New Zealand Today
CHRISTCHURCH - It will take another 24 hours before weather forecasters can get a clear picture on whether or not Cyclone Hola will make it to New Zealand.
The cyclone has intensified to a category 4 cyclone on Thursday with winds of 170km/h - with the threat in the coming days focused on New Caledonia, according to WeatherWatch.
While Vanuatu's southern islands are also still at risk of more severe weather and dangerous coastal conditions.
Cyclone Hola will be an ex-tropical cyclone by the time it reaches New Zealand waters, and isn't expected to be similar to Cyclone Gita which caused destruction across the West Coast last month, says MetService meteorologist Tom Adams.
"Cyclone Hola is still heading away from New Zealand, so we need to wait until she does a u-turn and heads back before we can say exactly where she will go," he said.
The cyclone could possibly bring heavy rains and winds closer to the upper north island, but knowing exactly which area it will affect will most likely be known on Friday.
"The centre of a cyclone doesn't need to touch the country, it can still bring some swells, wind and rain as it gets closer," Mr Adams said.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AAP, AFP, AP
RAROTONGA - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has paid tribute to her two female prime-ministerial predecessors on International Women's Day.
Ms Ardern, currently travelling across the Pacific, was on Thursday (NZT) asked if she saw herself as standard-bearer for women in leadership.
"No. But I can certainly see how that would be the case, simply by virtue of the fact there aren't many women in leadership roles in politics," she replied. "I'm hoping one day that won't be unusual and we won't be a novelty anymore."
"But that doesn't mean I see myself as a standard bearer, because I'm lucky enough to follow in the path of two other female Prime Ministers in New Zealand and they're, I think, the ones that laid the foundation."
Dame Jenny Shipley became New Zealand's first woman prime minister in 1997 and Helen Clark held the post from 1999 to 2008.
Ms Ardern said if she could push for progress on one women's issue, it would be improving financial security.
"Women continue to be represented in low-paid work, in precarious work," she said.
"That affects absolutely everything."
She also joked about banning high-heeled shoes in hot weather.
"My feet are absolutely exploding."
Women's issue have been a theme during Ms Ardern's trip around the Pacific.
In Samoa she announced a $6.5 million fund aimed at boosting employment among women and youths and in Tonga spoke at a women's leadership breakfast.
Asked if she felt pressure to work harder because she was a woman during a question-and-answer session with Niuean school children, Ms Ardern replied: "I don't feel pressure to work harder than men. I just do."
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AAP, AFP, AP
WELLINGTON - Customs had a busy 2017 intercepting drugs at our borders, seizing $1 billion worth, nearly a tonne, bound for our communities.
Methamphetamine and its precursor ephedrine made up the bulk of the seizures, at nearly 897kg, while cocaine, MDMA, cannabis, LSD, Class C analogues, psychoactive substances, and over 238,000 "items" such as tabs and pills.
"I congratulate Customs for stopping over a tonne of illicit drugs entering the country preventing potential harm to New Zealanders - this is fantastic work," says Customs Minister Meka Whaitiri.
"When I started in my role as minister, I was clear to my officials about keeping methamphetamine off our streets - it's pleasing to know these seizures would have stopped many criminals in their tracks.
"More importantly, these seizures have protected our families and the wider community from a considerable amount of potential harm."
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AAP, AFP, AP
RAROTONGA - Standing on a tiny island in a lagoon off Rarotonga, Jacinda Ardern was handed a baby onesie by her hosts and told they were hoping for a girl.
The gesture capped off a day in which the prime minister tried to charm the Cook Islands, only to be charmed right back.
Thursday (NZT) marked Ms Ardern's first visit to the Pacific nation and the last stop of her tour of the region. Dressed in all white, the prime minister began her day with a vibrant, musical welcome from the House of Ariki (chiefs) at Atupare Marae.
The heavens briefly opened as she sat on a stone throne in front of chiefs from around the islands following a kiriti marotai - a ritual for weary travellers. Locals insisted the downpour was a blessing.
