Page 9 - New Zealand

Rocket Lab launches Japanese satellite from company's New Zealand complex

California-based Rocket Lab, which specializes in putting small satellites into orbit, launched a Japanese satellite on Friday from the space company's complex on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula. The mission, named The Moon God Awakens, was initially scheduled for Wednesday but was postponed due to forecast strong winds. The Electron rocket launched at 5:06 p.m. local time (0406 GMT). The rocket is carrying a TSUKUYOMI-I satellite into orbit on behalf of Japanese start-up Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space Inc. Rocket Lab is to release a statement on the mission's progress after the satellite reaches its orbit around an hour after takeoff. The synthetic-aperture radar satellite, named after a Japanese god of the moon, will collect images of the Earth, Rocket Lab said. The mission is Rocket Lab's 10th for 2023, exceeding its annual record of nine set last year. It is the 42nd Electron launch from Mahia or from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Virginia, since

NZ: 3 Khalistan supporters sentenced for plot to kill Kiwi radio host

During the hearing, Judge Mark Woolford emphasised the need for community protection and a strong deterrence against religious fanaticism

New Zealand reverses ground-breaking smoking ban to fund tax cuts

The move has sparked outrage among public health officials and anti-tobacco groups, who are dismayed by the decision to abandon the ban to finance tax cuts

Luxon sworn in as New Zealand prime minister, says economy is top priority

Christopher Luxon was sworn in as New Zealand's prime minister on Monday and said his top priority was to improve the economy. The 53-year-old former businessman leads a conservative coalition after his National Party struck a deal on Friday with two smaller parties following a general election last month. After the swearing-in ceremony, which was presided over by Governor-General Cindy Kiro, Luxon told reporters the job was an awesome responsibility". He said he would hold his first Cabinet meeting on Tuesday and look to quickly finalise a 100-day plan. He said he also planned a visit to Australia before Christmas Day. Luxon said he needed to get a Treasury briefing on the state of the government's finances. We are concerned and worried that it's been a deteriorating picture for a number of months now, Luxon said. Under the coalition agreement, Luxon has promised to deliver tax cuts and train 500 more police officers within two years. He has also promised less government bureau

New Zealand National Party forms coalition government with two parties

Christopher Luxon will replace the outgoing Labour Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who held the role for a mere nine months

What did Satya Nadella do during the India-New Zealand semi-final match?

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said he stayed awake all night to watch the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup semi-final between India and New Zealand before delivering his keynote speech

India vs NZ semi-final: Celebs guest list for the ICC World Cup 2023 today

Superstar Rajinikanth and former footballer David Beckham are among the guests at the Wankhede stadium to attend the India vs New Zealand semi-final clash today

HCLTech appoints Sonia Eland as country manager for Australia, New Zealand

IT services company does business in digital, engineering, cloud, AI in the two countries

India beat New Zealand by 4 wickets to record straight 5th win in World Cup

India beat New Zealand by four wickets to record their straight fifth win in the World Cup here on Sunday. Virat Kohli struck 95 off 105 balls and shared 78 runs with Ravindra Jadeja (39 not out) for the sixth wicket to chase down the 274-run target in 48 overs. Captain Rohit Sharma contributed 46 off 40 balls at the top of batting order. Lockie Ferguson was the most successful New Zealand bowler with figures of 2 for 63. Earlier, pacer Mohammed Shami grabbed 5/54 in his comeback game to help India restrict New Zealand to 273. Kuldeep Yadav bagged 2/73. Daryl Mitchell top-scored for New Zealand with a career-best 130. New Zealand lost openers Devon Conway (0) and Will Young (17) cheaply, but thereafter Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra (75) shared a 159-run partnership to revive their innings. Brief Scores: New Zealand 273 in 50 overs (Daryl Mitchell 130, Rachin Ravindra 75; Mohammed Shami 5/54). India: 274 for 6 in 48 overs (Virat Kohli 95, Rohit Sharma 46; Lockie Ferguson 2/63).

X tests $1 fee for new users in Philippines, New Zealand to target spam

Elon Musk's social media platform X has begun charging a USD 1 fee to new users in the Philippines and New Zealand, in a test designed to cut down on the spam and fake accounts flourishing on the site formerly known as Twitter. The company said late Tuesday that it has started trying out the annual subscription method for new and unverified accounts. The program, dubbed Not a Bot, won't apply to existing users. It's not clear why it only applies to New Zealand and the Philippines or why those countries were chosen. This new test was developed to bolster our already successful efforts to reduce spam, manipulation of our platform and bot activity, while balancing platform accessibility with the small fee amount, the X support account tweeted. It is not a profit driver. Since Musk bought X a year ago, he has introduced a slew of changes such as renaming the platform and gutting its workforce including its content moderation team. Outside watchdog groups say the changes have allowed

Musk's X to test charging users $1 a year to reduce spam, bot accounts

The test, called "Not a Bot," started Tuesday in New Zealand and the Philippines, X said in a blog post

