Onehunga High School’s Services Academy put him on a path that has taken him around the world – leading to his latest task helping to improve the lives of people in the Cook Islands.

Lance Corporal Fata, a member of the New Zealand Army’s 25 Engineer Support Squadron, 2 Engineer Regiment, is overseeing electrical tasks for Exercise Tropic Twilight on the small island of Ma’uke, population about 240. It’s his second stint of work in the Pacific following a trip to Tonga earlier this year.

He has been leading a team of six electricians, including personnel from Australia and Vanuatu, as they tackled upgrades and maintenance of bore pumps and the island’s solar farm and school.

The work, funded by New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, involved replacing water pumps and replacing switches to ensure the six pumps were not constantly pumping, which was wasting water and wearing them out quicker.

“We work mainly on residential, but this is bigger. Same concept but bigger scale,” Lance Corporal Fata said.

“It was a bit overwhelming in the beginning but once I got my head around it, it made sense.”

Part of his role was assessing where each of the individual’s electrical knowledge was at and how to allocate work from there.

Lance Corporal Fata said the exercise had its challenges. Ma’uke is about 277 kilometres northeast of Rarotonga and most of the materials had to be brought in by aircraft or boat.

“We are quite limited with resources. We don’t have the luxury of a supply store. We are working with what we have and trying to deliver the same outcome.”

However, making a meaningful difference for the people of Ma’uke was a motivation.

“They are lovely people, very friendly and make you feel like one of them. They have welcomed us with open arms, which makes me more driven and motivated to get these jobs done for them.”

Lance Corporal Fata is Samoan and was enjoying the hospitality and food on Ma’uke.

“It feels like home. All the elderly people here remind me of my parents and grandparents and you show them the same level of respect, which I think is appreciated.”

It was Onehunga High School’s Services Academy, run in partnership with the New Zealand Defence Force’s Youth Development Unit, which inspired him to join the NZ Army.

He enlisted in 2015 when he was 20 and initially trained as a gunner, posting to Manawatū-based 16th Field Regiment. He became a mortar detachment commander and spent a lot of time at Waiouru Military Training Area.

“But once I had a family, I felt I needed to spend more time at home, hence the trade change to be a sparkie.”

Lance Corporal Fata’s career has allowed him to attend multinational exercises in Hawaii, centenary anniversary commemorations for the Battle of Messines in Belgium in 2017, and more recently carrying out electrical work in Tonga and now the Cook Islands.

“The Services Academy just painted a picture, and I thought, yes I’ll go for that. I’ve never looked back.”

Scientists have reversed diabetic heart failure with a genetic therapy in mice and in miniature human hearts made from stem cells.

Scientists have reversed diabetic heart failure with a genetic therapy in mice and a miniature human hearts made from stem cells.

In Aotearoa, New Zealand more than 300,000 people have diabetes and it is estimated that half of these have some form of heart damage which increases the risk of heart failure.

“Diabetes often leads to problems with the heart’s ability to relax properly between beats, known as diastolic dysfunction” says co-lead researcher Associate Professor Kim Mellor, head of Cellular and Molecular Cardiology at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland.

Together with Professor Lea Delbridge, head of the Cardiac Phenomics Laboratory at the University of Melbourne, Mellor has discovered a process, called ‘glycophagy’, used by cells to break down excess glycogen in heart cells.

In diabetes, this process becomes disrupted, leading to diastolic dysfunction, where the heart becomes stiff and struggles to relax and fill properly. See Nature Cardiovascular Research.

“Before now, it has not been understood how the heart can store and mobilise sugar to create energy,” says Mellor. “The heart needs a lot of energy to pump and we have shown this isn’t working well in the diabetic heart. If we can understand that process, we can treat it.”

The group, which included a large network of international researchers, also found that a protein called GABARAPL1 is key to glycophagy and is deficient in diabetic heart disease.

