One motorcyclist has been killed, and two other riders are injured after a serious crash near Milford Sound on State Highway 94.
Emergency services were called to the crash, just south of the Homer Tunnel in Fiordland, at about 10.50am.
“The crash occurred about 10.50am and involved three motorbikes,” police said.
“Sadly, one of the riders died at the scene, while two others suffered moderate-to-serious injuries. The road remains closed ahead of a serious crash unit investigation.
“Police are aware that a number of tourists are in Milford Sound, or wanting to travel there, and thank them for their patience.”
Authorities are urging motorists travelling to or from Milford Sound should postpone travel and expect delays due to the state highway closure.
Waka Kotahi NZTA said a further update on the closure would be expected in the late afternoon. SH94 is currently closed between Monkey Creek and Homer Tunnel.
An Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Oregon on Friday (local time) after a window and chunk of its fuselage blew out in mid-air, media reports said.
A passenger sent KATU-TV a photo showing a gaping hole in the side of the airplane next to passenger seats. It was not immediately clear if anyone was injured.
The airline said it was investigating what happened.
“Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, experienced an incident this evening soon after departure,” the company said in an emailed statement. “The aircraft landed safely back at Portland International Airport with 174 guests and 6 crew members.”
The company said it would share more information when it became available.
The flight left Portland at 4.52pm but returned just before 5.30pm.
The plane rose as high as 4,876m during the flight and then began descending, according to data on the flight tracking website FlightAware.
KPTV-TV reported photos sent in by a passenger showed a large section of the airplane’s fuselage was missing.
The FAA did not immediately respond to an email request for information.
The Boeing 737-9 MAX rolled off the assembly line and received its certification just two months ago, according to online FAA records.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it was investigating an event on the flight and would post updates when they are available.
A child has died after being hit by a car in a driveway in Northland .
St John Ambulance
The 20-month-old was struck by a vehicle leaving a Kaitaia address on Tuesday
“The parents of the child drove her to Kaitaia Hospital themselves, where medical staff assessed that she had received critical injuries,’ Detective Senior Sergeant Kevan Verry said.
The child was flown to Auckland’s Starship hospital in a critical condition, but died of her injuries on Friday morning.
“Police will continue to speak to the family, as we investigate what occurred leading up to the incident,” Verry said.
Police have described the death as a tragedy and say it’s a timely reminder for drivers to be extra vigilant during the school holidays.
Beach-goers are being encouraged to avoid a nasty sting by taking care around jellyfish this summer.
Sting symptoms can include the area turning purple or red, tingling or numbness Photo: Lana Young / NIWA
Large numbers of bluebottles have been recently reported on several of Auckland’s west coast beaches.
NIWA emeritus researcher and jellyfish expert Dr Dennis Gordon said it was common to start seeing more jellyfish at the beach at this time of the year as they followed their food source.
“As soon as the days start to get longer and there’s more daylight, you get a bloom of more plankton. When there is more plant plankton, there’s more animal plankton, which means you get more shrimps and things – and jellyfish feed on those small crustaceans,” Gordon said.
The moon jellyfish, lion’s mane and spotted jellyfish were most frequently seen on beaches in Aotearoa, although there were about 35 species of jellyfish found in our waters.
“Despite being really beautiful, the lion’s mane and spotted jellyfish can produce a very painful sting, as can the bluebottle,” he said.
Symptoms include the sting area turning purple or red, tingling or numbness, and a burning sensation on the skin.
Most stings are not serious but the treatment is the same. Photo: NIWA
The surface of tentacles is covered in thousands of microscopic stinger cells (nematocysts) that simultaneously inject their venom when they come into contact with skin.
“Those who do plan on getting in the water should be cautious and wear a wetsuit if it is known that there may be jellyfish in the area,” he said.
Most stings were not serious but the treatment was the same.
He discouraged people from peeing or using urine on a sting as it could make the pain worse.
Instead he said anyone stung should flush the sting area with seawater, use a dry towel to remove tentacles, immerse the stung area in hot water for 15 to 20 minutes, and use pain relief or antihistamines if needed.
