Samoa kiribati

ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF PM Jacinda Ardern announced Auckland will go down one Covid-19 alert level on Sunday at 6am, while the rest of NZ will go back down to level 1. New Zealand’s biggest Pacific event will still go ahead but a month later than originally planned, following the Government's announcement Auckland will remain in level 2 until March 12. The two-day Pasifika Festival was scheduled for March 13, just a day before Cabinet will consider moving Auckland to level 1. On Friday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Auckland will drop to alert level 2 on Sunday morning. A move to level 1 will be reviewed on March 12. The annual festival, which is usually held at Western Springs, was called off twice in 2019 and 2020 due to the Christchurch terror attack and the first coronavirus lockdown. READ MORE: Covid-19: Raft of weekend events cancelled, postponed despite alert level shift Covid-19: Auckland gearing up for big weekend, with events back … [Read more...] about Covid-19: Auckland’s Pasifika Festival postponed to April

A new tsunami warning has been issued after a third earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 hit New Zealand's Kermadec Islands region Friday, shortly after the first advisory had officially been cancelled. The second warning is being issued for those near cost from the Bay of Islands to Whangarei, from Matata to Tolaga Bay, and Great Barrier Island. Those in the areas under threat are being told to move immediately to the high ground or as far inland as possible. An earlier advisory was first announced after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 was felt northeast coast of New Zealand early Friday morning, local time. A second earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 hit the Kermadec Islands but no tsunami warning was issued. The Pacifistic Tsunami Warning Center had warned that waves from the first potential tsunami were possibly within 300 km of the epicenter along the coast of New Zealand. There was no threat to nearby territories, including Australia, Thailand and the Philippines. … [Read more...] about Second Tsunami Warning in New Zealand Issued After 8.0 Earthquake Hits Island

1 NEWS Kiri Allen says people can return to beaches, but urges them to take care. ANALYSIS: A sequence of three major offshore earthquakes, including a magnitude 8.1 quake near the Kermadec Islands , triggered tsunami warnings and evacuations along the east coast of New Zealand this morning. By early afternoon, the National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA ) lifted the evacuation order but stressed that people should stay off beaches and the shore. All three earthquakes happened along the Tonga Kermadec subduction zone , where the Pacific tectonic plate dives under and then sinks beneath the Australian plate. This subduction zone is the longest and deepest such system on Earth. It spans from just north of the East Cape, some 2600km to the north-east in an almost straight line to south of Samoa. READ MORE: The tsunami evacuation process was smooth - except for the traffic Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks after quake triggers tsunami alerts Recap: … [Read more...] about Following 3 major quakes off New Zealand, questions remain about how they might be linked

Brown Buttabean Dave 'Brown Buttabean' Letele took matters into his own hands and created a video with Covid-19 information for his community. A professional boxer has taken it on himself to deliver important Covid-19 messages to his Pasifika community with humorous videos, after seeing the information lacking in his community. Dave ‘Brown Buttabean’ Letele created a one-minute video, both in English and in his native Samoan language, because he was concerned that important health messages were not getting across to his people. The idea came to him while listening to a radio talk back show on Tuesday that was discussing these challenges in the Pasifika community. His team, including cameraman Fa’amati Mamea, put their heads together and came up with the video while unpacking food parcels at his BBM Community headquarters at Jack Conway Avenue in Manukau. READ MORE: Dad-of-eight laid off in lockdown: ‘We’re not seeing an economic recovery’ Election 2020: How … [Read more...] about Covid-19: Boxer Brown Buttabean delivers health messages via humorous videos

Taubukintaai Kaaboka has called New Zealand home for the past 10 years, but is struggling to get his son a Kiwi passport because the 9-month-old was born before his dad was granted citizenship. Kaaboka worries he will need to wait for the borders to reopen before he can hold son Tiotaake for the first time, the latest snap Covid-19 alert level change making that day feel even further away. “I can't wait to see him,” Kaaboka said. “I’m trying to be strong, but sometimes I feel really stressed. I try to keep myself calm and not worry because no matter what happens, I know when the borders open I’ll be able to see him.” READ MORE: 'We talk every day': Border restrictions keep Timaru man from fiancée and infant son Demand for Multicultural Aoraki's services skyrocket 30 years on: Sisters reflect on Amnesty International campaign to free one from South African prison The 27-year-old Timaru man had spoken to an immigration advisor who told him his fiancee, Meretia, could … [Read more...] about Kiwi dad desperate to hold son feels he exhausted all options