In diabetic mice, the group successfully trialled using a virus to deliver genes to the heart to boost this key protein, GABARAPL1, and restore the breakdown of glycogen in the heart.

The treatment reduced glycogen buildup and improved heart function, without affecting blood sugar levels or body weight.

“We’ve shown that fixing this energy recycling system in heart cells can reverse the damage caused by diabetes,” says Mellor. “It’s a completely new way of thinking about how to treat diabetic heart disease.”

The genetic therapy also worked in miniature human hearts grown from human stem cells, improving their ability to relax after each beat, a key sign of healthy heart function.

“This discovery could lead to a new class of treatments that target the heart directly, rather than just managing diabetes symptoms,” says Delbridge.

“It is significant to find an intervention that can benefit the heart’s relaxation,” says Mellor. “That’s the way the heart fills with blood and there aren’t many medicines that can improve how the heart fills, rather than how it contracts.”

The researchers plan to explore clinical applications and investigate how sex differences may influence treatment response. Early findings suggest the therapy may be especially effective in female hearts, which show stronger glycophagy responses.

The study was supported by funding from the Health Research Council of New Zealand, the Marsden Fund of New Zealand, the National Health & Medical Research Council of Australia, Diabetes Australia, and the National Institutes of Health (USA).

Read more about animal research at the University of Auckland
http://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/research/about-our-research/openness-in-animal-research.html

Covering period of Thursday 2nd – Monday 6th October – It is no surprise that in the middle of spring we’ve got active, quick moving weather on the cards. There is a stock standard bout of rain passing over the country today (Thursday), with just about everyone seeing some spots. While you won’t be able to dry that washing outside, it’s nothing to write home about. The more interesting weather comes Friday and Saturday. With things moving so quickly at the moment, if you see the sun out there, go grab some rays while you can!

On Friday, periods of rain and showers move from the northwest over the North Island and top of the South Island, brought on by a series of active rain bands associated with a low pressure system. Squally thunderstorms and hail with localised heavy falls are possible for Auckland and Northland in the evening and at night.  

MetService Meteorologist Katie Hillyer says, “Rain will be heavy at times in places in the top half of the North Island, but the speed at which these bands are moving means total rainfall accumulations might struggle to climb. However, we’ll be keeping an eye on shorter, more intense falls.”  

On Saturday, showers spread over the rest of the country as the low-pressure system moves over. “The whole country really becomes a swirling mass of scattered showers,” remarks Hillyer.  

While everyone will be affected by these showers at some point, the places to watch are the top half of the North Island and the Tasman Region on Friday and Saturday, as well as the southeast coast of the South Island on Saturday and into Sunday. These places will see more persistence in the rain and showers, as well as some heavier ones, particularly up north. This isn’t good news for the Black Caps as they get ready to take on Australia again at Bay Oval in Tauranga on Friday night.

The winds will be picking up as well from tomorrow (Friday), but while strong, they are not outside our usual ‘spring weather’. Though, you would be wiser to grab a rain jacket and wellies than an umbrella. The strong winds will turn right around the clock as the low moves over the country, so all windows will be getting a good leak test.  

Temperatures will rise at first, bringing some warm double-digit minimums tomorrow night, before dropping again over the weekend, with a few frosts to areas in the South Island.

This is the sort of dynamic situation where it’s hard to pin down where the heavy showers will form. This plays a big role in what you’ll experience, so we advise people to keep up to date with the latest information.  

“Word to the wise, with quick moving showery situations such as this, it's best to stick to the written forecasts for the most accurate picture” suggests Hillyer.

To end the school holidays and start back, we see the shortest of breaks in the wet weather before the next weather system arrives later on Monday. Unfortunately, the weather isn’t playing ball for this last weekend of school break, but we managed to get all sorts of weather these holidays! Supposedly Mark Twain said, “In the spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside 24 hours”, which really sums it up.  

Please keep up to date with the most current information from MetService at MetService – Te Ratonga Tirorangi: https://www.metservice.com/national