The plane from Sydney to Auckland had a problem and began to drop on Monday afternoon.
According to the St John ambulance, one person is in a serious condition and the rest are in moderate to minor condition.
“They said that 13 patients have been taken to Middlemore Hospital in ambulances so far,” said the statement.
Four ambulance cars, two managers in charge, one vehicle for major emergencies, one Command Unit, and two quick response vehicles were sent to help with the problem at first.
She said: “I used to work on airplanes and this is the first time I have seen the entire plane stop moving. ”
A person speaking for the Chilean airline said: “The plane landed at Auckland Airport on time. ”
The incident made some passengers and cabin crew feel unwell. They got help right away at the airport from the medical team if they needed it.
‘Latam is sorry for any problems and harm this situation may have caused its passengers, and it wants to make sure that safety is always the most important thing when following its rules for operation. ‘
A Green MP from New Zealand had to quit because she was caught stealing clothes from expensive stores in Auckland and Wellington.
Golriz Ghahraman, who is 43 years old, has quit her job as the party’s justice spokesperson right away. She is leaving because of a scandal and says she is fully responsible for what happened.
The MP was accused of stealing from a shop called Scotties Boutique in Auckland on December 23rd.
Another possible incident at Scotties has come up and is being looked into.
The people who own and work at Scotties Boutique chose not to talk publicly about the accusations against Ms. Ghahraman, even though the NZ Herald claims to have seen CCTV footage of the incident.
More accusations came out against Ms. Ghahraman from a store in Wellington called Cre8iveworx. The fancy store told the police that the MP was caught stealing on October 26th.
The MP was first accused of something on January 10 by Newstalk ZB Plus. The police said they were looking into a claim, but they couldn’t identify anyone involved.
In her first time talking publicly since the accusations came out, Gharaman said she is having mental health issues because of her job and a mental health expert has confirmed it.
She said: “My work is making my mental health very bad. ” This has made me do things that aren’t like me at all. I’m not trying to make excuses for what I did, but I want to tell you why I did it.
People have the right to expect that their elected leaders will behave well. I didn’t make it.
As Brits count down the hours until midnight, New Year’s Eve celebrations are in full swing in some parts of the world.
Christmas Island in Kiribati, an island nation in Oceania, is one of the first inhabited places in the world to welcome the year 2024.
The country is followed by the Chatham Islands in New Zealand, as well as Tokelau, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati’s Phoenix Islands and parts of Antarctica.
Auckland is the first major city to welcome the New Year with a fireworks display on the tallest building, Sky Tower.
New Zealand welcomes 2024 with fireworks in Auckland Celebrations also begin in Australia when the clock strikes midnight. Tons of explosives were detonated in a riveting 12-minute scene centered on the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
More than a million people, equivalent to one in five Sydney residents, watched the spectacle from the shore and from boats in the harbour.
German tourist Janna Thomas, who had been patiently queuing since 7:30 a. m, said: “It’s crazy. ” “It’s not easy to find a good seat but the view is amazing. Despite the cheers, the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as tensions in many parts of the world, are affecting this year’s New Year celebrations in many ways.
Many cities have implemented additional security measures, and some localities have even canceled New Year’s Eve events altogether. More police officers than ever have been deployed across Sydney.
The riverbank was the scene of violent pro-Palestinian protests after the sails of the Sydney Opera House were lit up in the colors of the Israeli flag during a Hamas attack on 7 October. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, a Muslim-majority country, the government banned all events to show solidarity with the Palestinians.
In a nightly televised message, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar called on his country to “show solidarity with the oppressed people of Gaza” by starting the new year on a positive note. Simple Gazans have little hope that 2024 will bring them much relief after Israel’s 12 weeks of war to eliminate Hamas.
In Rafah, on the Gaza-Egypt border, which has become the main focus for Palestinians fleeing other parts of the enclave, people on Sunday were more preoccupied with finding shelter, food and drinking water rather than thinking about the new year.
“In 2024, I want to return to the ruins of my house, pitch a tent,” said Abu Abdullah al-Agha, a middle-aged Palestinian whose house in Khan Younis was destroyed and who lost a young niece there and live there”. nephew during an Israeli air strike.
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark used her annual New Year’s address on Sunday to make the shock announcement that she will abdicate the throne on January 14 after a 52-year reign and be replaced by her eldest son, crown prince Fredrik.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen confirmed the decision in a press release paying tribute to the 83-year-old monarch, expressing “heartfelt thanks to Her Majesty for her lifetime of service. ” and her tireless efforts for the Kingdom.
” Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned only briefly on Sunday in his New Year’s address his war in Ukraine, praising his soldiers as heroes but mainly emphasizing solidarity and common determination.
North Korea pledged to launch three new spy satellites, build military drones and boost its nuclear arsenal by 2024, as leader Kim Jong Un said US policy made war inevitable, the official media said on Sunday.
During Sunday prayer at the Vatican, Pope Francis said: “I wish everyone a peaceful end of the year and don’t forget to pray for me. “
Many people in New Zealand are angry and are protesting against the new government’s plans to change laws that helped Indigenous people.
The new Prime Minister, Chris Luxon, and his government want to change the agreement with the Indigenous people and use less of their language.
Māori leaders say the three-party coalition is against Māori people.
However, the government has stated that it is dedicated to making things better for both Māori and non-Māori.
The new leaders of the coalition government said they don’t want to separate the country by race, and they want to look at the affirmative action policies.
On Tuesday, about 300 cars blocked roads in Auckland during protests, and police arrested two people.
Protesters also marched in Wellington and many other cities.
The leaders of the Maori political party called for protests on the first day of parliament’s meeting since the election in October.
The National party won the most votes, but they needed help from two smaller right-wing parties to run the government in New Zealand.
The new government was just started last week after more than a month of deciding on rules. Some experts think that the smaller political parties have made the main party become more conservative.
“Mr Luxon said that people may think many different things about us, including me. ” “I want to show what I want to happen in this country: more togetherness, everyone being successful, and better results. ”
A lot of Māori people are upset about the idea of changing the meaning of the Treaty of Waitangi, which is an important document in New Zealand.
The treaty is a very important document for the country. It was signed by British people and Māori leaders. It explains the rights of Māori people, how resources are shared, and gives them political power.
The old government’s ideas about its principles have caused the country to struggle with the harm of colonization. Some of the new leaders said this had gone too far during the election.
The new government wants to shut down the Māori Health Authority, called Te Aka Whai Ora, which was started by Jacinda Ardern’s Labour government. They also want to change the names of some departments from Māori to English.
Last week, it also said it will get rid of the country’s strict smoking ban in order to pay for lower income taxes. Health experts are very unhappy about the decision. They think it will be bad for Māori people, who smoke more than other people.
A national Maori health organization, Hapai Te Hauora, said it was very bad for the health and wellbeing of all New Zealanders.
The Māori people are still not doing as well as other people in things like health, money, education, and being in jail or dying. People live seven years longer on average.
Rawiri Waititi, who helps lead the Te Pāti Māori Party in New Zealand, said the government’s new policies are like going back to the 1800s. The Te Pāti Māori Party now has six out of 123 seats in Parliament.
Mr Waititi said our protest today got our people going.
Former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins also said that Maori progress is going backwards by three or four decades, which is bad.
Critics are upset that the new government wants to change important environmental and safety laws that were made during Ms Ardern’s time in office.
The new government wants to allow offshore gas and oil exploration again and change the gun laws that were made stricter after the Christchurch terrorist attack in 2019.
A landlord in New Zealand got into an argument with the Chinese embassy over throwing away trash and ended up losing a claim for NZ$960 ($559; £462).
Chandler Investments Limited said that the embassy did not pay for cleaning and other expenses when they moved out of a rented Wellington mews house.
A group that settles disputes between tenants and landlords decided that the embassy could not be held responsible because it has special protection as a government institution.
This means that a government cannot be taken to court in another country unless it agrees to it.
Chandler Investments Ltd wanted to get paid for doing cleaning, taking out the trash, and cutting keys. They said they should be paid NZ960 ($559; £462) for their services.
But in official documents reviewed by the BBC, a judge named Rex Woodhouse decided that the tribunal did not have the power to handle the case, so it was thrown out.
Representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) of New Zealand were at the tribunal hearing. However, neither side involved in the claim showed up. Woodhouse contacted someone from the Chinese embassy, but they didn’t have any information about this application, according to what he wrote in his judgment.
The person who wanted to rent the place was identified as the “Embassy of the People’s Republic of China”. They asked for payment for damages in May, after the rental period ended.
The MFAT said that there are some cases where immunity does not apply in commercial situations but the judge did not agree that renting a house to an embassy is a commercial transaction.
Owner Chris Chandler told local media that the situation was unexpected and surprising. He also mentioned that he thought the amount of money involved would not have had much significance for the embassy.
MrChandler said that our property manager recommends not having any more diplomats and this advice applies to others in the same area too.
This has happened before in New Zealand, where a landlord got into a dispute with an embassy over a rental agreement.
In 2018, a complaint was filed against Eva Tvarozkova, who works as a deputy chief for the European Union. The complaint said that she owed more than $11,700 (NZ$20,000) for rent and other expenses at a house in Wellington.
The court first said the landlord could have the money, but later the government said Ms Tvarozkova could not be punished because she had diplomatic immunity. They wanted to have another court session.
Tuesday, New Zealand lifted the last of its Covid restrictions, putting an end to one of the tightest pandemic regulations in history. The government noted that the country had a much lower fatality rate than many other countries.
According to the health minister, Ayesha Verrall, the island nation would no longer require masks in medical institutions or the final seven days of required isolation for those who test positive for the coronavirus.
When the coronavirus first appeared in 2020, New Zealand served as something of a model for how countries may effectively fend it off by implementing early lockdowns and stringent border controls.
The coronavirus outbreak’s initial effects were greatly diminished by the early zero-Covid approach, sparing New Zealand the widespread mortality and overburdened healthcare systems observed in many parts of the world, notably the United States.
However, as the restrictions dragged on and had a negative impact on the economy, it also kept the island nation isolated globally and made it more and more unpopular.
Verrall said in a statement on Monday that it had been a long road, but New Zealand’s COVID-19 method had transitioned from an emergency response to sustainable long-term management.
The health minister continued, “While our case counts will continue to fluctuate, we have not observed the spectacular peaks that characterised COVID-19 rates last year.
According to the government, Covid has significantly lessened the strain on the healthcare system this winter in New Zealand, with cases making up just 2.2% of recent hospital admissions.
According to Cabinet and I, we are in a position to safely remove the remaining COVID-19 criteria because of this and the population’s immunity levels, Verrall stated.
She added, however, that anyone who are “ill” or “have tested positive for Covid-19” should stay at home for five days.
She also emphasised that using face masks is still an effective way to stop the spread of respiratory infections in hospitals and centres for people with disabilities.
The action was referred to as a “significant milestone” by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.
During a press conference on Monday, he added, “The unity of the Kiwi response, and the sacrifices that were all commonplace all contributed to the many thousands of lives that were saved.”
5.1 million people in New Zealand, according to Hipkins, were affected by the coronavirus, resulting in 3,249 deaths.
“We would be reporting about 15,000 deaths from Covid if New Zealand had had a similar rate of Covid-19 mortality as the United States,” he asserted.
The Labour Party, which is currently in power in New Zealand, paid a political price for the severe rules.
His predecessor, Jacinda Ardern, was responsible for the initial success. However, as the stringent limitations persisted, the people grew increasingly frustrated with their effects, which included the months-long separation of families and the exclusion of almost all foreigners.
Last March, during a time when the country was experiencing economic unrest and rising living expenses, protesters camped out in front of the Parliament for weeks and set fire to tents, mattresses, and chairs. This was a result of the protracted Covid lockdowns and mandates.
Support for Ardern and the Labour Party plummeted in 2022, just before she abruptly announced her resignation in January, citing a lack of energy.
Hipkins had a strong connection to the zero-Covid regulations because he served as health minister for a large portion of the epidemic.
The center-right opposition National Party is posing a serious threat to Labour in New Zealand’s next elections.
Gradually throughout 2022, the nation’s borders were reopened, restoring the strict controls put in place in March 2020 to keep immigrants at away and restrict places for citizens to return.
It implemented a five-step plan, allowing locals to return home before welcoming a large-scale tourism recovery.
It has shared hosting duties for the 2023 Women’s World Cup with Australia for the past three weeks.
As reported by Ukrainian police, two British nationals have vanished in the country’s eastern Donetsk region.