"When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was moved," Reverend Soatini said during the prayer that followed.
"The Cook Islands has (been) moved because you have arrived, prime minister."
Ms Ardern, six months pregnant, in turn spoke of the links - in culture and language - that New Zealand and Cook Islands shared beyond their governance arrangements.
"As I was leaving, one of the ariki said to me, don't forget your baby now is Cook Island," she told the crowd.
"I would have to say, that would be a very lucky baby.
"This is my first visit here - it will not be my last."
And New Zealand's delegation came with gifts.
After a formal meeting with her Cook Island counterpart, Henry Puna, Ms Ardern and Foreign Minister Winston Peters - earlier looking dapper in a gifted bright hat and cloak - announced a loosening of pension rules for New Zealanders living in Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau.
The change means Kiwis in the countries - where New Zealand still has some policy input - will from next year no longer have to return to Aotearoa for five years after turning 50 to claim their retirement money.
It solves an issue that's vexed the islands for decades - and Mr Puna made clear his pleasure at the new government's swift action.
Returning to the lighter parts of diplomacy in the afternoon, Ms Ardern and the delegation made their way to Motu Oneroa, a small island in Muri Lagoon.
The area has been suffering from algal bloom and coral bleaching amid booming tourism growth and New Zealand has been supporting the clean-up.
"We hope it's a girl," she was told after being handed a white baby bodysuit and offered Cook Island "secrets" for picking the gender of her next child.
This year's Pacific Mission will on Friday spend its last morning in Rarotonga.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AAP, AFP, AP
CHRISTCHURCH - International Women's Day marks the launch of the year-long Suffrage 125 commemorations.
New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world to give women the right to vote in general elections with the Electoral Act passed in 1893 - 125 years ago.
International Women's Day reflects on how far women have come in the struggle for gender equality, and to chart what still needs to be done.
"Suffrage 125 is a great opportunity for New Zealanders to explore and discuss the diversity of women's experiences as they have progressed positive change for themselves, their whanau, communities and Aotearoa New Zealand," says Te Papa's head of New Zealand and Pacific cultures Bronwyn Labrum.
Te Papa were set to host the flagship event on Thursday inaugurating the anniversary, which is a panel discussion with inspirational women who have made significant contributions to furthering the rights of women and girls.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AAP, AFP, AP
CHRISTCHURCH - Auckland Zoo is heart broken over the loss of a three-day-old giraffe calf that became too ill to be saved.
The male calf - born on Monday - was euthanised on Wednesday after becoming ill with a high-fever, while blood tests showed his muscles breaking down and his organs failing, Auckland Zoo said.
His 16-year-old mum, Rukiya, had a normal pregnancy and smooth birth, her calf was a normal size but he was too weak to stand, which is unusual.
"A giraffe calf is normally up and on its feet within half an hour - something it needs to do in order to be able to reach up and suckle from its mother," says Auckland Zoo senior vet, Dr An Pas.
Throughout the calf's first day the zoo's veterinary team and specialist giraffe keepers fed him regularly via a tube.
He had spirit and was a fighter, and did manage to stand for short periods and suckle a little bit a few times over the next two days - but in the end the calf was unable to stand long enough to suckle, Dr Pas said.
Pridelands keeper David Crimp says the loss is "heart breaking".
"It's a difficult decision no matter what the species, but it was clear this was a battle that was not going to be won."
The father of this calf was an elderly male, 19-year-old Zabulu, who died last April. Auckland Zoo is home to three giraffe - adult females Rukiya and Kiraka, and 15-month-old female, Kabili.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AAP, AFP, AP
WELLINGTON - New Zealand shares rose on Thursday, led by A2 Milk, while Restaurant Brands and Tegel dropped after updating their earnings guidance.
The S/NZX 50 Index gained 74.36 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 8358.7. Within the index, 20 stocks rose, 18 fell and 12 were unchanged. Turnover was $140 million.