“Jellyfish are enchanting, delicate creatures that should be appreciated, just not too close,” he said.
The Tongan government’s decision to send a delegation around the world to consult with Tongans living overseas about their concerns has been criticised.
Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Lord Tu’i’āfitu (second from left) while having dinner at Poppies, Granville Diggers Club, Sydney, while visiting Australia last month as part of the Talatalanoa Programme. Photo/Supplied
The fact that the trip is led by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources triggered a strong negative reaction since this same Ministry made a similar excursion in 2010s. Its report on people’s concerns was published, but no action seems to have been taken so far.
The trip comes after the Prime Minister had been accused of increasing the government’s travelling budget with $8 million to a total of $21 million without submitting it to the parliament for approval according to the law.
It also comes after criticisms against the former Tu’i’onetoa government’s national fast and prayer services tour around the outer islands during the Covid-19 pandemic international border lockdowns.
Critics argued that the real intention behind that trip was for the government officials to collect fish, food and handicrafts from the people as well as using the government’s travelling allowance budget to benefit the Ministers and their spouses.
Public dissatisfaction
Kaniva News understands this Ministry is one of the government Ministries which received the most complaints due to the public dissatisfaction with their services.
We received some complaints from Tonga recently that some people arrived at the Ministry’s office expecting to get their land applications approved only to be told the Minister had left the country on a holiday leave.
Some were told their land applications could not be processed because the deputies who supposed to work on them had gone on leaves as well.
As we reported recently, people’s disappointments with the Ministry in the way it handled their land needs led to 173 land court cases in the past 10 years. Many of the decisions from the Land Court on these cases blamed the Minister for Lands for part of the failure of claims in land disputes.
Australian tours
The Minister of Lands, Lord Tu’i’afitu, and a team of officials are currently in Australia. They will be there until Friday and then travel to the United States of America and New Zealand.
Meetings have been held in Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney and was expected to be concluded in Brisbane. The Ministry said the programme would address key areas of improvement, share updates, and provide important information about land. It included explaining how land processes work, addressing concerns and working closely with Tonga’s High Commission offices overseas, to make land-related transactions easier.
Referred to officially as the Toe Talatalanoa Overseas Programme, the mission was launched after Kaniva News asked the Ministry’s acting chief executive about the lack of action over the 2012 report.
Internet technologies
Critics wondered why the Ministry did not use its social media accounts or a free customer feedback online form on its websiteto consult with Tongans overseas to avoid the huge travel costs, which would normally be paid from the public purse.
Tongans in Sydney meet with officials from Tonga. Photo/Ministry of Lands (Facebook)
“This is another way of the travellers “penipeni” (begging for money). We can easily tell this is a new way of getting money into their pocket”, a commenter wrote in Tongan.
“The nurses went on strike and the PM said he was looking at the affordability. This trip is one of the things he should have cancelled and used that money to increase the nurses pay”, another wrote.
“They are doing this because of the travelling allowance”. another commented.
Other Facebook groups agreed.
“Junket? Could have been done at a fraction of the cost, and saved a lot of time, using video conferencing…financial expediency”, a Facebook administrator on another group wrote.
A success
Meanwhile, the meetings around New South Wales and Melbourne had been reported on Facebook as a success.
The Ministry has updated its Facebook account yesterday and described the meetings with Tongans in Sydney as an “impactful journey of the ‘Toe Talatalanoa Overseas Program”.
“In Sydney, the program unfolds through three Talatalanoa sessions and appointments at various venues, forging meaningful dialogues and addressing pressing concerns of the Tongan community in Australia”, it said.
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources was contacted for comment.
We have also asked him who paid for their travel costs.
We also asked the Minister why the ministry did not make use of its website and social media for the consultation to avoid costs incurred.
Kaniva News also asked him whether the Minister had any plan to make sure the public was kept informed about what actions were taken in response to the consultation.
As if Nostradamus’ foretellings weren’t eerily accurate enough, the iconic astrologer was apparently right on the money with yet another apocalyptic prophecy just hours into 2024.