The two men, 48-year-old Andrew Bagshaw and 28-year-old Christopher Parry, were volunteering, according to the police, and were last seen on Friday travelling to the town of Soledar, where there had been frequent fights.
The Foreign Office stated that it was “supporting the families”.
According to Mr. Bagshaw’s parents, they “love him dearly” and are “immensely proud of all the work he has been doing.”
Since Friday, communication with the two men has been completely cut off.
Mr. Parry, who is from Truro in Cornwall, recently assisted residents of Bakhmut in the eastern Donbas region in their evacuation as part of his humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
He mentioned having a “drive to help, as the people here are so lovely” while speaking to BBC Cornwall over the holidays from Ukraine.
As he spent time close to the front line, he talked about the “continuous” bombardment and coming into contact with a drone “within about 10 metres of my face.”
The Cheltenham resident Mr Parry discussed how to raise money for vehicle repairs, petrol and equipment to aid evacuate civilians in his internet crowdfunding page. He also provided examples of how to assist children and families in leaving the front line.
His parents described the work he has been doing as “delivering food and medicines and assisting elderly people move from near the battlefront of the war” in a statement given to the media in New Zealand, where Mr. Bagshaw resides.
The Bakhmut police department reported receiving a missing person’s report at 17:15 local time on Saturday and issued a request for any information that would assist in locating the two males.
The men were in Kramatorsk, where there had recently been rumours of strikes.
They were last spotted travelling towards Soledar, a tiny village in the east. After a protracted conflict with Ukrainian forces, the UK’s Ministry of Defence stated on Tuesday that Russia was “likely” in charge of the majority of Soledar.
As the war enters its eleventh month, the British Foreign Office has issued an advisory against any travel to Ukraine due to recent attacks on a number of different cities.
The document states that there is a “real risk to life” and advises British nationals who are still in Ukraine to leave right away.
oing missing or being taken prisoner in Ukraine.
Five British citizens who were being held by forces with Russian support in September last year were freed after Saudi Arabia claimed to have arranged for the exchange of 10 detainees between Russia and Ukraine.
This meant that after being detained for months, Aiden Aslin, John Harding, Dylan Healy, Andrew Hill, and Shaun Pinner could all go back to their homes.
Just hours before the Women’s World Cup kicked off, a rare multiple shooting in the heart of Auckland shook the city as tens of thousands gathered to watch New Zealand play Norway in the tournament’s first match.
In a hastily convened news conference, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins provided details of the attack and confirmed that three people, including the gunman, had died and a number of others had been hurt.
After hearing reports that a man brandishing a pump action shotgun had started firing on a work site shortly after 7 a.m. local time on Thursday, emergency personnel sped to the city’s central business district, the man claimed.
“He moved through the building site discharging the firearm as he went,” Hipkins said. “Upon reaching the upper levels of the building, the man contained himself in an elevator. Shots were fired, and he was located a short time later.”
News footage showed heavily armed police dressed in body armour and carrying rifles flocking to the scene and cordoning off swathes of the business district.
Hipkins said the actions of the police officers who “ran into the gunfire, straight into harm’s way in order to save the lives of others” were “nothing short of heroic.”
New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said one officer was shot as he attempted to engage the gunman, and four civilians had “moderate to critical injuries.”
Coster said the suspect was under home detention orders but had an exemption to work at the construction site where the shooting took place, and the incident was believed to be related to his work there.
The man had a “family violence history” but there was “nothing to suggest that he has presented a high level risk,” Coster said. He did not have a firearms license, Coster added.
New Zealand Police said the shooting did not pose a national security risk, as officials confirmed the Women’s World Cup opening ceremony and first game would go ahead as planned.
In a statement, FIFA said it extended “its deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims”.
“FIFA has been informed that this was an isolated incident that was not related to football operations and the opening match tonight at Eden Park will proceed as planned,” the statement added.
However plans to show the match on a big screen at a fanzone in downtown Auckland were scrapped “out of deep respect to those who lost their lives,” the mayor’s office and Auckland Council said in a statement. The fan festival will open from midday Friday, the statement added.
Tourism New Zealand also canceled a welcome event scheduled for the opening match because the location is within the area cordoned off by police as they investigate the shooting.
The central business district in Auckland is the commercial heart of the city, a base for blue chip international firms and the gateway to the famous harborside, which is lined with restaurants and bars and home to the main ferry terminal.
Shootings are relatively rare in New Zealand, especially following the introduction of strict gun laws in 2019 after a mass shooting in Christchurch left 50 people dead and led to strict new laws curbing firearms being passed in a matter of days.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown told New Zealand public radio RNZ the shooting was a “dreadful thing to happen in our city at a time when the rest of the world’s watching us over the football.”
New Zealand will face Norway at Eden Park in the opening match on Thursday in one of the world’s biggest sporting events, co-hosted by New Zealand and neighbor Australia.
Players from the United States women’s national soccer team (USWNT) also addressed the shooting at their inaugural press conference.
“Unfortunately in the US I feel like we’ve dealt with this far too many times,” forward Lynn Williams told reporters.
Looking over the cordon, Nisha, an American tourist who had traveled to Auckland to watch the World Cup, described the shooting to CNN as “incredibly tragic… especially at the start of the World Cup, there’s so many people coming in, there’s so much excitement.”
Nisha, who declined having her surname published, said news of the shooting surprised her.
“In places like New Zealand, you just assume a level of sort of safety, right?” she said.
Standing at the edge of the cordon on Quay Street a block away from the ferry pier, 21 year-old Seth Kruger, who is originally from South Africa, expressed shock at the shooting.
“I reckon it’s a pretty rare occurrence for New Zealand, he said. “Moving here, you move here for safety reasons. So pretty weird for this to be happening just down the road from home as well.”
Kruger and his friend David Aguillon were scheduled to work at The Cloud, a multipurpose event space at the Queen’s Wharf along the Auckland waterfront, which is hosting the FIFA Fan Festival throughout the World Cup.
However, with the police continuing to cordon off several key streets, Aguillon said they hadn’t been able to get on site, and it was unclear whether the Fan Festival would be open in time for Monday’s first game.
In a statement, US Soccer said that it “extends its deepest condolences to the families of the victims who were killed in downtown Auckland today.”
In a statement, New Zealand Football said it was “shocked” by the incident. “We can confirm that all of the Football Ferns team and staff are safe but we will not be able to comment further while details are still emerging,” a statement said. “Preparations for the game tonight at Eden Park will continue as planned.”
In the heart of Auckland, New Zealand, a shooting incident tragically claimed the lives of two individuals just hours before the scheduled opening of the Fifa Women’s World Cup.
Additionally, six others, including police officers, were injured in the incident, which took place at 07:22 local time on a construction site in the city’s central business district.
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins assured the public that the attack was not considered an act of terrorism. Despite the unfortunate event, he confirmed that the Women’s World Cup would proceed as planned.
While the motive behind the attack has not been established as political or ideological, authorities have neutralized the threat, and the public can rest assured that there is no ongoing risk.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown emphasized that the shooting was unrelated to the Women’s World Cup in any way.
The gunman, identified as 24-year-old Matu Tangi Matua Reid, was armed with a pump-action shotgun and caused panic as he rampaged through the construction site.
He was known to the police and had a history of family violence and mental health issues. Despite being under a home detention order, he had an exemption to work at the site, although he did not possess a firearm license.
Prime Minister Hipkins expressed gratitude towards the courageous men and women of the New Zealand police who risked their lives and confronted the gunfire to protect others from harm.
“These kinds of situations move fast and the actions of those who risk their lives to save others are nothing short of heroic”.
All Fifa personnel and football teams are safe and have been accounted for. Earlier, he had warned people to stay home and avoid travelling into the city, Mr Brown said.
“I can’t remember anything like this ever happening in our beautiful city. This morning’s events have been tragic and distressing for all Aucklanders, as this is not something that we are used to,” Mr Brown wrote on Twitter.
Fifa expressed its “deepest condolences” to the victims’ families and said it was in communication with New Zealand authorities.
“The participating teams in close proximity to this incident are being supported in relation to any impact that may have taken place,” it said.
The opening match between New Zealand and Norway in the city’s Eden Park got under way at 19:00 local time (07:00 GMT).
Sport Minister Grant Robertson announced the deployment of additional police in the area to provide reassurance after a shooting incident.
The Women’s World Cup, which is the ninth edition, is jointly hosted by New Zealand and Australia.
Police received reports of a person discharging a firearm inside a construction site, leading to the gunman moving through the building while continuing to fire shots.
The situation escalated when the perpetrator entered a lift shaft, and authorities attempted to engage with him. During the confrontation, the man fired further shots before he was eventually found dead a short time later.
In response to the shooting, a significant armed police presence was evident in the central business district, which is in proximity to the waterfront and fan park.
Tatjana Haenni, the chief sporting director for the National Women’s Soccer League USA, was staying close to the shooting location.
She recounted waking up to the sounds of police cars arriving and being advised to remain indoors. Haenni expressed feeling safe despite the unsettling incident.
In 2025, the British and Irish Lions will embark on a nine-match tour, which includes a match against a New Zealand and Australia invitational XV.
The tour will kick off with a historic fixture in Adelaide before the Test matches with the Wallabies in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney.If the 100,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground sells out, it will break records for a Lions Test match.
The tour’s grand finale will take place in front of a crowd of more than 80,000 fans at Sydney’s Olympic Park.
“We are delighted to announce the tour schedule as we look ahead to what is to be one of the most eagerly anticipated series in history,” said Lions chief executive Ben Calveley.
The 2025 Lions tour fixtures in full
Saturday 28 June: v Western Force, Optus Stadium, Perth
Wednesday 2 July: v Queensland Reds, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Saturday 5 July: v New South Wales Waratahs, Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Wednesday 9 July: v ACT Brumbies, GIO Stadium, Canberra
Saturday 12 July: v Invitational Australia & NZ XV, Adelaide Oval
Saturday 19 July: First Test, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Tuesday 22 July: v Melbourne Rebels, Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
Saturday 26 July: Second Test, Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday 2 August: Third Test, Accor Stadium, Sydney
In a groundbreaking move, the Lions, Premiership Rugby, and the United Rugby Championship have reached an agreement to provide an unprecedented two-week preparation period before the tour’s opening match in Perth against Western Force on 28 June.
This agreement addresses a previous issue where the Premiership final coincided only a week before the Lions’ opening fixture, which affected the team’s preparation negatively on past tours. With this new arrangement, the Lions will have ample time to prepare effectively for their tour opener, ensuring a more competitive and well-prepared squad.
“I would also like to thank Premiership Rugby and the United Rugby Championship, whose co-operation has resulted in the longest preparation period for a tour in recent history, which gives us the best possible chance of a series victory,” added Calveley.
flanker Phil Waugh, has called a Lions tour “one of the great sporting festivals”.
“Rugby Australia is looking forward to welcoming back the Lions for the first time in 12 years – as well as the tens of thousands of Lions fans from the northern hemisphere,” Waugh said.
“It is an exciting fixture of matches all around the country with the Lions taking on our Super Rugby franchises, three massive Test matches, and a marquee match in Adelaide featuring a combined invitational Australia-New Zealand side.”
If the world misses its crucial goal to limit global warming by 1.5C, the number of days Brits suffer in uncomfortable heat would rise by over a third.
According to recent University of Oxford research, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Norway will experience the world’s most pronounced relative increase in days that call for cooling interventions like window shutters, ventilation, fans, or air conditioning.
Northern Europe is anticipated to host eight of the top ten nations with the biggest relative increase in uncomfortable temperatures, with Canada and New Zealand rounding out the group.
Switzerland and the UK will see a 30% increase in days with uncomfortably hot temperatures if the world heats to 2ºC, while Norway will see an increase of 28%.
This is a conservative estimate and does not consider extreme events like heatwaves, which would come on top of this average increase.
The researchers believe these countries are dangerously underprepared for this change.
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‘Right now, for example, sustainable cooling barely has a mention in the UK’s net zero strategy,’ said the study’s co-author Dr Radhika Khosla.
‘Without adequate interventions to promote sustainable cooling we are likely to see a sharp increase in the use of energy guzzling systems like air conditioning, which could further increase emissions and lock us into a vicious cycle of burning fossil fuels to make us feel cooler while making the world outside hotter.’
