WELLINGTON, May 31, 2023 (AFP) – The US Geological Survey on Wednesday reported a 6.2-magnitude earthquake off New Zealand’s southern coast, near the mostly uninhabited Auckland Islands. New Zealand’s GeoNet monitoring agency said the epicentre was 33 kilometres (21 miles) below the earth’s surface. There was no immediate tsunami warning and no reports of damage on the New Zealand mainland. A city council official from Invercargill — the nearest sizable city — said there had […]
Tag: NZealand
At least six killed in New Zealand hostel fire
By Ryland JAMES Agence France-Presse WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — At least six people have been killed in a fire that tore through a four-storey hostel in the early hours of Tuesday in New Zealand’s capital. Towering flames and thick smoke could be seen pouring from the roof of the Loafers Lodge hostel in central Wellington during the night, as 80 firefighters and 20 trucks battled the blaze. Police and emergency services said multiple […]
NASA launches two small satellites to track hurricanes
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — NASA launched two small satellites designed to track tropical cyclones hour by hour from a base in New Zealand on Monday, in a project that could improve weather predictions on devastating storms. The new storm trackers, sent into orbit on a rocket built by US company Rocket Lab, can fly over hurricanes (or typhoons in the Pacific) every hour, compared to every six hours with current satellites. Researchers will be […]
New Zealand public radio threatens to quit Twitter
Wellington, New Zealand | AFP | Monday 4/17/2023 Radio New Zealand became the latest broadcaster to threaten to leave Twitter on Monday, after the social media platform labelled the public broadcaster “government-funded”. RNZ’s head of content said it could join US counterparts National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service, who both quit Twitter last week in protest at the tag. “Not only is our editorial independence protected by the law, we guard it vigorously,” head […]
Jurassic Park actor Sam Neill reveals blood cancer diagnosis
Wellington, New Zealand | AFP | Saturday 3/18/2023 Actor Sam Neill has revealed he is being treated for stage-three blood cancer, writing in a memoir that he was “possibly dying” from the illness diagnosed a year ago. The New Zealander, who burst to fame after starring as Dr Alan Grant in the 1993 blockbuster “Jurassic Park”, said he began treatment last March for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Neill, 75, makes the revelation in his book “Did […]
Facebook, Instagram roll out paid subscription in Australia, New Zealand
Facebook and Instagram began a week-long rollout of their first paid verification service on Friday, testing users’ willingness to pay for social media features that until now have been free. Facing a drop in advertising revenues, parent company Meta is piloting a subscription in Australia and New Zealand before it appears in larger markets. The service will cost US$11.99 on the web and US$14.99 on the iOS and Android mobile platforms. From Friday, subscribers […]
Flooding triggers emergency in Auckland, forces cancellation of Elton John concert
Wellington, New Zealand | AFP | Friday 1/27/2023 A state of emergency was declared in Auckland on Friday after torrential rain caused widespread flooding in New Zealand’s largest city, closing the airport and forcing the cancellation of an Elton John concert. Auckland mayor Wayne Brown told a news conference late on Friday he was “deeply saddened” after a body was found in a northern suburb. Police have not confirmed whether the death was a […]
Grateful Ardern makes last bow as New Zealand PM
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern said Tuesday she was grateful for her time in office, insisting that a sustained barrage of online abuse was not the reason for her shock resignation. The 42-year-old said last week she no longer had “enough in the tank” after a turbulent five years, during which she steered the country through natural disasters, its worst-ever terror attack and the Covid-19 pandemic. Her resignation, less […]
Next New Zealand PM slams ‘abhorrent’ treatment of Ardern
Wellington, New Zealand | AFP | Sunday 1/22/2023 by Daniel GILHOOLY New Zealand’s incoming prime minister Chris Hipkins criticised the “abhorrent” treatment endured by Jacinda Ardern and vowed on Sunday to shield his own family, three days after her shock resignation. Hours after being unanimously endorsed by Labour Party MPs as the party’s leader and the nation’s next prime minister, Hipkins attacked the personal abuse suffered by Ardern during her more than five years in […]
New Zealand PM Ardern announces she will resign next month
Wellington, New Zealand | AFP | Thursday 1/19/2023 New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Thursday she will resign next month. “For me it’s time,” she said at a meeting of members of her Labour Party. “I just don’t have enough in the tank for another four years.” Ardern, who became prime minister in a coalition government in 2017, then led her centre-left Labour Party to a comprehensive victory in an election three years later, […]
Magma symphony could help predict volcanic eruptions
Sydney, Australia | AFP | Inaudible sonic rumblings from deep in a volcano’s bowels could provide a warning when it is about to blow, scientists said Thursday, offering threatened communities the prospect of a life-saving heads-up. A team studying “infrasounds” — sounds too deep for humans to hear — from volcanoes like Italy’s Mount Etna has discovered that magmatic gurgles change markedly as an eruption nears. As magma explodes, soundwaves reverberate through the crater “just […]
New Zealand to beef up police powers to prevent attacks
Wellington, New Zealand | AFP | New Zealand’s government proposed on Wednesday a string of amendments to the country’s counter-terrorism laws, in a bid to stop people planning new attacks after the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings. Under the amendments, which parliament has yet to approve, New Zealand’s police would have expanded powers to place so-called “control orders” on people and groups suspected of posing a threat, Justice Minister Kiri Allan said. Control orders impose restrictions […]
