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19 Jul 2025

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Crew who abandoned ship northeast of NZ climb aboard oil tanker in ‘high-stakes’ night rescue
The stranded crew had grabbed life jackets, a grab bag, and survival supplies before leaving the launch.

Rare Gandhi oil portrait sold for more than $200,000
Auctioneers in London say it's thought to be the only oil portrait the Indian independence leader sat for.

Can gas from food scraps fill an energy void?
Proponents of biogas say it has the potential to help fill the shortfall from declining gas fields in this country.

Fatbergs - why you should not pour milk down the sink
Pouring fat and oil down your drain can lead to what is known as fatbergs and other overflows.

Gas leak at Feilding house hospitalises couple
An elderly couple remain in hospital, after emergency services responded to a gas leak at a Manawatu home.

Gas leak at house in Feilding hospitalises one
The cause of the leak is yet to be determined.

This ludicrously cheap $35 monitor arm clears your desk for less
If you’re looking for the best upgrade for your desk, this Huanuo monitor arm might be it. It usually sells for $50 — already a bargain — but during Prime Day you can get it for just $34.92. That’s the best price we’ve seen for this particular model and an all-around absurdly low price for a solid monitor arm. This is a gas spring monitor arm, which means that all those adjustments–whether it’s height or tilt–will be smooth and effortless. The mount supports tilts from +85 degrees to -50 degrees, along with 90-degree swivels. You can even rotate the screen if needed. The arm works with a wide range of monitor sizes, from 13 inches up to 32 inches. As long as your monitor weighs under 19.8 pounds, you’re good to go. It also comes with both VESA 100×100 and 75×75 mounting brackets, so it’ll fit most screens without a problem. Setup is quick and easy, thanks to the included C-Clamp that attaches to the edge of your desk. Prefer a grommet mount instead? That option’s available too, it just depends on your desk’s design. Spend just $34.92 on this Huanuo monitor mount before the deal ends and free up some space by lifting your display off the desk. While you’re here, check out the best tech Prime Day deals we’ve found–maybe you’ll even spot a monitor to go with it. Upgrade your desk space with this 30 percent off monitor armBuy now at Amazon