‘If we adapt the built environment in which we live, we won’t need to increase air conditioning. But right now, in countries like the UK, our buildings act like greenhouses – no external protection from the sun in buildings, windows locked, no natural ventilation and no ceiling fans. Our buildings are exclusively prepared for the cold seasons.’ explained co-lead author Dr Jesus Lizana.
Some of the solutions proposed for retrofitting buildings were to introduce ventilation measures that could also be closed off to keep in heat during winter and extendable shading covers such as awnings or more trees next to buildings to reflect the suns rays.
The researchers also suggested having personal fans that cool only the space occupied by people and not entire rooms that are empty, or for buildings where air condition is necessary, installing a heat pump that can cool in summer and warm in winter.
The top ten countries that will experience the highest needs for cooling overall in a 2.0ºC scenario are all in Africa, with central Africa most affected.
‘These conditions will pose further stress to the continent’s socio-economic development and energy networks… issues that require much additional research given the limited studies of this rising threat in the African context,’ said Dr Khosla.
‘It is also a clear indication that Africa is bearing the brunt of a problem they did not create, which should further strengthen calls for climate justice and equity.’
The scary moment tourists filming a volcano recognised it was exploding and had to run has been captured on tape.
On December 9, 2019, the infamous eruption on New Zealand‘s Whakaari White Island claimed the lives of 22 people: 20 visitors and two tour operators.
Recently, a video that was captured by a group of people nearby the active volcano just before it erupted has been made public.
Around 18 individuals can be seen watching in astonishment as a grey steam and ash cloud is produced by a natural phenomenon.
Many take their phones out to film the spectacle but one of the guides quickly realises the danger.
He shouts ‘come on guys, follow me, let’s go,’ before an American tourist can be heard urging the group to ‘move, move, move’.
Some are seen hiding behind a large crater as they try to escape the growing cloud.
Footage emerges of tourists’ desperate scramble to escape deadly volcanic eruption that killed 22 in 2019
The clip was presented as evidence in a trial against the island’s owner company Whakaari Management Ltd and tour operators ID Tours NZ Ltd and Tauranga Tourism Services Ltd.
They are facing allegations of failing to adequately protect clients and staff.
Prosecutor Kristy McDonald told Auckland District Court the disaster may not have been predictable but was foreseeable, on Tuesday.
Ms McDonald argued the tourists and guides were not given any warning about the risks.
She said: ‘They were not given the opportunity to make any informed decision about whether they wanted to take the risk of walking into the crater of an active and unpredictable volcano that had erupted as recently as 2016.
‘The business of tourism on Whakaari was a risky business.
‘It involved tours to an active volcano, taking people to the heart of the crater in circumstances where no one could predict when an erupting might occur, and if an eruption did occur, those on Whakaari were likely to die or suffer very serious injury. And tragically, that risk was realised.’
She went on to say Whakaari Management Ltd, run by brothers Andrew, James and Peter Buttle, left tour operators to monitor the changing risk.
The court heard how an eruption which occurred on April 27, in 2016, without any warning should have prompted the owner to review the risk assessment.
Of those killed, 14 were Australians, five were Americans, two were New Zealanders and one was a German.
There were 47 people in total on the island and many of those who survived suffered severe burns.
Matt Urey and Lauren Barham of Richmond, Virginia, who were on their honeymoon at the time, are listed as the first witnesses to testify.
They were among 38 tourists who had travelled from Australia aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Ovation of the Seas and were on the volcano when it erupted.
Three helicopter tour operators pleaded guilty last week to safety breaches.
Each of the companies faces a maximum fine of 1.5 million New Zealand dollars. Each of the brothers charged faces a maximum fine of 300,000 New Zealand dollars.
The trial being heard by judge Evangelos Thomas without a jury is scheduled to run for 16 weeks.
The truck crashed on the SH1 motorway on-ramp at 11.20 a.m. local time in South Auckland, New Zealand.
According to the NZ Herald, the truck also took fire and was burning by the side of the road, which caused traffic to be stopped.
The motorway‘s two southbound lanes were shut down, and diversions caused traffic jams on several of the nearby roads.
Emergency services were desperately trying to block the nearby drains, to reduce the amount of glue getting into the water system.
It’s believed the truck was carrying a huge 22 tonnes of carpet glue, and the clean-up effort will continue ‘for some time today’.
Auckland Council’s pollution response team is on scene investigating the incident.
Compliance manager Adrian Wilson said: ‘The spillage is contained at present, and our officers are carrying out further investigations to determine any impacts on the stormwater network.’
Local police confirmed there were no injuries reported.
Jacinda Ardern, who was the leader of New Zealand but left the job this year, has been given a very important honor and is now called a dame.
On Monday, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said that Ardern was given an award for her contributions to the country on King’s Birthday public holiday. 182 peoplealsogot awards.
Dame Jacinda Ardern was the leader of New Zealand from 2017 to 2023. Shehelped the country during tough times and is admired for her service. This was announced by Hipkins in a statement.
Jacinda Ardern chokes up while announcing impending resignation
“Leading New Zealand’s response to the 2019 terrorist attacks and to the Covid-19 pandemic represented periods of intense challenge for our 40th Prime Minister, during which time I saw first hand that her commitment to New Zealand remained absolute.”
Hipkins hails from the same party as Ardern, the Labour Party, and succeeded her as leader.
The move grants Ardern the title of Dame Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. The Order of Merit, established in 1996, is awarded to those in any field who have performed “meritorious service to the Crown and the nation” or who are known for their “eminence, talents, contributions, or other merits,” according to the government site.
In a statement to CNN affiliate Radio New Zealand (RNZ), Ardern said she was “incredibly humbled” by the accolade.
“I was in two minds about accepting this acknowledgment,” she said. “So many of the things we went through as a nation over the last five years were about all of us rather than one individual.”
“But I have heard that said by so many Kiwis who I have encouraged to accept an honour over the years. And so for me this a way to say thank you – to my family, to my colleagues, and to the people who supported me to take on the most challenging and rewarding role of my life.”
When Ardern became the country’s prime minister in 2017 at the age of 37, she was New Zealand’s third female leader and one of the youngest leaders in the world. Within a year, she had become only the second world leader to give birth in office.
Her time in power was defined by multiple crises, including the Christchurch terrorist attack, a deadly volcanic explosion, and the pandemic.
She quickly became a progressive global icon, remembered for her empathy while steering New Zealand through these crises and for taking her baby daughter to the United Nations General Assembly.
However, at home her popularity ebbed amid the rising cost of living, housing shortages and economic anxiety. And she faced violent anti-lockdown protests in the capital Wellington, with threats made against her.
Ardern announced her shock resignation in January, saying she no longer had enough fuel in the tank to contest an election – prompting a wave of praise and warm farewells from other world leaders and her many international admirers.
‘I don’t believe it.’ New Zealanders react to Jacinda Ardern’s resignation
In April, she revealed she will head to Harvard University this fall to complete two fellowships at the Harvard Kennedy School, the university’s school of public policy and government. She will be gone for a semester, missing out on the New Zealand general election, but will return at the end of the fellowships, she said.
More than 10,000 passengers who fly with Air New Zealand in June are being asked to weigh themselves before boarding the aircraft.
As part of a requirement from the nation’s Civil Aviation Authority, the airline plans to conduct a month-long survey to guarantee “the safe and efficient operation of the aircraft.”
It’s crucial for pilots to be aware of the weight and balance of the laden aircraft in order for planes to perform their defying of gravity work.
Currently, airlines use ‘assumed mass’, estimating the total weight of the passengers by using set figures.
Passengers will be asked to step on the scales before borading an Air New Zealand flight in June (Picture: AP)
Each passenger is typically assumed to weigh 88 kg; or 93 kg for men and 75 kg for women.
But every so often, the airline checks in to see if the average weight of passengers has changed. The last time Air New Zealand weighed its passengers was in 2021, and the airline is looking to update its figures now that international travel has resumed post-pandemic.
If a pilot knows the plane is carrying less weight than the assumed mass, they can load less fuel accordingly, increasing the safety and cutting the environmental harm caused by each flight.
Although some passengers may be hesitant to step on the scales, Air New Zealand has assured fliers that the data will remain anonymous and will not be visible to any passengers or airline staff.
‘We know stepping on the scales can be daunting. We want to reassure our customers that there is no visible display anywhere. No one can see your weight – not even us. It’s completely anonymous,’ said Alastair James, Air New Zealand’s load control improvement specialist.
‘It’s simple, it’s voluntary, and by weighing in, you’ll be helping us to fly you safely and efficiently, every time.’
Mr James explained that before each take-off the pilot needs to know the weight and balance of the loaded aircraft.
‘We weigh everything that goes on the aircraft, from the cargo to the meals onboard, to the luggage in the hold. For customers, crew and cabin bags, we use average weights, which we get from doing this survey.’
Nick Brasier, chief operating officer of British tech start-up Fuel Matrix previously told the Independent that airlines currently load about 1 per cent more fuel than they need. Consequently, they burn up to 0.5 per cent more fuel in carrying the surplus.
Though it might sound small, the fuel savings are significant when totted up. Since airlines spend an estimated £160 billion on fuel every year, the potential saving is up to £802 million.
Any reduction in fuel usage could also have a significant impact on lessening the airline’s carbon footprint- a Boeing 747 carries 240,000 litres of jet fuel and burns through it at a rate of four litres per second.
The airline said the survey began this week and will run through July 2.
In a fire outbreak at a hostel in New Zealand, 10 people have perished, and 11 more are still missing, making it likely that more have perished.
At around 12.30am local time, flames engulfed the four-story hostel in Wellington.
Six deaths have been officially confirmed, according to Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, and it’s likely that there are still others.
Bruce Stubbs, incident commander for the fire service, said: ‘There is a significant amount of debris from the roof collapse but at this stage we have located six people.’
Emergency services were called to the Loafers Lodge hostel, and Wellington Fire and Emergency district manager Nick Pyatt said 52 people have been accounted for, but that a number still remained missing.
He said: ‘I can sadly report that this will be a multi-fatality incident.
‘Our thoughts at this time are with the families of those who have perished and with our crews who valiantly rescued those (they could) and attempted to rescue those that they couldn’t.’
‘This is our worst nightmare,’ Mr Pyatt said. ‘It doesn’t get worse than this.’
Police said the cause of the fire remained unexplained, and they would be investigating alongside fire and emergency officials.
Loafers Lodge resident Tala Sili told news outlet Radio New Zealand (RNZ) that he saw smoke pouring through under his door and opened it to find the hallway pitch black.
He said: ‘I was on the top floor and I couldn’t go through the hallway because there was just too much smoke, so I jumped out the window.’
He said he then fell onto a roof two floors below.
He added: ‘It was just scary, it was really scary, but I knew I had to jump out the window or just burn inside the building.’
Mr Sili said he was rescued from the roof by paramedics and treated for a sprained ankle.
Police said the cause of the fire remained unexplained, and they would be investigating alongside fire and emergency officials.
Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said it was helping about 50 people who had escaped the fire and were now at an emergency centre the council set up at a local running track that had showers and other facilities.
He said there were a number of elderly people it was helping who had escaped with only the pyjamas they were wearing.
‘A lot are clearly shaken and bewildered about what happened,’ he said.
Loafers Lodge advertises itself as an affordable place for people to stay while they are in the capital, whether on business or needing to visit the nearby Wellington Hospital.
It has 92 rooms and promotes them as being available long term.
After the army dispatched troops to look for the New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens, who had been held hostage in February, separatist insurgents in Indonesia’s Papua area claim to have killed at least 13 soldiers from the Indonesian military.
In a statement over the weekend, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) claimed that its fighters had attacked two Indonesian military outposts in the districts of Yal and Mugi in the Nduga Regency.
According to the statement, 13 members of the Indonesian military and police were killed by the insurgents in the Mugi area. The statement added—without offering any evidence—that rebels still had 12 bodies while one had been evacuated by the Indonesian troops.
In a televised press conference on Sunday, Indonesia’s military said one of their soldiers had been killed while combing the area near where Mehrtens is believed to be held.
Some soldiers were missing, the military confirmed, but the weather had made it difficult to determine their whereabouts.
“We know the location of the pilot, the operation has been escalated but the weather condition in Papua is unpredictable,” military spokesperson Julius Widjojono said.
Separately, the rebels said nine Indonesian soldiers were executed on Sunday after being captured in the Yal district.
The rebels said the attack on the Yal military post was “revenge” for an Indonesian military operation in the area in late March, when troops killed a pregnant woman and two rebel fighters.
