Adolescent cannabis users risk irreversible IQ loss

A study of around 1,000 people in New Zealand suggests that young people who smoke cannabis for years risk a significant and irreversible reduction in their IQ.

According to the finding of the international team, those who started using cannabis below the age of 18, whose brains were still developing, suffered a drop in IQ.

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New Zeland : the stricken ship breaks in two

The container ship that ran aground on a coral reef off of New Zealand’s North Island on 5 October, leaking large amounts of fuel, has broken in two (photo, from aljazeera.com).

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Ruling National Party won New Zealand poll

New Zealand’s general election saw the victory of the ruling centre-right National Party, allowing John Key (photo, from telegraph.co.uk) to return as prime minister after three years in office.

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New Zealand : oil pumping finished on the stricken ship

All of the oil has been pumped out of the cargo ship which had run aground on Astrolabe Reef (photo, from bbcimg.co.uk), on New Zealand’s North Island, officials said.

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Australia passes carbon tax

Australia’s 500 worst-polluting companies will pay a tax on their carbon emissions from 1 July 2012, as the country’s Senate has passed the Clean Energy Act on Tuesday, a law on pollution.

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Qantas resumes flights after court ruling

Qantas resumed its flights on Monday, following a ruling from Fair Work Australia which ordered a permanent end to the industrial dispute between the airline’s management and the union members. (photo, from lemonde.fr)

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Qantas grounds entire fleet over labour dispute

All international and domestic flights from Australian Qantas Airways (photo) are grounded a labour dispute, a decision which the airline said would cost Aus$20m a day.

Immediately after the announcement 600 flights were cancelled, affecting 70,000 travelers according to the airline.

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New Zealand : oil pumping resumes on the stricken ship

A week ago bad weather forced salvage crews to stop pumping fuel from the stricken cargo ship, the Rena (photo, from bbcimg.co.uk), which ran aground on a coral reef off of New Zealand’s North Island on 5 October.

But the pumping was resumed on Monday, with a second pump being added in order to hasten the removal of oil.

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New Zealand’s questions over oil spill

A container ship ran aground on a coral reef off of New Zealand’s North Island (map, from bbcimg.co.uk) on Wednesday.

On Sunday the country’s prime minister John Key flew over the scene in a helicopter and said two inquiries were already under way to find out why the ship had collided with the Astrolabe Reef.

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Rugby World Cup begins with All Blacks big win

Tens of thousands of rugby fans gathered in Auckland to attend the opening ceremony (photo, from bbcimg.co.uk) of what prime minister John Key described as the biggest event New Zealand has staged.

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