Also known as the Prophet Of Doom, the 16th-century French philosopher is best known for his foreboding forecasts, which he chronicled in his 1555 text “Les Propheties”.
These 943 verses are somewhat too vague to be sure, but Nostradamus has been credited with predicting everything from the Rise Of Adolf Hitler to COVID-19 like a 450-year-old Century “Simpsons” cartoon.
This time, the Frenchman was credited with forecasting the powerful earthquake that rocked Japan on New Year’s Day.
Outlining his predictions for 2024, the oracle wrote, “The dry Earth will become more parched and there will be great floods.”
The psychic’s followers reckoned that he could’ve been referring to the 7.5 magnitude tremor that struck the nation’s Western coast around 4pm Monday, killing 48 people, toppling buildings and sparking 1m-high tsunamis.
The aftermath of the 7.5 magnitude earthquake that rocked Japan on New Year’s Day, killing 48. (Photo by JIJI PRESS / AFP)
Damaged and destroyed homes along a street in Wajima, Ishikawa. (Photo by Fred MERY / AFP)
According to reports, residents in coastal communities fled to higher ground as the waves battered the coast, sweeping houses and cars into the sea.
Currently, there are around 120 cases of people awaiting rescue, a government spokesman reported.
In response, officials dispatched a 3000-strong search and rescue squad comprised of army personnel, firefighters and police officers to the disaster site on the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture.
“The search and rescue of those impacted by the quake is a battle against time,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida declared during an emergency meeting on Tuesday.
Nostradamus’ prediction was apparently not the only harbinger of a seismic calamity. Over the summer, divers in Taiwan encountered an injured giant oarfish, the “Doomsday fish” which is said to be a sign of impending earthquakes.
This seismic superstition is based on Japanese mythology, which states that plankton-eater — which lives between 200m and 1km below the ocean’s surface — will intentionally rise to the surface ahead of an incoming tremor.
Nostradamus has been credited with foretelling everything from the rise of Adolf Hitler to the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Rainer Binder/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
In retrospect, many doomsday subscribers believed that this latest sighting was connected to the New Year’s quake.
“The legend is that if you see an oarfish (DOOMSDAY FISH), it is a warning sign from higher powers that disasters such as earthquakes are soon to occur,” wrote one X poster on New Year’s Day.
They referenced the 2011 Fukushima earthquake and tsunami, which saw dozens of these alleged seagoing seismometers wash ashore in the two years preceding the catastrophe.
However, experts claim that this tremor-anticipation theory has no basis in science.
More Coverage
Psychic adherents also say that Nostradamus’ “dry Earth” prediction could be referring to the ongoing climate crisis, which has spawned an uptick in droughts and fires worldwide.
Last year was officially the hottest year on record while experts predict 2024 could be another scorcher.
This article was originally published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission
The gunman at the centre of a police shootout and manhunt across Honolulu, Hawai’i has died while two officers received serious gunshot wounds.
Sidney Tafokitau
The suspect, 44-year-old Sidney Tafokitau, was of Tongan decent.
He was shot after the incident happened around 4.30 pm on University Avenue, reported Hawai’i Now.
The police closed University Avenue from Metcalf to King St., including Dole St as part of an attempt to arrest Tafokitau.
Following his death the CrimeStoppers and the Honolulu Police Department thanked the public for their assistance in locating Tafokitau who was wanted for Attempted Murder in the First Degree.
On Monday, January 2, 2024, at approximately 4.14 pm HPD officers located Tafokitau in the Manoa area.
On Saturday, December 16, 2023, at approximately 12.45 am an unknown male suspect who was later positively identified as Tafokitau got into a verbal argument with a group of males on Rose Street in Kalihi.
He subsequently used a firearm to shoot at the group, striking one male, and a knife to cause bodily injury to a second male. On December 21, 2023, multiple no-bail warrants were issued for his arrest.
Today at 11.35 am plainclothes officers attempted to apprehend Tafokitau in a stolen vehicle in Kalihi when he fired multiple times at their unmarked vehicle.
Tafokitau fled on Likelike Highway. Shortly after, he stole another vehicle at gunpoint.