The kiwi was little changed against the US dollar. The kiwi dollar traded at A93.08c as at 5pm in Wellington from A93.16c as at 8am and 93.36c late Wednesday. It was at US72.91c from 72.88c late Wednesday.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AAP, AFP, AP
CANBERRA - The argy-bargy over America's proposed tariffs on steel and aluminium is set to briefly take a back seat as 11 nations sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.
Trade Minister David Parker will join his counterparts from 10 Pacific countries for the signing ceremony in Chile on Thursday.
The deal had been on life support after the United States' withdrawal but was resuscitated in January.
The deal will eliminate 98 per cent of tariffs in a marketplace worth close to $14 trillion.
Mr Parker said the deal would give Kiwi businesses preferential access to Japan - the third biggest economy in the world - Canada, Mexico and Peru for the first time.
The deal had also "increased in importance because of growing threats to the effective operation of the World Trade Organisation", he said.
NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, speaking in Rarotonga on Thursday, said she had been involved in TPP protests herself, but with the purpose of protecting Pharmac, Treaty of Waitangi provisions and "regulating our own housing market.... and that's what we have done. We went in with a clear vision and have been able to deliver on most of that."
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's estimates, the deal is expected to give a $1.2 billion to $4b boost to New Zealand's real gross domestic product.
This included almost $86 million in expected tariff savings for the dairy industry, while the country's exporters would save about $200m in reduced tariffs to Japan alone.
FAST FACTS ABOUT THE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP 11:
* The TPP 11 includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
* US President Donald Trump pulled America out of the deal a year ago after describing it as "a continuing rape of our country".
* The TPP was a key policy of the former Obama administration's so-called foreign policy pivot to Asia.
* Some opponents of the TPP fear it opens doors for companies to sue governments for policies that harm their investments. The deal has a controversial investor-state dispute settlement clause.
* China isn't part of the TPP and is trying to get up a rival deal with seven TPP countries, including New Zealand, and eight others. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is much narrower and less ambitious than the TPP.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AAP, AFP, AP
WELLINGTON - Injured Black Cap Ross Taylor said Thursday he was desperate to play in the one-day series decider against England, as pundits declared his unbeaten 181 the greatest ever limited-overs innings by a Kiwi batsman.
Taylor overcame cramps and a severe thigh strain to bludgeon New Zealand to victory with a career-best performance in the fourth ODI in Hamilton on Wednesday.
Grimacing with pain after every shot and limping between the wickets, he levelled the series 2-2 to set up a winner-takes-all clash in Christchurch on Saturday.
Coach Mike Hesson was reluctant to risk Taylor in the crunch match if there was risk of long-term injury, and has called in rookie Mark Chapman as cover.
"We need to know the extent of it and whether it's one of those injuries that can get worse, or whether you can grin and bear it, we're just not sure yet," Hesson told reporters.
Taylor said he was keen to play and would be icing his injured thigh and resting with the intention of taking the field even if not fully fit.
"I'm hoping to," he told Radio Sport.
"Obviously I won't be 100 (percent) but we'll just see how it pulls up in the next couple of days and give it the best chance possible."
Taylor hurt his thigh earlier in the series then aggravated it diving to avoid a run out as New Zealand chased England's challenging target of 336.
The 34-year-old's 181 not out was his 19th ODI century and the third highest score by a New Zealander in the 50-over format.
But Dominion Post cricket writer Mark Geenty said the context and manner of Taylor's knock made it a standout contender for New Zealand's greatest ODI innings.
Aside from Taylor's injury, he pointed out that New Zealand were chasing a huge total against quality opposition to keep the series alive, and had lost their two openers for ducks.
"Taylor wins. No decision review system required," he wrote.
Radio New Zealand's Jamie Wall hailed "Ross the Boss" as one of the Black Caps' all-time greats.
"It was the most definitive statement by Taylor that he is very much in contention for the title of New Zealand's greatest batsman ever," he wrote.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AAP, AFP, AP
WELLINGTON - An unbeaten century to stalwart Suzie Bates has guided the White Ferns to an eight-wicket second-ODI thumping of the West Indies.
