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Defence Minister Judith Collins is set to speak about 2pm. We will be livestreaming the press conference at the top of this page. Defence Minister Judith Collins has lashed out at what she calls "deeply misogynist" comments about the sinking of the HMS Manawanui and its captain, Commander Yvonne Gray. Collins said that Gray has been attacked online since the sinking of the ship off the coast of Samoa over the weekend. Collins said a "deeply concerning misogynist narrative reared its head before our people had even made it home to New Zealand." Collins said a Court of Inquiry has been already planned to examine the cause of the wreck. "The one thing that we already know did not cause it was the gender of the ship's captain, a woman with 30 years of naval experience who made the call to get ...

An investigation into a Queensland helicopter crash that killed a Kiwi pilot in August has found he was intoxicated, broke aviation rules and appeared to be trying to evade being detected. But officials are none the wiser as to why he did it. Blake Wilson, 23, died after taking a helicopter from his employer's hangar in Cairns and flying into a no-fly zone over the city before crashing into the roof of the DoubleTree hotel. His employer, Nautilus Aviation, said he had been celebrating his promotion with workmates on Sunday night, before he took the helicopter in the early hours of Monday morning. Wilson, 23, held a New Zealand commercial helicopter licence, but was not authorised to fly in Australia. He was the only person killed in the accident. A report by the Australian Transport Safety...

Oscar Garcia, right, with his family stands outside his house after getting hit by a reported tornado in Fort Myers, Florida, on 9 October 2024, as Hurricane Milton approaches. Photo: CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP Hurricane Milton has begun making landfall. The National Hurricane Center is reporting that the most intense winds and eyewall of Hurricane Milton are coming onshore near the Florida city of Tampa. Landfall is not official until at least half of the hurricane's eye crosses over land - likely within the next hour or two, CNN said. Milton's eyewall has winds screaming at nearly 200km/h with higher gusts. Follow RNZ's live updates: Source link

By Luc Cohen for Reuters The voter registration deadline in Florida was on 7 October. (File photo) Photo: AFP Voting rights groups have asked a federal judge to extend Florida's voter registration deadline ahead of the 5 November US presidential election, citing disruptions from Hurricanes Helene and Milton. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Tallahassee on Tuesday (local time), the League of Women Voters of Florida and the state NAACP chapter said they had asked Governor Ron DeSantis last week to extend the 7 October deadline by 10 days, but he declined. DeSantis' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Millions of people on Florida's west coast are under evacuation orders as Hurricane Milton lashed the region with rain and wind hours ahead of its expected l...