Blog

The Manawanui sank off the south coast of the island of Upolu on Saturday. Photo: Profile Boats / supplied The Navy says HMNZS Manawanui, the ship which sunk off the coast of Samoa, is not leaking oil. Navy Commodore Shane Arndell told Checkpoint on Tuesday the Manawanui was resting 30 metres underwater on a reef off the south coast of Upolu, and was not leaking. "The divers went out this morning to survey the ship ... and from what they've reported there has been nothing leaking from the ship once it sunk." There was no liquid leaking from the ship at all at this stage, he said. Manawanui is on a part of the reef, he said. "She's very stable, she's lying on her side in that depth of water and quite stable." The ship had been damaged but Arndell said he could not give any further detai...

No oil leaks have been found the area where the NZ Navy ship HMNZS Manawanui sank yet, the Samoa government says. The Ministry of Works chief executive Fui Mau Simanu told RNZ Pacific that New Zealand Navy divers had been assessing the area since Tuesday morning. He said they were working alongside local police and Samoa's Natural Resources and Environment Ministry. "We haven't seen any leakage or any sort of spillage," Fui said. "But we should have a fair idea of any damage to the environment if there is any probably tonight, when the teams come back from their assessment," Fui said. Read more: 'It's my ship and I'm gutted': Former minister Ron Mark on Manawanui sinking HMNZS Manawanui: What we know about the ship's sinking An expert explains why a speedy cleanup will be crucial - and the...

The author Salman Rushdie. Photo: TOBIAS SCHWARZ The author Salman Rushdie, who survived a stabbing in 2022 that almost took his life, revealed he is writing new works of fiction. Rushdie, speaking via videolink to the Lviv BookForum in Ukraine, told a packed auditorium and thousands more online that he is in the midst of writing three novellas. While Rushdie appeared at writers' conference to discuss his memoir Knife, a look at his recovery from the attack that cost him an eye, he also spoke about a new project that examines life's end. "When you get to this age you obviously think about how long is left," said Rushdie, who is 77. "There obviously aren't 22 more [books] that will be written. If I am lucky there will be one or two." The Indian-born British American author is taking insp...

By ABC chief business correspondent Ian Verrender Should Israel attack Iranian oil export facilities, oil and petrol prices could surge. (file photo) Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook Analysis: What was he thinking? When US President Joe Biden last Thursday casually dropped that he had discussed military strikes against Iran's oil export facilities with Israel, all hell broke loose. Crude oil prices, which in recent months have been languishing, immediately took flight, surging 5 percent. By the end of the week, they had stacked on 8 percent. It didn't take long for the inevitable about face. By Friday, Biden had canned the idea, saying he had warned Israel against it and ordered it to find "other alternatives". There's no doubt an attack on Iran's oil export facilities would hurt. The country h...