A military spokesperson in Papua, Herman Taryaman, denied soldiers carried out the March attack, saying the security forces were protecting civilians who were chased away by the rebels, Reuters reported.
The rebel group said they’d proposed peace negotiations with the New Zealand and Indonesian governments, but for two months their letters had been ignored.
They said New Zealand and the UN had an “obligation to urge the Indonesian Government to stop military operations” and said peace talks could be conducted under a “neutral third party, namely the UN organizational body.”
Mehrtens was captured in February after landing a commercial Susi Air charter flight at the remote Paro Airport in Nduga regency.
The Indonesian military maintains a heavy and controversial presence in Papua, which came under Jakarta’s control following a widely disputed 1969 vote overseen by the United Nations. Unrest in the impoverished but resource-rich region has escalated in recent years as separatist fighters demand independence.
The TPNPB, designated by the Indonesian government as a terrorist group, originally said that Mehrtens would not be released until Jakarta acknowledged Papuan independence and withdrew its troops from the region.
However, they later dropped that demand as a condition of the pilot’s release, and now want to talk with the New Zealand and Indonesian governments to secure his release, according to TPNPB spokesperson Sebby Sambom.
The New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens who is being held captive by separatist rebels in Indonesia’s troubled Papua area has made an appearance in a video claiming to be “alive and well,” but fears are growing for his safety as conflict with Indonesian security forces escalates.
Mehrtens speaks calmly to the camera in both Indonesian and English for the whole of the one and a half minute film while seated between two unarmed Papuan men and wearing a black T-shirt and shorts.
It’s been over three months since they (separatist fighters) abducted me from Paro, Mehrtens stated. “Good afternoon, today is Monday, April 24, 2023,” he added. I am still alive and healthy, as you can see. I’ve been eating and drinking good,” he said.
“I live with the people here – we travel together as required, we sit together, we rest together.”
He then called on the Indonesian authorities to stop ongoing airstrikes in the Nduga Regency where he is being held, saying the attacks could put his life as well as others at risk.
“Indonesia’s been dropping bombs in the area over the last week,” Mehrtens said. “Please, there is no need, it is dangerous for me and everybody here. Thank you for your support.”
In a statement accompanying the video, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) called on the New Zealand government to mediate and initiate negotiations for Mehrtens’ release and urged Indonesian authorities to stop its military operations in Papua.
“We emphasize that the pilot’s release must go through negotiations – not through military operations,” the group’s spokesperson Sebby Sambom said.
“Therefore, Indonesian President Joko Widodo must stop military operations in Ndugama immediately – if not (it will) endanger the life of the New Zealand pilot.”
Fighting and unrest continue to escalate in the impoverished but resource-rich region of Papua, where the Indonesian military maintains a heavy and controversial presence.
Designated as a terrorist group by the Indonesian government, TPNPB has periodically released updates about Mehrtens – who was captured by fighters in February after landing a commercial Susi Air charter flight at Paro Airport.
They have not disclosed Mehrtens’ location.
Indonesian security forces previously said they would refrain from any action that could endanger Mehrtens’ life but launched a military search operation for the pilot that resulted in clashes.
Last week separatist rebels claimed they killed at least 13 Indonesian military soldiers – a figure dismissed as “fake news” by Indonesian military chief Admiral Yudo Margono who confirmed one fatality and said four soldiers had gone missing while the rest had returned to their posts.
In a statement following the attacks, the rebels said they shot dead 13 Indonesian military and police officials and were in possession of 12 bodies, without providing proof.
CNN has reached out to Indonesian army officials for further comment about the latest hostage video and updates on the search mission for Mehrtens.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said he had received reports of the increased military confrontations and again called on the separatist group to release Mehrtens, reported CNN affiliate RNZ.
Joe Biden mistook the name of the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team for the infamous Black and Tans, a British paramilitary group that mercilessly suppressed anyone who opposed British rule during the Irish War of Independence.
The error was made by the US president on Wednesday when he thanked distant relative and former Irish rugby player Rob Kearney for giving the Irish rugby team a tie as a gift following a victory over the New Zealand rugby team at Soldier Field in Chicago in 2016.
He said, “Look at this shamrock tie I have. It was presented to me by one of these guys who is a fantastic rugby player and who recently defeated the Black and Tans.
The 80-year-old went on to correct himself during the speech in Co Louth on Wednesday – and the White House said it was “very clear” to Irish rugby fans the president was referring to the New Zealand rugby team the All Blacks when he made the mistaken reference.
Asked if he realised his mistake, National Security Council senior director for Europe, Amanda Sloat, said: “It was clear what the president was referring to, it was certainly clear to his cousins sitting next to him.”
However, Mr Biden was criticised on social media, with the incident being described as a “signature gaffe”.
Image: Joe Biden celebrating St Patrick’s Day at the White House this year
White House denies Biden is ‘anti-British’
As he continues his visit in Ireland, we take a look at some of his controversial jokes and reactions to some of his past comments about the island.
He has frequently spoken of his Irish roots and his love for the country – but not all of his light-hearted comments have gone down well in the past.
‘Anyone wearing orange, you’re not welcome in’
When Mr Biden was vice-president in 2015, he made a joke when the then-Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny visited his house in Washington on St Patrick’s Day.
“Anyone wearing orange, you’re not welcome in… only joking,” he said, wearing a green tie as they smiled for a picture.
Orange is the colour associated with the Protestant majority in Northern Ireland, while green is used as a symbol by mostly Catholic Irish nationalists.
The joke, at the expense of the Orange Order, which counts Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MPs among its number, led to criticism from the DUP and a backlash on social media.
William McCrea, the former DUP representative for South Antrim, said he appreciated that Mr Biden said it was a joke, but called his comments a “slur” and said they were “disgraceful and careless”.
The party called for him to apologise. An official from his office said he made it clear that it was a joke.
‘I may be Irish but I’m not stupid’
The president opened a St Patrick’s Day speech at the White House last year with a joke about his wife Jill, and his Irish heritage.
He said: “Father, before I begin – bless me, Father, for I’m about to sin… I – well, I just want you to know, I may be Irish, but I’m not stupid. I married Dominic Giacoppa’s daughter [Jill Biden’s grandfather] so, you know, I got a little Italian in me now.”
Why the US president’s visit is significant
Some in the audience did laugh, but the off-the-cuff remark referencing his own roots left some unimpressed including Twitter users who shared their incredulity that he would infer that people from Ireland are “stupid”.
The president has repeated this joke on more than one occasion.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player ‘I’m the only Irish who’s never had a drink’
He joked his relatives ‘weren’t really in jail’
More recently, the US leader also joked about his experience meeting distant members of his Irish family.
He told the crowd: “When I went over to Ireland, It was a great experience. I’ve been to Ireland many times, but not to actually look up – to find my actual family members.
“And there are so many – and they actually weren’t in jail.”
Officials confirmed a child’s body was discovered on Wednesday in Hawke’s Bay, one of the worst-affected areas.
About 300 people who were trapped on rooftops there had been rescued by rescue helicopters.
Although the cyclone has left New Zealand, as of Wednesday, 10,500 people were still without homes.
On Wednesday night, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins noted that “several people are missing for whom the police do hold grave concerns.”
Meanwhile, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake was widely felt across the country late on Wednesday. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the quake, which struck off the coast of the North Island near the capital, Wellington.
While the rain has ceased in most parts, many remote towns and areas remain cut off by high floodwaters and a lack of power.
New Zealand’s prime minister, Chris Hipkins, has called Hurricane Gabrielle the biggest weather event to hit the country in the past century. It’s estimated to affect at least a third of the country’s five million population.
The storm’s damage has been most extensive in coastal communities on the far north and east coast of the North Island – with areas like Hawke’s Bay, the Coromandel, and Northland among the worst hit.
The situation in Hawke’s Bay, a popular tourist destination with some remote towns, was of particular concern to the authorities, said Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty.
As the cyclone hit on Monday night, residents in Hawke’s Bay had been forced to swim through bedroom windows as the water level rose.
“In some cases, flood waters were up to the second storey of homes where people were being rescued,” a military spokesperson said.
At least three people have died in the area. One woman was killed in a landslide at her home, while another was found dead on the shoreline, authorities said. The police said they believed the child was caught in rising water.
The body of a missing firefighter who had been caught in a landslide in west of Auckland was also found on Tuesday.
Mr McAnulty on Wednesday said it would be unsurprising if the death toll rose further.
But he hailed the “phenomenal” effort of rescue workers who plucked “roughly 300 people from rooftops” in Hawke’s Bay, with 60 people rescued from one large building marooned by floodwaters.
Watch: Helicopters reach flood-hit homes and assess cyclone devastation.
On Wednesday, more than 140,000 people across the island were still without power, although electricity had been restored to 80,000 homes.
Residents in hard-hit areas are also being asked to conserve water and food because of fears of shortages.
New Zealand announced a national state of emergency on Tuesday, which allows it streamline its response to the disaster.
The country has only previously declared a national state of emergency on two occasions – during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
New Zealand’s climate minister has attributed to the scale of the disaster to climate change.
“The severity of it, of course, [is] made worse by the fact that our global temperatures have already increased by 1.1 degrees,” said James Shaw in parliament on Tuesday.
“We need to stop making excuses for inaction.” We cannot put our heads in the sand when the beach is flooding. “We must act now.”
As New Zealand’s largest city prepare for its second major storm in as many weeks, flights have been cancelled and schools closed.
Auckland residents are hunkering down at home as they prepare for Cyclone Gabrielle’s expected heavy rain, flooding, and gale-force winds.
Due to the suspension of flights, cancellation of train service, and closure of most libraries and schools, residents of the city and its environs were advised to stay at home except for absolutely necessary trips.
Approximately 250 kilometres (155 miles) northwest of New Zealand, Gabrielle is expected to approach the east coast within the next 24 hours.
“We expect the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle to get, unfortunately, worse before they get better,” said Rachel Kelleher, deputy controller of Auckland Emergency Management, on Monday.
“It’s not the time to be complacent,” she added.
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on Monday announced a NZ$11.5 million ($7.25 million) package to support community groups such as food banks and to groups impacted by the floods.
The cyclone comes two weeks after a record-breaking storm swamped Auckland and killed four people.
States of emergency were in place in Auckland and at least five other regions.
The approaching storm has already brought down trees and damaged roofs, with power cut to 46,000 homes. Mobile phone services were also reported to be patchy in some areas.
Air New Zealand has cancelled 509 flights and said flights will resume on Tuesday when the weather is expected to improve.
Meteorologist Georgina Griffiths said overnight that Auckland and Great Barrier Island could see heavy rain and winds.
“I think parts of Auckland that have not yet seen challenging wind conditions are expected to see gales overnight,” she said.
“Storm surge is still coming and might peak with the high tide at 2am for eastern parts of Auckland.”
New Zealand is getting ready for a severe storm that could hit areas of the country that have already suffered from deadly flooding.
From Saturday night, Cyclone Gabrielle is anticipated to make landfall on the nation’s North Island, possibly bringing with it strong winds and additional heavy rain.
In case they become stranded at home, residents have been advised to make sure they have enough supplies to last three days.
The storm strikes just a few weeks after Auckland was flooded by torrential rain.
There, tens of thousands of sandbags have been distributed due to worries that the weakened infrastructure and soggy ground have made homes more susceptible to flooding.
Evacuation shelters have been set up once again, and Air New Zealand, the national carrier, has cancelled several domestic flights ahead of the cyclone’s arrival.
Photographs and videos posted on social media showed long queues at supermarkets and bare shelves as people prepared for more severe weather.
Local media have reported that New Zealand’s most northern region, Northland, has already begun to experience high winds.
Cyclone Gabrielle has been downgraded from a category three storm to a category two, meaning less destructive winds are now expected.
However, forecasters have warned that they could still be strong enough to damage trees and power lines and that enough rain could fall to cause further flooding and landslides in the coming days.
The Coromandel Peninsula and the Tairāwhiti/Gisborne region, which were also affected by the recent torrential rain, have been placed under the most serious weather alert.
Residents in flood-prone areas have been told to prepare to evacuate.
“There’s a degree of nervousness and anxiety around this coming event,” the Thames-Coromandel district’s mayor, Len Salt, told the Stuff news website.
“Coromandel people are pretty resilient, but the fact we’ve been in this mode dealing with storm events from the beginning of January…people are tired.”
Meanwhile, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology has said that conditions on the remote territory of Norfolk Island have begun to deteriorate because of Cyclone Gabrielle.