Set a target of 195 for victory, the Kiwis blitzed their opponents in Lincoln, reaching 175-0 before the 30-over mark.
Sophie Devine fell for an impressive 80, caught off an Afy Fletcher delivery, but opening partner Bates cruised to her ton, scoring 101 not out. It was the 30-year-old Bates' ninth ODI century in 109 matches. The Ferns wrapped up the game in the 31st over.
"I thought it was a brilliant game today," Bates said. "We asked the bowlers and fielders to make some improvements from game one and I thought we were outstanding in the field, and our bowlers stepped up. It made Sophie's job and my job easier."
Earlier, spinner Leigh Kasperek's four-wicket haul helped New Zealand bowl out the West Indies for just 194 in the 49th over.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AAP, AFP, AP
WELLINGTON - Pole vaulter Eliza McCartney has opted to miss this weekend's national track and field championships in Hamilton as she manages her schedule leading into next month's Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
The Rio Olympics bronze medallist is completing an impressive return to full fitness after an Achilles injury restricted her for much of last year.
McCartney finished fourth at the recent world indoor championships, her first major international meet of the southern season.
A first-up 4.75m clearance came close to her all-time best of 4.82m, set in February last year, but the 21-year-old Aucklander is taking care to pace her return to competition carefully.
She'll be contesting the Vertical Pursuit event on March 18 in Auckland, an urban pole vault event on a specially constructed runway, and the Auckland Track Challenge a week later at the Trusts Arena.
In her absence, up-and-coming vaulter Olivia McTaggart, 18, who has a PB of 4.40m and is also a Gold Coast Commonwealth Games starter, will start favourite for her first national senior title on Sunday.
Another Commonwealth Games hopeful who will come under scrutiny at the nationals in Hamilton is storied shot putter Dame Valerie Adams.
A two-times Olympic gold medallist, 33-year-old Adams is making her return to competition following the birth of daughter Kimoana in October last year.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AAP, AFP, AP
WELLINGTON - West Ham defender Winston Reid is expected to miss the rest of the English Premier League season after injuring his knee five days ago.
The All Whites skipper needed oxygen as he was stretchered off the field in the first half of Sunday's 4-1 defeat to Swansea City, his first game in almost two months.
Reid attempted to make a last-ditch tackle on Swansea's Mike van der Hoorn before getting his foot stuck in the ground and forcefully twisting his knee.
The absence of the 29-year-old New Zealander is a major blow to the Hammers' bid to stay in the Premier League.
West Ham are 14th on the EPL ladder, three points above the relegation zone, with nine games remaining.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AAP, AFP, AP
WELLINGTON - Wellington Phoenix will finish the season yet again under interim coach Chris Greenacre, the third time in five years the ex-striker has stepped into a stand-in role at the A-League club.
Darije Kalezic announced last week he wouldn't continue in his role next season after a disappointing tenure that has returned four wins, five draws and 12 losses.
He initially appeared ready to see out the six games remaining in the season, but a Phoenix statement on Thursday said the Dutchman would now finish up with immediate effect.
Both parties agreed it was in the club's best interests to make a decision swiftly.
This would allow any potential replacement the chance to familiarise themselves with the current player group for the remainder of this year's campaign as the club looks to rebuild for next season, the statement said.
Kalezic said the decision was made with the club's best interests at heart.
"I would like to thank the club and the staff for their support, and especially the city's loyal fans, Yellow Fever, for their passion," he said.
"I have had a great experience in New Zealand - I came with big determination and energy for this project, and I continue to believe that success can come for this football club."
Greenacre, who scored 17 goals in an 84-match career at the Phoenix, filled in for five games in February 2013 when coach Ricki Herbert resigned.
Alongside Des Buckingham, he also stepped up after Ernie Merrick's ninth-round resignation in December 2016.
The Phoenix, who had a bye last weekend, travel across the ditch to meet sixth-placed Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AAP, AFP, AP
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AAP, AFP, AP
ALL NEWS