Page 12 - New Zealand

Three killed as Cyclone Gabrielle lashes New Zealand, say officials

Defence Force, rescue services and private operators have rescued hundreds of people in Hawke's Bay, where floodwaters rose up to rooftops and two people died

New Zealand declares emergency in North Island as Cyclone Gabrielle eases

The New Zealand government declared a state of emergency Tuesday across the country's North Island, which has been battered by Cyclone Gabrielle. The declaration enables the government to support six regions where local emergencies had already been declared and provide additional resources, Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty said. The country was lashed by intense rainfall overnight that forced evacuations and brought widespread flooding, power outages and road closures. "This is a significant disaster with a real threat to the lives of New Zealanders," McAnulty told reporters in the capital Wellington. The state of emergency applies to the country's largest city Auckland, as well as the regions of Northland, Tairawhiti, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Hawke's Bay. A weather station in the Hawke's Bay and Napier region had recorded three times more rain overnight than what usually falls for the entire month of February, MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said. "It's goin

New Zealand declares emergency as Cyclone Gabrielle lashes North Island

According to forecast, 400 millimeters of rain and wind gusts of 130 km/hour are expected over the next 20 hours

New Zealand's Auckland city grinds to halt as deluge from cyclone looms

Auckland residents hunkered down Monday as they braced for a deluge from Cyclone Gabrielle, two weeks after a record-breaking storm swamped New Zealand's largest city and killed four people. Much of Auckland ground to a halt as train services were cancelled, libraries and most schools were closed, and authorities asked people to make only essential trips. Air New Zealand cancelled all domestic flights to and from Auckland through midday Tuesday, as well as many international flights. Some international routes would continue operating, although might need to be diverted from Auckland. The carrier also cancelled domestic flights to and from the cities of Hamilton, Tauranga and Taupo. The cyclone, which was lying just to the northeast of the country and moving south, dumped more than 220 millimetres (9 inches) of rain in areas north of Auckland, cutting power to about 58,000 households and forcing many roads to close. Authorities declared a state of emergency in Northland, Auckland a

Mumbai, Bengaluru among top 5 APAC cities with the steepest home price rise

Delhi was also on the list of top ten such cities with an average price rise of 6.8 per cent in the second half of 2022

New Zealand's unemployment rate reaches 3.4% in December 2022: Report

In the December 2022 quarter, the labour force participation rate remained at 71.7 per cent and the employment rate remained at 69.3 per cent

New Zealand's largest city Auckland braces for more rain and flooding

Residents in New Zealand's largest city were bracing Tuesday for another deluge and more flooding, four days after Auckland endured its wettest day on record in a storm that killed four people. A state of emergency was in place for Auckland, and officials had closed schools for the week and were asking people to work from home if possible. Heavy rain was expected from Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning. This rain is expected to cause dangerous river conditions and significant flooding, said Auckland Emergency Management Controller Rachel Kelleher. Slips and floodwaters are likely to disrupt travel, making some roads impassable and possibly isolating communities. Emergency officials said some 200 homes and businesses around the city were assessed after the floods as too unsafe to enter. So that gives you an idea as to the damage to buildings and across the community, said Ron Devlin, the region manager for Fire and Emergency New Zealand. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown warned the

Statistics need to be presented with perspective: Rohit slams broadcaster

An annoyed Rohit Sharma slammed the broadcaster for missing "perspective" when it chose to highlight that his century in the third ODI against New Zealand was his first in three years, pointing out that he hardly played 50-over matches during that period. As Rohit pulled away to deep square to get to his 30th ODI century in the third game against New Zealand on Tuesday, the broadcaster flashed the statistic that it was the Indian skipper's first ton since January 2020. While the statistic is true, Rohit felt it did not convey the correct picture. "Regarding the first hundred in three years, I've played only 12 (17) ODIs in three years. Three years sounds a lot," Rohit told reporters after India whitewashed New Zealand 3-0 in the series following team's 90-run win in the final ODI. "You guys should know what's happening. I know that it was shown on broadcast but kabhi kabhi woh cheez bhi dhyan dena chahiye, broadcaster ko bhi sahi cheez dikhana chahiye (the broadcasters should give

Chris Hipkins sworn in as New Zealand PM, succeeds Jacinda Ardern

Hipkins will reshuffle the cabinet next week. Besides the top leadership role, Hipkins himself will be the minister of national security and intelligence

Jacinda makes final appearance as New Zealand leader, says 'joy of job'