A policewoman has reportedly drowned at Laulea, a popular Tongatapu beach.
Selomiti Tufui
A sibling has identified the deceased on social media as Selomiti Tufui.
Mione Tufui posted a video which appeared to show the victim’s body was pulled from the water and being carried out on a stretcher.
Mione emotionally paid tribute to his sister in Tongan and asked why she was leaving so soon.
“I love you Selomiti”, he said.
Police could not be reached for comment.
The details of the incident were still unknown.
Laulea beach is one of the most dangerous places in Tonga to go swimming due to powerful rip currents and waves that are known to sweep people out to sea.
In 2018 Viliami Vaka’uta, 24, was presumed dead after he attempted to save her wife in the water.
In 2017 Soane Tangipa ʻAtaʻata died after he went swimming at the beach.
In 2015 ‘Inoke Mapaleve Mo’unga, 32, of Kolonga drowned at the beach after visiting there with his wife and friends.
In 2012 Catholic priest, Father Mikaele Mateo , 37, died at Laulea Beach while helping to rescue his five young nephews who were swept out to open sea by the strong currents.
The Vaiola Hospital Board of Visitors Charity has donated TOP$160,000 to support nurses who went on strike recently as well as all staff members who are working during the Christmas holiday season at the hospital.
Some of the nurses who arrived at the palace office in Nuku’alofa to submit their petition to the king
The donation on Thursday comes after nurses in Tonga staged a half-day strike before Christmas as a result of their disappointment with the Minister of Health’s handling of their proposal for a pay rise.
The President of the Free Wesleyan Church Tevita Koloa’ia Havea wrote to the Charity in support of the nurses’ strike.
Mr Havea, whose wife is a hospital nurse, said the staff members especially the nurses at Vaiola, Tonga’s largest hospital, are concerned after their urgent needs regarding their duties had been ignored.
In Tongan he said: “Oku ngauta e kau ngaue Vaiola tautautefito ki he kau Neesi he ikai ke tokangaekina enau ngaahi fiemau vivili ki heenau fakahoko fatongia”.
Mr Havea, who is also a member of the Charity, said the nurses are being frustrated by the health system.
One nurse told Mr Havea she worked non-stop for nine days and 12 hours a day.
Mr Havea said some nurses worked extra shifts for 12 hours in a three-day period.
He also said that only two or three nurses had been rostered to look after one patient ward.
President Tevita Kolo’ia Havea
About 100 highly experienced nurses had just left the country to take up jobs overseas, he said.
“The staff members are in a state of burnout and the quality of the services for the nation’s needs is degrading”, Mr Havea said in Tongan.
He said the nurses move to approve their proposal for a pay rise as well as how they are being compensated for extra shifts they do went unheard even by the Minister of Health.
The President reminded members of the Board that their first and foremost responsibility was to visit the patients but it looks like they shifted their emphasis and focus on developmental projects.
“Such projects are the responsibility of the government, but we do it after requests from the hospital”, he said.
“It is very important for us to also recognise the duties of the staff members who are looking after the patients”.
He said the Board has yet to help those full-time staff.
“I do believe this is more important than building garage and parking projects for the hospital”.
Mr Havea then made the following proposals to the Board members and said these were “very urgent” for their consideration:
He proposed that the Board include the nurses’ move to ensure pay equity and safe staffing so they could do their duties accordingly, in its agenda.
He also proposed to donate cash as a one-off payment in support of all staff members who had been working during Christmas holidays 2023.
He said that the board should also consider including this donation for all staff members at Vaiola hospital during Christmas holidays in its future budgets.
As we reported previously, the Minister of Health said in a press conference he regularly met with the nurses about their concerns and pay rise proposal. He said he was surprised after he was told they had marched to the king with a petition regarding their pay proposal.
The Prime Minister also said at the time he had yet to see a copy of the proposal but he would consider it.
The donation was expected to be distributed equally among 400 staff members at the hospital.
HM Queen Nanasipau’u is the Patron of the Vaiola Hospital Board of Visitors which consists mainly of church leaders since its establishment in the 1940s.