The island, which lies north of New Zealand, has also been placed under a red alert. Residents have been warned to stay indoors and to find the strongest part of their homes under which to take shelter.
Only three cyclones have come within a 50km (31 mile) range of the island in the past 30-40 years.
Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain are the additional four nations where Netflix is imposing restrictions on password sharing.
If customers in certain nations want to share their subscription with friends and relatives who don’t reside with them, they must pay an additional cost.
The measure, which will take effect in the UK by the end of March, comes in response to a crackdown on password sharing in South America.
According to Netflix, 100 million people worldwide use shared accounts.
Netflix’s capacity to invest in new television content was being hampered by the loss of revenue from the shared accounts, the company claimed. It has stated that it intends to expand the new strategy to more nations in the upcoming months.
It has previously been simple for subscribers to give their login information and password to pals who live outside of their home.
When it tweeted, “Love is sharing a password,” in 2017, Netflix even seemed to be endorsing the behavior.
However, increasing consumer subscription cancellations due to rising living expenses and increased competition in the streaming industry have forced Netflix to concentrate on increasing its revenue.
The company claimed that permitting accounts to be used by multiple people in a single household had “caused confusion” regarding who could share what and how.
It said members in Canada, New Zealand, Spain and Portugal would now be asked to set up a “primary location” for their account and manage who has access to it.
Members would still be able to watch Netflix when they travelled, both on personal devices and logging in in other places, for example in a hotel, it said.
For CAD$7.99 (£4.92) Canadian subscribers can add up an extra member as a “sub account” the blog said, with a maximum of two sub accounts per subscription.
The fee would be similar in New Zealand at NZ$7.99 (£4.17). There would be a price difference for sub accounts between Portugal at €3.99 (£3.54) and Spain at €5.99 (£5.32).
Netflix chief operating officer Gregory Peters last month acknowledged that the changes would not be “universally popular” and warned investors to expect some cancellations.
He said the firm expected to eventually make up those losses.
In the first half of 2022, Netflix saw its subscriber numbers fall sharply. It cut hundreds of jobs and put up prices to cover rising costs.
But the company saw a bigger-than-expected rise in user numbers in the last three months of 2022, up 7.66 million, taking its total paid subscribers worldwide to nearly 231 million.
In November, it introduced a cheaper ad-supported option in 12 countries, including most of Europe, the UK and the US.
The cache, which weighs 3.2 tonnes (3,200 kg) in total and is worth $500 million NZD (£263 million; $316 million), was discovered drifting hundreds of kilometers northwest of New Zealand.
Police were of the opinion that it was going to Australia, where it would have been sufficient to supply that market for a year.
Some of the packages’ labels featured a Batman symbol and were buoyantly strung together.
Coke packets labeled with a clover leaf symbol were also visible in images released by New Zealand police and defense officials.
“This is the largest find of illicit drugs by New Zealand agencies, by some margin,” said New Zealand’s police commissioner Andrew Coster on Wednesday.
“It is more than New Zealand would use in 30 years,” he added.
Image caption,Some bales had a Batman symbol on them…Image caption,and others were wrapped in brown paper with a clover leaf symbol
New Zealand’s navy deployed a vessel to retrieve the massive shipment last week, which comprised 81 bales of cocaine.
They were brought to Auckland in New Zealand’s North Island on Tuesday and taken to a security facility to be documented and destroyed, officials said.
“We believe we have dealt a significant blow to an international criminal syndicate’s operation,” Mr Coster said.
New Zealand MP Chris Hipkins says succeeding Jacinda Ardern as prime minister after her shock decision to resign amounts to “the biggest responsibility and the biggest privilege of my life”.
“The weight of that responsibility is still sinking in,” he told reporters on parliament’s steps in Wellington on Saturday, in his first appearance since being nominated.
An experienced MP and career politician, Chris Hipkins is seen as the safest choice for Labour at the moment. He already has the education, Covid response and policing portfolios under his belt.
Speaking to the Guardian in 2021, he said one of his political strengths was “understanding how the machinery of government operates, which is something that I’ve developed over about 20 years”.
But even with that political pedigree, the incoming leader faces a steep uphill battle to convince New Zealanders that he and his centre-left Labour party are fit to lead the country for another term, when they go to the polls in October.
Chris Hipkins set to be New Zealand’s next PM
There are two things the party currently lacks: favourable public opinion and Jacinda Ardern’s star power – even though that has faded lately.
Around the world, Ms Ardern is still considered something of a global figurehead, a rock star of international politics.
Image caption,Jacinda Ardern won many admirers worldwide
Since taking power in 2017 aged 37 and steering the country through major crises – the Christchurch mosque shootings in which 51 people were killed, the White Island volcanic eruption and Covid-19 pandemic – Ms Ardern has become a symbol of a new generation of female leaders inspiring young women all over the world.
At her peak she was extremely popular here in New Zealand too. But that has significantly changed, with recent polls putting her personal popularity at an all-time low.
New Zealanders are bearing the brunt of a deteriorating economy post-Covid, with inflation that has compounded the cost of living crisis and concern about crime rates.
The contrast between the sentiment towards Jacinda Ardern globally and at home is quite stark. From world leaders to actors and music stars, the reaction to her shock departure was one of sadness.
At home many said how happy they were that she was going. Others described her exit as a political tactic, given how unpopular the Labour Party has become – leaving before being pushed out.
BBC
Unfortunately Covid knocked her. It also knocked the economyTina Watson
Tina Watson, visiting her children in New Zealand, blamed Ms Ardern for separating her from her family during the Covid border closures. Ms Watson is originally from the UK and now lives in South Africa. She told me she was “thrilled” that Ms Ardern had resigned, when I met her and her partner outside parliament in Wellington.
“I was here when they elected her [in 2017],” Ms Watson said. “I was really impressed. I thought ‘wow! this thirty-odd year-old lady – this is a moving country’,” she said.
But she said the Ardern government’s Covid response, including strict lockdowns and long border closures, had changed her opinion.
“Unfortunately Covid knocked her. It also knocked the economy,” she said.
While the country has now opened its borders there’s still a sour taste among New Zealanders about what they had to endure during the pandemic.
The long-standing restrictions initially helped control the number of infections and fatalities, but led to increased anger and criticism of Jacinda Ardern and her government.
In February 2022 anti-vaccine protesters occupied the parliament grounds in Wellington for more than two weeks, blocking streets in the capital’s central business district with their cars.
It was a clear sign of the darkening mood of the country.
Jacinda Ardern has been on the receiving end of regular misogyny and abuse. In one incident a group of anti-vaccine protesters chased her van down a driveway as she visited a Christchurch primary school, with some in the crowd shouting “shame on you” and “traitor”.
Image caption,A year ago anti-vaccine protesters marched through Christchurch
Chris Hipkins, who led New Zealand’s response to the pandemic in 2020, has previously conceded that strict lockdowns should have been scaled back sooner.
As one of the primary architects of the Covid response his association with the Ardern government could now come back to haunt him politically.
He paid tribute to her, saying she had been “an incredible prime minister” who had “provided calm, stable, reassuring leadership, which I hope to continue to do”.
But he also addressed the abuse and misogyny she has had to deal with.
“There has been an escalation in vitriol, and I want to acknowledge that some politicians have been the subject of that more than others,” he said. Ms Ardern “has absolutely been on the receiving end of some absolutely intolerable and unacceptable behaviour,” he added.
In an effort to highlight some of this, video compilations of sexist questions she has been asked have been shared on social media. They include talking about her hair colour and even comments on when her daughter may have been conceived.
In November Ms Ardern was praised for her quick response when a male reporter suggested that she was meeting Finland’s Sanna Marin because both were young female prime ministers.
At the press conference in Auckland, Ms Ardern said she wondered “whether or not anyone ever asked Barack Obama and [former New Zealand PM] John Key if they met because they were of similar age”.
Watch: New Zealand and Finland PMs shoot down ‘similar age’ question from reporter
After announcing her resignation Ms Ardern rejected suggestions by some commentators that experiences of misogyny had played a role in her decision.
She said she had a “message for women in leadership and girls who are considering leadership in the future” that “you can have a family and be in these roles”, adding “you can lead in your own style”.
On Thursday she said she hoped she would leave behind a belief “that you can be kind and strong… that you can be your own kind of leader, one that knows when to go”.
The challenge for Chris Hipkins and the Labour Party is not just whether they can convince New Zealanders that they will be able to turn the economy and public opinion around.
The bigger question is how closely he associates himself with the “Jacinda Ardern brand”. That star quality that delivered a landslide Labour win in 2020 has almost the opposite effect now.
The incoming PM will have to assert his own leadership brand and convince New Zealanders that it’s the one they need going forward.
Jacinda Ardern, whose decision as leader of New Zealand startled both her admirers and detractors, said she has “no regrets” about her intentions to step down.
A day after revealing she had “no more in the tank”, Ms Ardern said she was feeling a “range of emotions” from sadness to a “sense of relief”.
Polls suggest her party has a difficult path to re-election in October.
The prime minister said she would not openly back any of the likely candidates to replace her.
Speaking on Friday outside an airport in Napier – where the Labour Party caucus had gathered for a retreat – Ms Ardern said she had “slept well for the first time in a long time”.
In response to questions by reporters, she rejected suggestions by some commentators that experiences of misogyny had played a role in her decision.
Ms Ardern said she had a “message for women in leadership and girls who are considering leadership in the future” that “you can have a family and be in these roles”, adding “you can lead in your own style”.
On Thursday, she said she was looking forward to spending more time with her family and for being there when her daughter starts school later this year.
She will step down by 7 February and Labour Party MPs will hold a leadership vote on Sunday. If no candidate gets the support of two-thirds of the party, the vote will go to the wider Labour membership.
But Ms Ardern said she expected a successor would be selected on Sunday.
Chris Hipkins, who currently holds the education and police portfolios, appears to be the most likely candidate. Mr Hipkins, 44, led the government’s response to the pandemic after being appointed minister for Covid-19 in November 2020.
He later conceded that strict restrictions should have been scaled back sooner.
Other potential candidates include Minister of Justice Kiri Allan, 39. If successful she would become the country’s first prime minister of Maori descent, as well as the first openly gay leader.
Michael Wood, 42, the Minister for Transport and Workplace Safety is also on the list of potential successors.
Reaction to Ms Ardern’s decision has been mixed in New Zealand. One local, Liliana Lozano, said she’ll miss the leader’s “kindness and her ability to relate to others”.
“Watching her on TV made me feel safe during [Covid] lockdown,” she told the BBC.
But Tina Watson, who is originally from the UK and now lives in South Africa, blamed Ms Ardern for separating her from her family because the borders were closed for more than two years.
“Her Covid-19 restrictions were so harsh,” Ms Watson said. “I have three children [in New Zealand], six grandchildren – two of whom I’ve never met. She drew me apart from them. I’m glad she resigned.”
Jacinda Ardern’s personal popularity has taken a hit recently, with latest polls suggesting it’s at its lowest since she came to power in 2017.
New Zealand has been dealing with issues including a deteriorating economy, a cost of living crisis and concerns about crime rates.
An emotional Ardern announced that her last day in office will be February 7 and that she will not run for reelection this year.
Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand, has announced that she won’t run in this year’s general elections and will step down from office the following month.
Ardern announced on Thursday that her final day in office would be February 7 while fighting back tears in the city of Napier.
“I am not leaving because it was hard. Had that been the case I probably would have departed two months into the job,” she said.
“I am leaving because with such a privileged role, comes responsibility, the responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not,” she said.
“I know what this job takes and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It is that simple.”
New Zealand’s next general election will be held on October 14, she added.
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern fought back tears as she announced that she will be stepping down next month after five years in office.
Ardern’s decision to step down came as her Labour Party looked set to face a tough election campaign this year.
While Labour won re-election two years ago in a landslide of historic proportions, recent polls have put it behind its conservative rivals.
Political commentator Ben Thomas said Ardern’s announcement was a huge surprise as polls still ranked her as the country’s preferred prime minister even though support for her party had fallen from the stratospheric heights seen during the 2020 election.
Thomas said that there was not a clear successor.
‘Jacinda-mania’
Ardern, 42, said on Thursday that a vote to elect the next Labour leader would be held on Sunday and that she believed the party would win the vote.
New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson, who also serves as finance minister, said in a statement he would not seek to stand as the next Labour leader.
Ardern became prime minister as the head of a coalition government at the age of 37 in 2017.