Jacinda Ardern made her final public appearance as New Zealand's prime minister Tuesday, saying the thing she would miss most was the people, because they had been the joy of the job. Ardern, who has been a global icon of the left, shocked the nation Thursday when she said she was resigning as leader after more than five years because she had nothing left in the tank. Labour Party lawmakers voted unanimously Sunday for Chris Hipkins to take over as prime minister, and he will be sworn in Wednesday. Ardern's final act as leader was to join Hipkins and other lawmakers attending celebrations at the Ratana meeting grounds, the home of an Indigenous Maori religious movement. Ardern told reporters she'd been friends with Hipkins for nearly 20 years and spent two hours with him on the drive to the meeting grounds. She said the only real advice she could offer was, You do you." This is for him now. It's for him to carve out his own space to be his own kind of leader, Ardern said. Actually,

Chris Hipkins to succeed Jacinda Ardern as New Zealand prime minister

The Labour caucus must still endorse Hipkins at a meeting tomorrow, the party said in a statement Saturday in Wellington

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern resigns, says won't seek re-election

Ardern doesn't have the energy or inspiration to seek re-election later this year, she told reporters Thursday in Napier where her Labour Party is holding a caucus meeting

Indian politics needs more like her: Jairam Ramesh on New Zealand PM Ardern

Ardern told reporters in Napier that February 7 will be her last day in office

5.1-magnitude quake hits Waikato district of New Zealand's North Island

There are no reports of significant damages or calls for assistance so far

More than $100,000 raised for slain Indian dairy worker in NZ's Auckland

More than $100,000 has been raised for the family of an Indian dairy shop worker who was stabbed to death in New Zealand's Auckland last month

Karachi to host entire New Zealand series: Pakistan Cricket Board

New Zealand will play all their matches in the upcoming tour of Pakistan in Karachi after the PCB was forced to reschedule the fixtures due to adverse weather conditions in the Punjab province. The decision was taken after a mutual agreement between New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The PCB said it came to the decision considering the fact that foggy weather conditions have already disrupted flight operations from Multan and may also result in loss of playing hours. The first Test was scheduled in Karachi while the second Test was to be hosted by Multan. The PCB has also scheduled the three-match one-day series after the two-Test series in Karachi. Pakistan will take on New Zealand in the opening Test beginning on December 26. Pakistan had lost their three-match home Test series against England 3-0. Besides, it has also been agreed between the two boards that the second Test and the three ODIs will now be brought forward by a day, meaning the second

Williamson steps down as NZ Test skipper, Southee named as replacement

New Zealand great Kane Williamson, who led the country to the World Test Championship triumph in its inaugural edition, stepped down as the captain from the longest format, the country's cricket board announced on Thursday. Tim Southee has been named the replacement in their WTC title defence. Williamson will continue to lead the side in the white-ball format with focus on the ODI World Cup in 2023 and T20 World Cup in 2024. Tom Latham has been appointed their vice-captain. "Captaining the Black Caps in Test cricket has been an incredibly special honour," said Williamson, who took over the role in 2016 from Brendon McCullum. "For me, Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game and I've enjoyed the challenges of leading the side in the format." Statistically, Williamson is the best Test captain in New Zealand's history, winning 22 of 40 matches at the helm, as well as eight draws and just 10 defeats. Under his leadership, New Zealand reached the top of the Test rankings before emergin

In a first, New Zealand imposes lifetime ban on youth buying cigarettes

New Zealand on Tuesday passed into law a unique plan to phase out tobacco smoking by imposing a lifetime ban on young people buying cigarettes. The law states that tobacco can't ever be sold to anybody born on or after Jan 1, 2009. It means the minimum age for buying cigarettes will keep going up and up. In theory, somebody trying to buy a pack of cigarettes 50 years from now would need ID to show they were at least 63 years old. But health authorities hope smoking will fade away well before then. They have a stated goal of making New Zealand smoke-free by 2025. The new law also reduces the number of retailers allowed to sell tobacco from about 6,000 to 600 and decreases the amount of nicotine allowed in tobacco that is smoked. There is no good reason to allow a product to be sold that kills half the people that use it, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall told lawmakers in Parliament. And I can tell you that we will end this in the future, as we pass this legislation.

Nearly 74 MT of microplastics rained in New Zealand during 2020: Study

The peer-reviewed study is the first to calculate the total mass of microplastics in a city's air, and it suggests researchers may be dramatically undercounting the global airborne microplastics count

New Zealand PM Ardern says China has become 'more assertive' in region

Reflecting on her five years as New Zealand's leader, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said China has undoubtedly become more assertive in the region over that time, but cautioned that building relationships with small Pacific nations shouldn't become a game of one-upmanship. In a joint interview Thursday with The Associated Press and the Australian Associated Press, Ardern said China has changed in recent years under President Xi Jinping. I think if I stand back and look at the region as a whole and some of the changes that we've seen within our region, you do see a more assertive China, Ardern said. And look, there'll be a whole host of reasons for that. Their integration into the regional economy, the growth of China, the growth of its middle class, a whole range of reasons, she said. But you have also seen a more assertive approach on a number of different issues and relationships. So that undoubtedly has changed over my time in office. China this year made some bold geopolitical