I spent a day with Echo’s Alexa+: It’s not perfect, but it’s much smarter
“Alexa,” I asked the Echo display in my kitchen, “what was that song from The Hills? You know, that MTV show? Can you play it on the Echo Show in the office?” The old Alexa wouldn’t have had a prayer of answering such a poorly worded query. (“I’m sorry, I don’t know that,” would have been the likely reply.) But the new Alexa+, now packing AI-enhanced smarts, handled it easily. “Playing ‘Unwritten’ by Natasha Bedingfield,” Alexa said after a beat of thought—and yes, right answer! Let the MTV nostalgia trip begin. Well, almost—instead of “Unwritten,” Alexa teed up Natasha Bedingfield’s “Strip Me,” and it did so on Deezer rather than Apple Music, which is my default music streamer on Alexa. “Uh, wrong one,” I said. “Can you play that tune from The Hills on Apple Music?” Another beat, and this time, success: sure enough, there was the familiar theme from a show I wasted too many hours watching. No, the new Alexa isn’t perfect, but it’s still pretty dang good, and a fair bit better than I was expecting. In fact, Alexa+’s Natasha Bedingfield mishap was one of the few I experienced during my short time with the new, AI-enhanced voice assistant. Still in an invite-only “early access” preview and free for everyone (it will eventually be free for Prime members and $19.99 a month for everyone else), Alexa+ turns out to be much more capable and intelligent than before, controlling my smart home devices, queuing up music, fielding my weather questions, and generally doing my bidding with only a handful of flubbed responses. I received my Alexa+ invite barely a day ago, and the revamped assistant is still essentially in beta, so what follows isn’t a formal review; instead, it’s a smattering of hands-on impressions gleaned from several hours of testing. Many of Alexa+’s promised features and integrations still aren’t ready for prime time; for example, you can’t order groceries with your voice or takeout from Grubhub, nor can you schedule spa visits or jump to a favorite scene on a Fire TV. There are also several third-party skills that don’t work with Alexa+ yet. That said, you can call an Uber with Alexa+ (I haven’t tried that yet), as well as make dinner reservations that don’t require a credit card (Amazon is working on that credit card issue, I’m told). Alexa+ is also surprisingly adept at taking charge of smart home devices, despite her still-shaky support for skills. “Alexa,” I said, “the lounge carpet downstairs is dirty. Can you clean it?” Boom! Here comes my Roomba, dutifully vacuuming up the designated rug. “Actually, you can send it back to its charging station,” I added, and the Roomba stopped and made a beeline back to its charging dock. How about smart lights? “Alexa, can you make it darker in here,” I asked, directing my question to the Echo Dot in my office. Bum-bum! With a simple pair of tones, Alexa+ dimmed the lights in my office, without my having to specify the room. “Alexa, turn the filament bulb in the office on,” I added, and Alexa+ did, all without reprimanding me for not calling it the “Hue filament bulb,” as it’s listed in the Alexa app. Finally, “Alexa, make it brighter in here” put the office lights back on their originally brightness setting. Nice. The new Alexa isn’t perfect, but it’s still pretty dang good, and a fair bit better than I was expecting.Ben Patterson/Foundry Next, I tried some random questions. “Can you give me a rundown of key plays in the last Yankees game,” I asked. The answer? “The Cubs won 4-1, with key plays including Shota Imanaga’s seven-inning performance striking out Aaron Judge twice. Dansby Swanson hit a two-run homer in the 6th, and Seiya Suzuki scored from second on an infield hit in the 7th.” How did the Yankees do overall in that game? “The Yankees struggled overall in their last game against the Cubs. They managed only two hits and three baserunners, resulting in a 4-1 loss.” You can say that again. While Alexa+ may have flubbed its attempt to play the correct Natasha Benningfield song earlier, I was impressed that it fished out the right track name from my mangled query, and I was also able to move tunes from one Echo speaker to another with ease: “Alexa, moves the kitchen tunes to the office,” or “Add the kitchen music to the bedroom.” No problems there. What about the weather—or better yet, what should I be wearing on this sweltering day in Brooklyn? “It’s going to be warm and humid today in Brooklyn, with temperatures in the mid- to upper-80s. For comfort, wear light, breathable clothing like a t-shirt and shorts. Don’t forget sunscreen and a hat to protect from the sun,” Alexa wisely told me. Things got a little rockier when I asked Alexa to plan a night out for my wife and me. Asked what concerts are happening in New York tonight (Alexa+ has a Ticketmaster integration), Alexa said it couldn’t find anything. I asked again (“Are you sure there’s not anything at all,”) and Alexa did find a Gin Blossoms concert in nearby Huntington, NY—a bit of a hike from Brooklyn, but OK. How about dinner reservations before the concert? Alexa suggested Peter Lugar’s at 5:30, followed by an Uber ride to the show, but I pointed out that the hour-plus drive to Huntington for the 7:30 pm curtain wouldn’t leave us much time to eat. “You’re right, that dinner window is tighter than a pair of hipster jeans,” Alexa joked. (Don’t quit your day job, Alexa.) “Let’s adjust the plan. How about dinner at 5 PM, then Uber to Huntington by 6:15 PM? That gives you 45 minutes to eat and still arrive by 7 PM for the 7:30 PM concert.” Still a pretty tight window, but fine. I didn’t actually book anything during my short Alexa+ test, but I certainly could have, given Alexa+’s integrations with Open Table, Ticketmaster, and Uber. Indeed, that’s one of the big promises Amazon has made about Alexa+: that it will–eventually–be able to help plan your evenings or trips, as well as book them, all via voice commands. I wrapped up the day’s testing with something in the kitchen. “Alexa, I need a quick recipe for vinaigrette dressing. Can you whip one up for me? Give me the steps one at a time—oh, and I don’t have red wine vinegar, but I do have mustard, olive oil, and balsamic.” And just as I asked, Alexa doled out the instructions, one step at a time: “In a small bowl, add 1/2 cup of olive oil and 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar….” I should note that I performed most of my Alexa+ testing on an Echo Show 8 display, but it also worked on a fifth-generation Echo Dot, the second-generation Echo Show 5, an Echo Show with Clock, and even my Echo Frames, meaning I could chat with Alexa+ while cruising around the house or even out in the world. So, overall? What I’ve seen and heard so far, I’ve liked—so much so, that I might actually start using my Echo devices regularly again. But will Alexa+ deliver on Amazon’s lofty promises of an AI agent who can act on your behalf? And will Alexa+ actually be worth paying for? That all remains to be seen. This story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart speakers.