NZ immigration hits all-time high as movement surges after pandemic lull

New Zealand's immigration numbers have hit an all-time high, enabling employers to fill jobs but also putting pressure on the housing market, according to economists. The net number of immigrants was 110,000 in the year ending August, beating the previous high of 103,000 set a month earlier, according to figures released Wednesday by Statistics New Zealand. The numbers represent a big turnaround after more people left New Zealand than arrived during much of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are talking very, very big numbers for a small economy like ours, said Jarrod Kerr, chief economist at Kiwibank. Kerr said the surge likely reflected pent-up demand that had built during the pandemic. He said it had come as a relief to employers, who last year were having great difficulty finding skilled workers to fill vacant roles. New Zealand's unemployment rate remains at a relatively low 3.6 per cent. But Kerr also cautioned the migrants would need a lot of resources, including tens of thousands o

CWC 2023: Mitchell Santner bowls New Zealand to victory against Netherlands

The Netherlands bounced back in the game as they departed Mitchell (48), Glenn Phillips (4), Mark Chapman (5) and Latham, who slammed a fifty

Early voting begins in NZ's election and in Australia for Indigenous Voice

Early voting began on Monday in New Zealand for the nation's October 14 general election, with conservative contender Christopher Luxon casting his ballot. Early voting also began in some parts of Australia in a referendum that would enshrine in Australia's constitution a mechanism for Indigenous people to advise Parliament on policies that affect their lives. In New Zealand, the campaign of Prime Minister Chris Hipkins faced a setback on Sunday when he tested positive for COVID-19. He said he would isolate for five days or until he returned a negative test, but planned to continue with some engagements over Zoom. Hipkins and his liberal Labour Party have been lagging behind the opposition National Party, led by Christopher Luxon, in opinion polls.. After a rough night I woke up this morning feeling pretty unwell and just got this test result, Hipkins wrote on Instagram, and said he'd work twice as hard when he got back out on the campaign trail. Luxon on Sunday released a 100-da

MoS Ranjan Singh, New Zealand PM take part in 1st India Business Summit '23

The summit was co-organised by the High Commission of India in Wellington and the Auckland Chamber of Commerce

New Zealand's economy expected to remain sluggish for 2 years, figures show

New Zealand's economy is expected to remain sluggish for another two years, although the overall picture is rosier than many observers had feared, new figures released Tuesday indicate. The nation's Treasury released the projections ahead of an election next month. They showed a slight deterioration from earlier predictions, with tax takes lower than expected and high inflation causing ongoing headaches. Unemployment is expected to jump from a current rate of 3.6 per cent to 5.4 per cent in 2025 before falling again, while economic growth is expected to fall from 3.1 per cent this year to 1.3 per cent next year, before bouncing back to 3.3 per cent by 2026. Net debt as a percentage of the economy is expected to peak at 23 per cent in 2025. Treasury said subdued house price growth and a tougher labour market would dampen household wealth and incomes, and that exporters, including farmers, faced ongoing headwinds. A predicted return to the government running budget surpluses was pushe

India, New Zealand signs MoU to boost cooperation in civil aviation

India and New Zealand have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost cooperation in civil aviation, which includes scheduling of new routes, codeshare services, traffic rights and capacity entitlement, an official statement said on Tuesday. According to the MoU, the designated airline(s) of New Zealand may operate any number of services with any type of aircraft, with third and fourth freedom traffic rights to/from six points in India, namely New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata, it stated. India and New Zealand had signed the Air Services Agreement at Auckland on May 1, 2016. Governments of the two countries have reviewed the existing arrangements relating to air service between the two countries, it said and added that the initial pact is expected to further boost the bilateral ties in civil aviation between the two countries. The MoU was signed by civil aviation secretary Rajiv Bansal and the High Commissioner of New Zealand, David Pine, it ...

India, New Zealand commit to further strengthen cooperation in agriculture

India and New Zealand have committed to work together to further strengthen the cooperation in the agriculture sector and collaboration between the two countries, according to an official release. A meeting was held here between Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, and New Zealand minister for trade & export growth and agriculture Damien O'Connor. "Both the leaders reiterated their commitments to work together in strengthening the agricultural cooperation and collaboration between the two countries," an official statement said on Tuesday. At the meeting, Tomar mentioned the importance of relations between India and New Zealand and its steady progress. He highlighted the resumption of the Joint Trade Committee after a gap of 14 years and the initiation of discussions on market access issues for agricultural products under its framework. Tomar also thanked the New Zealand Minister for granting market access to Indian pomegranate arils and lifting the suspension on the ..

India discusses launch of UPI in New Zealand to enable ease of doing biz

India's exports to New Zealand were $548 million in FY23, up from $487.6 million in FY22

India, New Zealand schedule new routes and increase capacity for air travel

The two countries have signed an MoU to increase cooperation in civil aviation during Minister Damien O'Connor visit to India