Tag • #new zealand

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‘Felt like an earthquake’: passengers recall moment of terror on Latam flight as investigation launched

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Tuesday, 12 March - 02:09

Latam Airlines flight LA800 was headed to Auckland from Sydney when plane’s ‘gauges just blanked out’ due to technical problem, pilot reportedly told passengers

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Cockpit voice and flight data recorders are being gathered as an investigation begins into a sudden mid-air drop on an Auckland-bound flight that left passengers bloodied, hospitalised dozens and “felt like an earthquake had just hit”.

Latam Airlines flight LA800 departed Sydney at 11.35am on Monday with 263 passengers and nine flight and cabin crew headed for Auckland. About two-thirds of the way into the three-hour flight, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner – which was eight years old, according to flight tracking data – “experienced a strong shake”, the airline said.

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Two New Zealand skiers killed after avalanche in Japan

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Monday, 11 March - 23:08

Third person injured after small group were backcountry skiiing in Hokkaido on Mount Yotei when an avalanche struck on Monday

Two New Zealanders, including a 21-year-old ski guide, have been killed in avalanche while backcountry skiing in Japan.

New Zealand’s ministry of foreign affairs and trade confirmed to the Guardian two people had died in “a tragic accident” in Hokkaido. A third New Zealander was also injured.

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Fifty people treated after ‘technical problem’ caused ‘strong movement’ on Latam flight from Sydney

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Monday, 11 March - 08:12

Passengers on flight to Auckland describe ‘mid-air drop’ with people thrown from their seats

Fifty people have been treated by ambulance crews and 13 people are in hospital after an in-bound aircraft to Auckland experienced a “strong movement” mid-flight that reportedly saw passengers suddenly thrown about the plane.

In a statement, Hato Hone St John Ambulance said the organisation responded to an incident at Auckland International Airport involving an inbound aircraft after a call at 3.58pm local time on Monday.

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What lies beneath: the hidden caves buried under Auckland back yards

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Friday, 8 March - 19:00

Rich history to 200 caves – from housing a secret printing press to widow’s shelter – as steps taken to protect the ‘sacred’ sites

Hidden behind a tropical garden in the affluent Auckland suburb of Mount Eden is a subterranean secret – a cave opening from the ground like the yawning mouth of a giant.

“People come down here and drop their jaws,” says its owner, Sean Jacob, who stands in the centre of the quiet rock chamber.

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The Māori climate activist breaking legal barriers to bring corporate giants to court

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Wednesday, 6 March - 00:34

In a landmark case, Mike Smith has won the right to sue seven of the country’s biggest companies over their alleged contributions to climate change

Mike Smith stands stock still in a khaki-coloured vest, posing for a photograph against dark foliage in the Auckland Domain gardens. He sets his face into a determined expression, raises his eyes to the horizon, and jokes he is creating the “Che Guevara look”.

“You know the one – where he is looking wistfully up?” Smith says of the Cuban revolutionary’s famous portrait.

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Self-pay gas station pumps break across NZ as software can’t handle Leap Day

news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Thursday, 29 February - 18:00

Enlarge / A gas station displays an out-of-order sign on February 29, 2024 in New Zealand. (credit: Mark Coote/Bloomberg via Getty Images )

Today is Leap Day, meaning that for the first time in four years, it's February 29. That's normally a quirky, astronomical factoid (or a very special birthday for some). But that unique calendar date broke gas station payment systems across New Zealand for much of the day.

As reported by numerous international outlets, self-serve pumps in New Zealand were unable to accept card payments due to a problem with the gas pumps' payment processing software. The New Zealand Herald reported that the outage lasted "more than 10 hours." This effectively shuttered some gas stations, while others had to rely on in-store payments. The outage affected suppliers, including Allied Petroleum, BP, Gull, Waitomo, and Z Energy, and has reportedly been fixed.

In-house payment solutions, such as BP fuel cards and the Waitomo app, reportedly still worked during the outage.

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Shock in New Zealand as Green party MP Efeso Collins dies after charity run

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Wednesday, 21 February - 00:40

Devastated colleagues and friends pay tribute to Collins as a ‘passionate advocate’ and a champion of fairness and equality

New Zealanders, including leaders from across the political spectrum, have expressed shock and devastation at the sudden death of Green MP Efeso Collins, who collapsed after a charity run in Auckland on Wednesday.

“It is with profound shock and sadness that we can confirm that Green Party MP Efeso Collins has died,” said a statement from the Green party.

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Before snagging a chunk of space junk, Astroscale must first catch up to one

news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Tuesday, 20 February - 15:31

This artist's illustration released by Astroscale shows the ADRAS-J spacecraft (left) approaching the defunct upper stage from a Japanese H-IIA rocket.

Enlarge / This artist's illustration released by Astroscale shows the ADRAS-J spacecraft (left) approaching the defunct upper stage from a Japanese H-IIA rocket. (credit: Astroscale )

Astroscale, a well-capitalized Japanese startup, is preparing a small satellite to do something that has never been done in space.

This new spacecraft, delivered into orbit Sunday by Rocket Lab, will approach a defunct upper stage from a Japanese H-IIA rocket that has been circling Earth for more than 15 years. Over the next few months, the satellite will try to move within arm's reach of the rocket, taking pictures and performing complicated maneuvers to move around the bus-size H-IIA upper stage as it moves around the planet at nearly 5 miles per second (7.6 km/s).

These maneuvers are complex, but they're nothing new for spacecraft visiting the International Space Station. Military satellites from the United States, Russia, and China also have capabilities for rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO), but as far as we know, these spacecraft have only maneuvered in ultra-close range around so-called "cooperative" objects designed to receive them.

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‘You can change the view’: rotating house goes up for sale in New Zealand

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Tuesday, 20 February - 02:57

Engineer Don Dunick took years to conceptualise and build ‘the lighthouse’, which can turn 360 degrees to offer views of the sea or native bushland

A house in New Zealand that can rotate continuously like a carousel has been listed for sale for the first time since its owner designed and built it 35 years ago.

The building, nicknamed ‘the lighthouse’, perches on Auckland’s coastal Maraetai hillside atop a two metre-wide cylindrical steel base and is believed to be the only one of its kind in the country. A full revolution takes 33 minutes.