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By Ryland JAMES WELLINGTON, Feb 23, 2024 (AFP) – New Zealand on Friday opened its first hospital exclusively treating kiwi birds, and vets have already nursed the first patient back to health — a chick nicknamed “Splash” that tumbled into a swimming pool. Rising numbers of the once-threatened national bird have led to the construction of a purpose-built facility in Kerikeri, a three-hour drive north of Auckland. The Department of Conservation told AFP the new […]
WASHINGTON, Oct 18, 2023 (AFP) – The social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, said Tuesday it has started charging new users in New Zealand and the Philippines for basic features such as posting messages in a trial aimed at reducing spam. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who bought Twitter last year for $44 billion, has long complained about fake accounts, bots and spam on the platform, introducing a number of controversial changes that have […]
Wellington, New Zealand (AFP) — Around 50,000 teachers in New Zealand went on strike on Thursday, after union talks with the Ministry of Education aimed at improving salaries and conditions stalled. Teachers demanding better pay waved placards declaring “can’t afford the dentist” and “too poor to print good signs” as the one-day strike forced kindergartens as well as primary and secondary schools to close across the country. Trade unions argued that the government’s latest pay […]
Napier, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand deployed gunships and helicopters to deliver water, food and fuel to cities cut off by Cyclone Gabrielle on Thursday, as overwhelmed authorities embraced overseas offers of help. Five people have died, 100 are missing and 10,500 more have been displaced in a disaster that has crippled the country’s populous North Island. Four days of violent winds and lashing rains caused landslides and widespread flooding that lacerated the island’s […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Tens of thousands of homes in New Zealand were without power Monday and hundreds of flights have been cancelled as a tropical storm lashes the north of the country. A state of emergency has been declared in five separate regions in the North Island, covering almost one-third of New Zealand’s entire population of 5.1 million. Although the storm was downgraded as it approached on Sunday, it has already toppled trees, […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Police said Wednesday they had seized enough cocaine to supply New Zealand for 30 years, after snaring a massive bundle of drugs floating in the Pacific Ocean. New Zealand police commissioner Andrew Coster told reporters the haul — containing 81 bales of cocaine — weighed 3.2 tons and had a street value of around $316 million. “This is the largest find of illicit drugs by New Zealand’s agencies by some […]
by Ryland JAMES Agence France-Presse WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Hundreds gathered to applaud Jacinda Ardern as she left New Zealand’s parliament to resign as prime minister on Wednesday, before Chris Hipkins was swiftly sworn in as her replacement. Ardern said last week she no longer had “enough in the tank” after steering the country through natural disasters, its worst-ever terror attack and the Covid-19 pandemic. Hipkins was sworn in by Governor-General Cindy Kiro during […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand AFP – New Zealand’s government on Wednesday outlined changes to controversial plans to tax the farts and burps of livestock, but a leading farmers group said it was still opposed to the emissions reduction scheme. New Zealand is planning a “world first” levy on emissions of methane and nitrous oxide, produced by the nation’s six million cows and 26 million sheep as a step towards tackling climate change. Under the proposed scheme, farmers would […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) – Kane Williamson stepped down as New Zealand Test captain on Thursday after more than six years in charge but will remain skipper of the ODI and T20 teams. Cricket New Zealand said that the 32-year-old will be replaced as Test captain by veteran fast bowler Tim Southee. “Captaining the Black Caps in Test cricket has been an incredibly special honor,” said the 32-year-old Williamson who has led New Zealand since 2016. […]
MIAMI, United States (AFP) — New Zealand’s Lydia Ko is atop the women’s golf world rankings for the third time in her career, regaining the number one spot on Monday a week after her LPGA Tour Championship triumph. Ko, who first reached number one in 2015, passed American Nelly Korda, who had moved atop the rankings on November 14 after a one-stroke victory at the Pelican Women’s Championship. “I’m very grateful to be world number […]
NAPIER, New Zealand (AFP) – New Zealand’s stand-in captain Tim Southee won the toss and chose to bat against India after rain delayed the start of the third and final Twenty20 international in Napier on Tuesday. After the first T20 international was washed out in Wellington, India’s Suryakumar Yadav scored 111 off 51 balls to set up a 65-run win at Mount Maunganui on Sunday. Southee is standing in for Kane Williamson who has a medical […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Five people are dead after a boat flipped over in waters off of New Zealand’s South Island on Saturday, with “indications” the vessel capsized after colliding with a whale. The boat, which had 11 people on board, mostly from a bird-watching group, overturned in calm waters soon after 10am at Goose Bay, about 15 kilometres (nine miles) south of Kaikoura, according to local officials. A rescue operation that spanned nearly […]