Her initial election made a big splash on the global stage because of her gender and youth, coining the phrase “Jacinda-mania”.
During her five and a half years in office, she has been lauded globally for New Zealand’s initial handling of the coronavirus pandemic after the country managed for months to stop the virus at its borders.
She was also widely praised for the way she embraced New Zealand’s Muslim community in the wake of a white supremacist attack in 2019 that killed 51 people at two mosques in the city of Christchurch. The prime minister swiftly labelled the attacks “terrorism” and wore a hijab as she met with the Muslim community a day after the attack, telling them the whole country was “united in grief”.
She also promised and delivered major gun law reform within a month.
But her popularity has waned over the past year as inflation has risen to nearly three-decade highs, the central bank has aggressively increased the cash rate and crime has risen. The country has also become increasingly politically divided over issues such as a government overhaul of water infrastructure and the introduction of an agricultural emissions programme.
“Ardern will be remembered as a crisis leader and an able one as that,” wrote Tim Watkin, executive producer at Radio New Zealand.
“From this place in time, it would be churlish in the extreme to not acknowledge her remarkable capacity for compassion, her sure-footedness in crises when others have panicked or stumbled,” he wrote. “The question now becomes whether the voting public – who have been steadily losing faith in Ardern and her government in the past 12-18 months – accept her sacrifice or want the whole party to follow suit.”
Ardern said on Thursday that despite stepping down as prime minister she would stay on as a lawmaker until the general election.
She also made a point of telling her daughter, Neve, that she was looking forward to being there when she started school this year and told her longtime partner, Clarke Gayford, that it was time they married.
‘Intellect, strength’
World leaders paid tribute to Ardern following her announcement.
Australian Prime Minister said “Ardern has shown the world how to lead with intellect and strength” and has “demonstrated that empathy and insight are powerful leadership qualities”.
Jacinda Ardern has shown the world how to lead with intellect and strength.
She has demonstrated that empathy and insight are powerful leadership qualities.
Jacinda has been a fierce advocate for New Zealand, an inspiration to so many and a great friend to me. pic.twitter.com/QJ64mNCJMI
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau thanked Ardern for her partnership and friendship, as well as her “empathetic, compassionate, strong and steady leadership over the past several years”.
“The difference you have made is immeasurable,” he tweeted.
Thank you, @JacindaArdern, for your partnership and your friendship – and for your empathic, compassionate, strong, and steady leadership over these past several years. The difference you have made is immeasurable. I’m wishing you and your family nothing but the best, my friend. pic.twitter.com/72Q5p9GZzg
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown meanwhile expressed gratitude for the assistance his country received from New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Zealand’s “support saved our lives and enabled us to get back on our feet quicker than expected,” he said.
On Tuesday, the New Zealand Parliamentapproved an iconic anti-smoking law that forbids the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009.
The government is pushing to make the nation “smoke free” by 2025, and the ban is part of that effort. Its goal is to stop the next generation from taking up smoking.
By the end of 2023, the new law will reduce the number of retailers with tobacco sales licences from 6,000 to 600.
The new law carries fines of up to NZ$150,000 (roughly $96,000) for violations.
“Thousands of people will live longer, healthier lives and the health system will be $5 billion better off from not needing to treat the illnesses caused by smoking, such as numerous types of cancer, heart attacks, strokes, amputations,” Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said in a statement.
Smoking rates in New Zealand – already among the world’s lowest – are falling, having decreased from 9.4% to 8% in the past 12 months, according to Verrall.
Verrall said the legislation would help close the life expectancy gap between Maori and non-Maori citizens, which can be as high as 25% for women.
The legislation – the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill – will also reduce the amount of nicotine allowed in tobacco products, aiming to make them less addictive.
According to the Ministry of Health, New Zealand’s smoking rate is now the lowest since records began, with 56,000 smokers quitting in the past year.
However, vaping – which the new legislation does not cover – remains popular among young New Zealanders. Official data shows8.3% of adults are now vaping daily, up from 6.2% in the past year.
A New Zealand court has directed that a child at the centre of a case involving blood transfusions from Covid-19-vaccinated donors be placed in temporary custody by health officials.
The four-month-old boy is being treated in an Auckland hospital for an urgent heart condition.
His parents had stopped the operation and asked a judge to order that he receive blood from unvaccinated donors.
The High Court, however, ruled that the operation was in the child’s “best interests.”
Justice Ian Gault ordered that the boy – identified as Baby W in court documents – be placed under the guardianship of the court “from the date of the order until completion of his surgery and post-operative recovery”.
He dismissed the parents’ request for unvaccinated blood, calling it unnecessary and impractical, and agreed with health authorities that the boy’s “survival [was] actually dependent on the application being granted”.
But he emphasised that the parents remained the boy’s primary guardians and said doctors must keep them informed at all times about his treatment and condition.
Justice Gault also rejected a request from the parents’ lawyer, Sue Grey, that a tailored donor service with blood from exclusively unvaccinated donors be established.
Ms Grey said the long-term effects of the vaccine were “untested” and accused doctors of refusing to provide an alternate donor service for ideological reasons.
Citing evidence from New Zealand’s chief medical officer, Justice Gault ruled that there was “no scientific evidence there is any Covid-19 vaccine-related risk from blood donated” by vaccinated donors.
The case has become a vector for anti-vaccine activists in New Zealand with demonstrators – many of whom carried placards – gathering outside the court before the ruling was delivered on Wednesday.
It also emerged during the case that during a meeting with doctors at the Starship hospital in Auckland, the parents had been accompanied by a “support person” who hijacked the conference.
They said the person presented a host of unfounded conspiracy theories, and went on to claim that children were dying from transfusions at the hospital.
Addressing the demonstrators outside the court house following the ruling, former TV host and leading anti-vaccine campaigner Liz Gunn said the decision was “wrong on every level”.
Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) acknowledged that the case was a “difficult situation for all involved” but emphasised that its priority was the “the health and wellbeing” of all children in its care.
New Zealand’s Supreme Courthas ruled that the country’s current voting age of 18 is discriminatory, meaning parliament must discuss whether it should be lowered.
The case was brought by campaign group Make It 16, which wants the voting age reduced to include 16 and 17 year olds.
“This is history,” Make It 16 co-director Caeden Tipler said.
The group argued that young people should be able to vote on matters affecting them, such as climate change.
The issue must now be brought to parliament, after the court ruled that New Zealand’s minimum voting age of 18 was inconsistent with the country‘s Bill of Rights – which gives people who are 16 years and over the right to be free from age discrimination.
The ruling does not mean that the voting age will definitely be lowered.
Reacting to the ruling, Make It 16’s Caeden Tipler told the BBC the campaign had been an “up-hill battle” but they had always felt “confident” that the Supreme Court would support their case.
“We now have the legal backing for what we’ve always known,” they said.
The 17-year-old from Auckland said they had felt frustrated at not being able to vote on issues that mattered to them in the last election in 2020.
“I became incredibly frustrated. I felt like I knew just as much as the adults around me… I was more than capable of voting,” they said.
Following the ruling, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she personally supported reducing the voting age to 16, but added that “it is not a matter simply for me or even the government, any change in electoral law of this nature requires 75% of parliamentarian support”.
Not all parties support the lowering of the voting age.
The centre-right National party opposes the move, while the Labour party is yet to state whether it would support a change in voting age or not.
New Zealand has vowed to continue its “unwavering” support for Ukraine after its defence minister visited Kyiv.
Peeni Henare took a trip to the Ukrainian capital to reaffirm the Pacific nation’s support for the country’s battle against Russia and to meet his counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov.
“We discussed New Zealand’s recent extension of the infantry training support mission in the UK for Ukrainian troops out to July 2023,” Mr Henare said in a statement.
“Visiting Kyiv sends a strong message that … our support for the Ukrainian defensive effort against Russia’s illegal invasion is unwavering.”
Mr Henare also visited Kyiv’s Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen
for Ukraine to pay respects to victims of the war.
Last week, New Zealand said it would send a further 66 defence personnel to Britain to help trainUkrainian soldiers.
Since Russia’s attack on Ukraine, New Zealand has sanctioned more than 1,200 Russian individuals and entities and provided the country with millions of pounds worth of assistance.
Englandhas suffered heartbreak again after losing to New Zealand for the fifth time in the Rugby World Cup final.
Despite a strong start, the first-half sending off of winger Lydia Thompson proved crucial after a reckless tackle on Portia Woodman in the 18th minute.
A hat-trick from hooker Amy Cokayne off the rolling maul and tries from flanker Marlie Packer and fullback Ellie Kildunne had kept England ahead for all but 15 of the 80 minutes.
However. winger Ayesha Leti-l’iga scored a try nine minutes from time to give New Zealand a 34-31 victory.
It secured a sixth world title for the Black Ferns at a packed Eden Park.
England skipper Sarah Hunter said: “I’m gutted. I’m so proud of the team. We came out fighting.
“We had our backs against the wall for 60 minutes of that game but we never gave up, we kept coming out.
“One result doesn’t define the squad that we are, the people that we are and hopefully what we’ve created.”
Black Ferns captain Ruahei Demant: “I can’t even put it into words. All I can say is thank you – I am so proud of our team.
“It has been really challenging. Most people don’t even know that last year we went on a northern tour and got pumped. The way the players have turned themselves around – there’s a lot that is unseen.
“We’ve sacrificed so much to get one chance in a lifetime, to win a World Cup at home, and we did it.”
Earlier, France won the bronze medal after a 36-0 demolition of Canada, scoring five tries.
New Zealand earned a 35-run win over Ireland to move into prime position for a spot in the T20 World Cup semi-finals.
The result sends the Black Caps top of Group 1 and, although England and Australia can both move level on seven points, Kane Williamson’s men are in a position of strength due to their superior net run rate.
It was captain Williamson’s 61 from 35 balls that set the tone for his side’s innings of 185-6, with Josh Little (3-22) the pick of Ireland’s bowlers as he claimed a hat-trick in the 19th over.
Still, there was little the underdogs could do to limit the damage, as Finn Allen (32), Devon Conway (28) and Daryl Mitchell (31 not out) also made valuable contributions.
Ireland, who stunned pre-tournament favourites Englandearlier in the Super 12s, were 68 without loss in reply at one stage but crumbled to 150-9 in the face of a fine New Zealand bowling attack and are now out of the competition.
Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi accounted for Ireland’s top four between them and there was scant resistance lower down the order, with George Dockrell’s 23-run cameo ended by the impressive Lockie Ferguson (3-22).
Williamson leads by example
Skipper Williamson was back to his best for New Zealand with an aggressive knock that included five fours and three maximums.
He laid the foundations to set a daunting total for Ireland, who were not to be taken lightly after also overcoming West Indies amid an impressive campaign.
Reflecting on the victory, he said: “It was a good team effort really, that Ireland team has been playing beautifully, they’ve got a really well-rounded side, and it was a good match and good to get the win.”
It may ultimately have come in a losing effort, but a hat-trick is always a thing of beauty and Little’s was a joy to behold.
In three consecutive deliveries in the penultimate over he accounted for Williamson, James Neesham and Santner, becoming only the sixth man to rack up a World Cup treble.
That feat further enhanced the fast bowler’s already glowing reputation and franchises around the world will certainly have taken note.
New Zealand earned a 35-run win over Ireland to move into prime position for a spot in the T20 World Cup semi-finals.
The result sends the Black Caps top of Group 1 and, although England and Australia can both move level on seven points, Kane Williamson’s men are in a position of strength due to their superior net run rate.
It was captain Williamson’s 61 from 35 balls that set the tone for his side’s innings of 185-6, with Josh Little (3-22) the pick of Ireland’s bowlers as he claimed a hat-trick in the 19th over.
Still, there was little the underdogs could do to limit the damage, as Finn Allen (32), Devon Conway (28) and Daryl Mitchell (31 not out) also made valuable contributions.
Ireland, who stunned pre-tournament favourites England earlier in the Super 12s, were 68 without loss in reply at one stage but crumbled to 150-9 in the face of a fine New Zealand bowling attack and are now out of the competition.
Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi accounted for Ireland’s top four between them and there was scant resistance lower down the order, with George Dockrell’s 23-run cameo ended by the impressive Lockie Ferguson (3-22).
Williamson leads by example
Skipper Williamson was back to his best for New Zealand with an aggressive knock that included five fours and three maximums.
He laid the foundations to set a daunting total for Ireland, who were not to be taken lightly after also overcoming West Indies amid an impressive campaign.
Reflecting on the victory, he said: “It was a good team effort really, that Ireland team has been playing beautifully, they’ve got a really well-rounded side, and it was a good match and good to get the win.”
It may ultimately have come in a losing effort, but a hat-trick is always a thing of beauty and Little’s was a joy to behold.
In three consecutive deliveries in the penultimate over he accounted for Williamson, James Neesham and Santner, becoming only the sixth man to rack up a World Cup treble.
That feat further enhanced the fast bowler’s already glowing reputation and franchises around the world will certainly have taken note.
To combat climate change, New Zealand has suggested charging the greenhouse gases that farm animals emit when they urinate and burp.
By 2025, farmers will begin to pay for agricultural emissions under a groundbreaking system.
The country’s farming industry accounts for about half of its emissions.
But farmers have been quick to criticize the plan, with one lobby group saying it would “rip the guts out of small-town New Zealand”.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said money raised from the proposed levy will be pumped back into the industry to finance new technologies, research, and incentive payments for farmers.
“New Zealand’s farmers are set to be the first in the world to reduce agricultural emissions, positioning our biggest export market for the competitive advantage that brings in a world increasingly discerning about the provenance of their food,” she told reporters while announcing the proposals from a farm in Wairarapa.
The pricing has not yet been decided on, but the government says that farmers should be able to make up the cost of the levy by charging more for climate-friendly produce.
But some farmers have condemned the plans, saying they could prompt many of them to sell up.
Federated Farmers national presidentAndrew Hoggard said the plan will “rip the guts out of small-town New Zealand”, leading to farms making way for trees.
He added that the body was “deeply unimpressed” with the government’s interactions with farmers while examining alternative proposals.
Farmers will now be selling their land “so fast you won’t even hear the dogs barking on the back of the ute (pickup truck) as they drive off”, he added.
Some have also argued that the plans could actually increase emissions if food production was to move to countries with less efficient farming methods.
In 2019, methane in the atmosphere reached record levels, around two-and-a-half times above what they were in the pre-industrial era.
Australia captain Aaron Finch declared his side will continue “tinkering” until the start of the T20 World Cup after starring in a three-wicket win over West Indies on Wednesday.
The Windies set a total of 145-9 before reducing Australia to 58-5 within eight overs on the Gold Coast, but Finch (58) and Matthew Wade (39 not out) led the hosts’ successful recovery.
Taking an unfamiliar role at number four in the batting order, Finch moved to within 27 runs of becoming the first Australia batsman to score 3,000 runs in T20I history.
The world champions have experimented with their line-up in recent outings, including when Cameron Green opened during last month’s tour of India, and Finch expects that to continue.
“Both teams were sloppy if they are honest with themselves,” he said. “But it’s good to get across the line.
Matty Wade came up clutch at the death for us again!
A wonderful start to the Dettol T20I Series as our boys grabbed a three-wicket win over the West Indies #AUSvWIpic.twitter.com/IoEaeHGitg
“We knew that total would be a challenge on that wicket, we did really well early and they took wickets in the middle.
“It would have been nice to get us over the line, I was trying to target the boundary but mishit one. I didn’t like getting the first one in the head, but I really enjoy batting in the middle order.
“It was just something different, we might change it up in the next match. We are going to keep tinkering with things until we get to the World Cup.”
Australia will begin their defence of the World Cup against New Zealand on October 22 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Kendrick first served as a musical guest in 2013 when Adam Levine hosted. He performed his late-night staple “Swimming Pools” (Drank) and the Janet Jackson-sampling “Poetic Justice.”
The following year, K. Dot delivered an SNL performance for the ages, giving a scorching rendition of “i” and joining forces with Jay Rock for “Pay for It.”
He appeared as a cameo in 2014 for Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” performance, and later in 2018 during Anderson .Paak’s “Tints.”
On tonight’s SNL, Kendrick performed “Rich Spirit,” utilizing the lighting and shadow effects from his shows. He then went into “N95.” Notably, he displays “the homie Jason Keaton wrote two books in prison. The Edges Envy in the Eyes. Yea we still playing industry politics.”
For his second song, he performed “Father Time” with Sampha.
Although SNL didn’t get Kendrick debuting new music, he did perform several “Untitled” tracks during a late-night performance run. It was his way of introducing established fans to his music music while the uninitiated got a taste of him with a powerful performance.
Kendrick is on a break from the Big Steppers Tour before it heads to Europe on Oct. 7 before wrapping on Dec. 17 in New Zealand.
Mitch Duke and debutant Jason Cummings scored as Australia beat New Zealand 2-0 in Auckland on Sunday to secure back-to-back wins over the All Whites ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
The Socceroos had beaten New Zealand 1-0 in Brisbane on Thursday and triumphed again at Eden Park despite fielding an entirely different starting XI, netting twice in the second half.
New Zealand arguably were the better side in the first half with a handful of half chances, but lost star striker Chris Wood to an apparent rib injury in the 32nd minute.
Marco Tilio inexplicably missed a golden opportunity on the stroke of half-time from Duke’s cutback before the Japan-based forward headed in Connor Metcalfe’s cross in the 54th minute.
The hosts had a sniff in the 68th minute when Harrison Delbridge turned over possession in a dangerous area but substitute Alexander Greive fired straight at Australia goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne.
Exciting Socceroos teenager Garang Kuol made his debut as a substitute and burst forward to set up Riley McGree’s chance, which was saved before Cummings’ rebound was handballed by Liberato Cacace, resulting in an Australia penalty.
Scotland-born Cummings stepped up and converted the 81st-minute spotkick to secure the win in Australia’s final game before announcing their World Cup squad.
Strangers who had purchased the abandoned luggage from an Auckland storage facility were the ones who found the victims in a case that rocked the entire nation.
It was thought that the bodies had been kept in storage for a while. The ages of the victims were 7 and 10, according to Korean police.
New Zealand has applied for the woman’s extradition from South Korea.
Police in Auckland said they had worked closely with South Korean authorities in their search for the woman, after saying last month they believed she was in South Korea.
The woman had fled to South Korea in 2018 after the children’s deaths, South Korean police said. She is a 42-year-old New Zealand national of Korean descent.
A global Interpol warrant had been issued for her arrest. Officers arrested her on Thursday in a midnight raid on an apartment in the south-eastern city of Ulsan.
Last month, New Zealand police said they were searching for the woman after they managed to identify the children, whose names have not been disclosed.
“To have someone in custody overseas within such a short period of time has all been down to the assistance of the Korean authorities and the coordination by our NZ Police Interpol staff,” said New Zealand Police Detective Inspector Tofilau Fa’amanuia Vaaelua on Thursday.
Forensic investigators outside the home in Auckland’s suburbs where the bodies were found last month
Police have requested the suspect be denied bail prior to her extradition to New Zealand where she faces murder charges.
Local media there reported the family had lived in Auckland for a few years and the children’s father had died of cancer prior to their deaths. They reported the children’s grandparents still live in New Zealand.
The children’s bodies were discovered in early August after a separate family bought a trailer-load of goods, including the suitcases, in an online auction.
That family had no connection to the deaths and had suffered great distress in the period following the discovery, officers said.
Five people have died in New Zealand after a birdwatching boat capsized, possibly after colliding with a whale.
Eleven people, mostly from the birdwatching group, were onboard when the boat capsized on Saturday in Goose Bay near the town of KaikÅura.
Police declined to speculate on what had caused the accident, merely confirming the collision.
But Craig Mackle, the mayor of KaikÅura, told reporters he believed the boat had hit a surfacing whale.
Mr Mackle said conditions in the bay at the time were “perfect” and that officials assumed the whale had surfaced beneath the vessel, causing it to overturn.
If the boat had hit debris – for example a log – it would have left a large hole in the 8.5-meter (28-foot) boat, he added, which wasn’t apparent.
“This is a tragic event that affects many lives, not least of all families and loved ones,” Mr Mackie said at a news conference.
“I would like to thank everyone involved in the rescue and the recovery. Being able to bring everyone home is the best result in such a terrible circumstance.”
IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS
Sergeant Matt Boyce declined to comment on the theory, but admitted that the incident was “unprecedented”.
He said survivors of the incident – including the boat’s captain – had all been taken to hospital and later released. One survivor sustained minor injuries.
The vessel’s passengers were part of a bird watching group that is believed to have assembled from all over the country.
Vanessa Chapman told local news site Stuff that she helped with the rescue, and could see a person sitting on the overturned boat waving their arms when she arrived.
She said three helicopters took part in the rescue.
KaikÅura is popular with fans of marine life and a number of local business offer boat trips and helicopter rides to see whales and dolphins.
Mr Mackle told the Associated Press that such accidents are unheard of in the region, but the number of whales in the area in recent days had caused him to worry about a collision.
In 2015, five British tourists were killed in Canada when a whale watching boat was hit by a wave and capsized.
Ian Foster backed captain Sam Cane but knows New Zealand are “under the spotlight” after they suffered a historic Rugby Championship defeat to Argentina on Saturday.
The Pumas moved to the top of the standings with their first away victory over the All Blacks, winning 25-18Â in Christchurch.
While Michael Cheika’s side were on cloud nine, the All Blacks crashed back down to earth after lifting the gloom with a win over South Africa at Ellis Park.
New Zealand head coach Foster was informed he would keep his job through to the Rugby World Cup in France next year following the win over the Springboks, but questions are being asked about his future again.
Cane has also come under fire and Foster hauled him off after he showed indiscipline to gift Argentinaa penalty by tackling Pablo Matera without the ball 14 minutes from time, with Emiliano Boffelli punishing him by extending the lead to seven points.
Foster said: “Clearly he [Cane] is under the spotlight. We are all under the spotlight when things don’t go well. But behind the scenes, [Cane is] strong.
“I thought a lot of his tackle and work around the breakdown was a big shift up in the last two games, and we are pleased with that.’”
Foster said he would be speaking to Cane about his hit on Matera.
He added: “Yeah, no doubt about that. We will work through all that. It’s probably reflective of a team that’s trying really, really hard and is close and not quite there.”
There was good news for the All Blacks on Sunday, when Brodie Retallick was cleared to join the squad in Hamilton after recovering from a broken cheekbone.
Defeat for holders New Zealand was their fourth in six Tests this year and left them third in the table behind the Pumas and Australia.
Police in New Zealand is looking into the matter after a family discovered human remains inside bags they had bought at an auction from a storage facility.
After unloading their purchases at home, the residents of a South Auckland home discovered the horrifying discovery.
Police have opened a homicide investigation and are looking for the remains’ identity.
It is assumed that the family was not a part of the incident.
It is believed that the family visited the storage facility last Thursday and bought a trailer-load of belongings, which included the luggage, from a nearby storage business.
The discovery was made after the residents brought the property back to their home, detective inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua said.
Several neighbors of the family also reported a “wicked smell” emanating from the property before police arrived, according to Stuff.
One neighbor – a former worker at a crematorium – said the smell was immediately recognizable.
“I knew straight away and I thought, where is that coming from?” he said, referring to the residents’ property.
Another neighbor said her son had spotted a suitcase being offloaded from the trailer before being placed in a forensic tent that had been erected around the premises.
Footage published on New Zealand news outlet Stuff showed a trailer parked on the front driveway of the property, located in the suburban area of Clendon Park, as police carried out their investigations.
New Zealand‘s borders are fully open for the first time since March 2020, when they shut in an effort to keep out Covid-19.
Immigration authorities will now begin accepting visitors with visas and those on student visas again.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called it an “enormous moment”, adding it was part of a “cautious process”.
Most visitors will still need to be fully vaccinated, but there are no quarantine requirements.
The country’s maritime border has also reopened, with cruise ships and foreign recreational yachts now allowed to dock.
New Zealand first announced a phased reopening plan in February. It allowed vaccinated citizens to return from Australia that month, and those coming from elsewhere to return in March.
In May, it started welcoming tourists from more than 50 countries on a visa-waiver list.
“We, alongside the rest of the world, continue to manage a very live global pandemic, while keeping our people safe,” said Ms. Ardern in a speech at the China Business Summit in Auckland on Monday.
“But keeping people safe extends to incomes and wellbeing too.”
Tourism was one of the industries hardest hit by New Zealand’s tough Covid measures.
In the year ending March 2021, the industry’s contribution to the GDP dropped to 2.9%, from 5.5% the year before.
International tourism took an especially big hit, plunging 91.5% – or NZ$16.2bn ($10.2bn; £8.4bn) – to NZ$1.5bn, according to official data.
The number of people directly employed in tourism also fell by over 72,000 during this period.
England have appointed former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum as men’s Test coach on a four-year deal.
McCullum, 40, will be in place for England’s first Test against world champions New Zealand at Lord’s on 2 June.
He succeeds Chris Silverwood, who left his position in February following the heavy Ashes defeat in Australia.
McCullum said he is aiming to “move the team forward into a more successful era” alongside new captain Ben Stokes.
He added: “In taking this role on, I am acutely aware of the significant challenges the team faces at present, and I strongly believe in my ability to help the team emerge as a stronger force once we’ve confronted them head-on.”
England are winless in nine Tests and have only one won of their past 17 matches.
McCullum’s appointment continues England’s post-Ashes overhaul, with Rob Key having taken over as managing director last month, replacing Andrew Strauss, who had stepped in on an interim basis following the sacking of Ashley Giles in February.
Root stood down as captain following March’s 1-0 series defeat in the West Indies and was replaced by Stokes.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) selection panel of Key, strategic adviser Strauss, chief executive Tom Harrison and performance director Mo Bobat said McCullum was the “outstanding candidate” for the role.
“I’ve enjoyed several robust conversations with Rob Key about the direction of travel for the team and have found his enthusiasm contagious,” added McCullum.
“I’m no stranger to bringing about change within a team environment, and I can’t wait to get started.
“Ben Stokes is the perfect character to inspire change around him, and I look forward to working closely with him to build a successful unit around us.”
McCullum, who retired from playing in 2019, has never coached in first-class cricket, but played 101 Tests for New Zealand from 2004 to 2016.
He is currently head coach of Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders and previously coached Trinbago Knight Riders to the 2020 Caribbean Premier League title.
Kolkata are likely to go out of the IPL next Wednesday after their two remaining group games and McCullum is set to arrive in the UK later this month.
The squad for the first Test against New Zealand is set to be chosen next week.
In looking for Silverwood’s successor, Key split the England head coach position into Test and white-ball roles.
McCullum, a close friend of England limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan, was initially approached over the white-ball post but has secured the Test job ahead of former South Africa and India coach Gary Kirsten, who was thought to be favourite for the position.
“It has been a real privilege to get to know Brendon and understand his views and vision for the game,” said Key.
“He has a recent history of changing cricket culture and environments for the better, and I believe he is the person to do that for England’s red-ball cricket.
“I believe in Brendon and Ben Stokes – a formidable coach and captain partnership. Time for us all to buckle up and get ready for the ride.”
After three Tests against New Zealand, England face India in the rescheduled fifth Test in July before three Tests against South Africa in August and September.
McCullum captained New Zealand in 31 Tests, 62 one-day internationals and 28 Twenty20 internationals, leading them to the 2015 50-over World Cup final, where they were beaten by Australia.
His spell as Black Caps Test captain started a resurgence that eventually saw them win the World Test Championship last year under his successor Kane Williamson.
The wicketkeeper-batter scored 6,453 runs at an average of 38.64, with 12 hundreds – including the fastest Test century of all time, off just 54 balls against Australia in 2016.
England are not as close to naming the new white-ball coach, with candidates likely to be spoken to again next week before the first engagement of the summer, a three-match one-day series in the Netherlands, begins on 17 June.
New Zealand is in its deepest recession in decades, following strict measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic which were widely praised.
The country’s GDP shrank by 12.2% between April and June as the lockdown and border closures hit.
It is New Zealand’s first recession since the global financial crisis and its worst since 1987, when the current system of measurement began.
But the government hopes its pandemic response will lead to a quick recovery.
The nation of nearly five million was briefly declared virus free, and although it still has a handful of cases, it has only had 25 deaths.
The economy is likely to be a key issue in next month’s election, which was delayed after an unexpected spike in Covid-19 cases in August.
Stats NZ spokesman, Paul Pascoe said the measures implemented since 19 March have had a huge impact of some sectors of the economy.
“Industries like retail, accommodation and restaurants, and transport saw significant declines in production because they were most directly affected by the international travel ban and strict nationwide lockdown,” he said.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s government has said the success in suppressing the virus is likely to help recovery prospects.
Finance Minister, Grant Robertson, said the GDP numbers were better than expected, and suggested a strong recovery ahead.
“Going hard and early means that we can come back faster and stronger,” he said.
Some economists are also predicting a swift recovery, because of New Zealand’s strong response to the virus.
“We expect the June quarter’s record-breaking GDP decline to be followed by a record-breaking rise in the September quarter,” said Westpac Senior Economist Michael Gordon.
Ms. Ardern said she backs the economy’s ability to rebound.
“I think one of the key questions here is not just about what’s happened over that June quarter in terms of the effect of lockdown. It’s actually about the rebound – and I back New Zealand’s rebound,” she said.
She said activity is already picking up as the country has been able to open up a lot more quickly compared with other nations.
“Even with some of the more recent restrictions, we’ve seen a return to activity, whereas compared to Australia we are in a much better position,” she added.
However, Treasury forecasts released yesterday suggested massive debt and continuing disruptions are likely to delay a full recovery.
The opposition National party accused the government of a lack of pragmatism that made the impact worse than it needed to be.
New Zealand recorded a steeper drop than neighbouring Australia, where the lockdown was less severe.
But the state of Victoria has faced a second lockdown, which is likely to weigh on Australia’s economic recovery.
New Zealand has put its largest city back into lockdown after recording four new Covid-19 cases, ending a 102-day streak without a local infection.
A three-day lockdown was swiftly imposed in Auckland after the cases were confirmed.
The four new cases are all members of a single family. None had travelled recently.
The restrictions will come into effect on Wednesday, as authorities scramble to trace contacts of the family.
Auckland residents will be asked to stay at home, large gatherings will be banned, non-essential businesses will be shut, and some social-distancing restrictions will be reintroduced in the rest of the country.
New Zealand has fared better than other countries, recording 1,220 confirmed cases and 22 deaths since the virus arrived in late February.
New Zealand has lifted almost all of its coronavirus restrictions after reporting no active cases in the country.
At midnight local time (12:00 GMT), all of New Zealand moved to level one, the lowest of a four-tier alert system.
Under new rules, social distancing is not required and there are no limits on public gatherings, but borders remain closed to foreigners.
New Zealand has reported no new Covid-19 cases for more than two weeks.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters she did “a little dance” when she was told the country no longer had any active virus cases.
“While we’re in a safer, stronger position, there’s still no easy path back to pre-Covid life, but the determination and focus we have had on our health response will now be vested in our economic rebuild,” Ms Ardern said.
“While the job is not done, there is no denying this is a milestone. So can I finish with a very simple, ‘Thank you, New Zealand’.”
New Zealand has lifted almost all of its coronavirus restrictions after reporting no active cases in the country.
At midnight local time (12:00 GMT), all of New Zealand moved to level one, the lowest of a four-tier alert system.
Under new rules, social distancing is not required and there are no limits on public gatherings, but borders remain closed to foreigners.
New Zealand has reported no new Covid-19 cases for more than two weeks.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters she did “a little dance” when she was told the country no longer had any active virus cases.
“While we’re in a safer, stronger position, there’s still no easy path back to pre-Covid life, but the determination and focus we have had on our health response will now be vested in our economic rebuild,” Ms Ardern said.
“While the job is not done, there is no denying this is a milestone. So can I finish with a very simple, ‘Thank you, New Zealand’.”
‘A sustained effort’
New Zealand first went into lockdown on 25 March, setting up a new four-stage alert system and going in at level four, where most businesses were shut, schools closed and people told to stay at home.
After more than five weeks, it moved to level three in April, allowing takeaway food shops and some non-essential businesses to re-open.
As the number of community cases continued to decline, the country moved into level two in mid-May.
The move to level one comes ahead of time – the government had originally planned to make the move on 22 June, but it was brought forward after no new cases were reported for 17 days.
Under the new rules, all schools and workplaces can open. Weddings, funerals and public transport can resume without any restrictions. Social distancing is no longer required but will be encouraged.
The country’s borders remain closed to foreign travellers, and rules remain in place requiring New Zealanders arriving from abroad to go through a 14-day period of isolation or quarantine.
Ms Ardern warned that the country would “certainly see cases again”, adding that “elimination is not a point in time, it is a sustained effort”.
New Zealand has recorded 1,154 confirmed cases and 22 deaths from Covid-19 since the virus arrived in late February, but has been widely praised for its handling of the crisis.
For many, the latest announcement is a cause for celebration – but not without caution. Auckland-based lorry driver Patrick Weston told the BBC: “Everyone is so happy we’re finally through this, but we’re still nervous.
“I think the main thing people are worried about is the economy – so many people out of work, so many people looking for work at the same time.
“[On Tuesday] all restrictions are lifted and we can carry on as normal. Sporting events, music events can all take place with no restriction of numbers. We’re still being encouraged to social distance of course, so we hope people will be sensible.
New Zealand is set to lift almost all its Coronavirus restrictions within hours as it reports there are no active cases in the country.
It will move to level one, the lowest of its four-tier alert system, at midnight local time (12:00 GMT).
Under this, social distancing will no longer be required and there will be no limits on public gatherings, but borders will remain closed.
New Zealand has reported no new COVID-19 cases for more than two weeks.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters she did “a little dance” when she was told the country no longer had any active virus cases.
“While we’re in a safer, stronger position there’s still no easy path back to pre-Covid life, but the determination and focus we have had on our health response will now be vested in our economic rebuild,” she said.
“While the job is not done, there is no denying this is a milestone. So can I finish with a very simple Thank you, New Zealand.”
‘A sustained effort’
New Zealand first went into lockdown on 25 March, setting up a new four-stage alert system and going in at level four, where most businesses were shut, schools closed and people told to stay at home.
After more than five weeks, it moved to alert level three in April, allowing takeaway food shops and some non-essential businesses to re-open.
As the number of community cases continued to decline, the country moved into level 2 in mid-May.
The move to level one comes ahead of plan – the government had originally meant to make the move on 22 June, but it was brought forward after no new cases were reported for 17 days, say local media outlets.
Under the new rules which will come into place in just a matter of hours, all schools and workplaces will be open. Weddings, funerals and public transport will be able to resume without any restrictions.
Social distancing will no longer be required but will still be encouraged.
However, all New Zealanders arriving from abroad will still have to go through a 14-day period of isolation or quarantine.
Ms Ardern warned that the country would “certainly see cases again”, adding that “elimination is not a point in time, it is a sustained effort”.
New Zealand has seen 1,154 confirmed cases and 22 deaths from Covid-19 since the virus arrived in late February, but has been widely praised for its handling of the crisis.
Thousands of businesses in New Zealand have reopened on Thursday as the country relaxes its coronavirus curbs, with some hairdressers seeing overnight queues round the block.
Shops, cafes, and public parks are all open as the country moves into Level 2 of its restrictions, described as a “safer new normal”.
New Zealand has reported no new cases of the virus in the past three days.
Authorities say the chance of community transmission is now very low.
People are allowed to start seeing their friends and families again, with a limit of 10 people.
Professional sport is back on the menu – albeit with safety measures in place. And for those keen to let off steam after a long lockdown, gyms have reopened too.
There have been reports of crowds at shopping centres in some parts of the country, but for some a quiet catch-up on the waterfront was the first thing on their minds.
New Zealand has seen 1,497 confirmed cases of Covid-19 out of a population of around five million people, according to Johns Hopkins University figures. Twenty-one people have died, and fewer than 90 are still sick.
The country had already eased some restrictions in late April, allowing takeaway food shops and some non-essential business to re-open.
Though offices reopened on Thursday, people have been urged to continue working from home where possible, to help avoid a second wave of infections.
To the relief of many parents, school pupils will be able to return from Monday.
Bars are closed for now, but will be back in business from 21 May.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been widely praised for taking swift action early on in the global pandemic.
“We’re going hard and we’re going early,” Ms Ardern told the public in mid-March. “We only have 102 cases, but so did Italy once.”
Beaches, waterfronts and playgrounds were shut on 26 March, as were offices and schools. Bars and restaurants were also closed, including for takeaway and delivery.
Imposing some of the world’s toughest restrictions on travel and activity helped stop cases arriving in New Zealand from overseas. But it also struck a heavy blow to the country’s tourism-dependent economy.
Ms Ardern has described economic conditions as the worst since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
As part of a budget on Thursday, the government announced a NZ$50 billion (£24bn; US$30) Covid-19 recovery fund to help cushion the country’s losses in the months to come.
