An Auckland handyman is ordered to pay $17k for an 'awful' renovation, doctors urge vaccination as whooping cough cases surge, and Rafael Nadal announces retirement from professional tennis.
1 Auckland handyman ordered to pay $17k for 'awful' renovation
An Auckland man says a handyman with a history of leaving work unfinished has been ordered to pay him over $17,000 for a poorly done bathroom renovation — but, two months later, he is still waiting to be refunded.
Glenn Rust, from Waimauku, said he hired the man to renovate his bathroom and do painting while away. The man said he found the handyman on Facebook and was assured he could do the work in 10 days.
But when Rust got back, the work was unfinished and what had been done was "awful".
After failing to fix the work done and not providing a full refund, the handyman was taken to the Disputes Tribunal, where he was ordered to pay $17,690.9.
2 Vaccination urged as whooping cough cases surge in September
Kiwis are being urged to get vaccinated after the number of whooping cough cases more than doubled last month.
According to figures from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research, the number of cases reported in September was 187, more than double August's total of 75.
Numbers are among the highest since 2019.
Both Health New Zealand and the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation urged people to get vaccinated.
3 Auckland bus driver struck by wrench in alleged road rage incident
A man has been charged after allegedly throwing a wrench at a bus driver during a road rage incident in Auckland yesterday afternoon.
Police were called to the scene near Onehunga Mall in Onehunga following a report a person had been injured at around 2.20pm.
Police said the wrench was allegedly thrown at the driver during the incident.
The driver was taken to hospital and is now "recovering at home".
4 At least 6 dead, millions without power as Milton hits Florida
Rescue teams plucked Florida residents from the flotsam of Hurricane Milton today after the storm smashed through coastal communities where it tore homes into pieces, filled streets with mud and spawned a barrage of deadly tornadoes. At least six people were dead.
Arriving just two weeks after the misery wrought by Hurricane Helene, the system also knocked out power to more than 3 million customers, flooded barrier islands, tore the roof off a baseball stadium and toppled a construction crane.
Among the most dramatic rescues, officers found a 14-year-old boy floating on a piece of fence and pulled him onto a boat. A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued a man who was left clinging to an ice chest in the Gulf of Mexico after his fishing boat broke down off Medeira Beach hours before the hurricane came ashore.
Despite the destruction, many people expressed relief that Milton wasn't worse. The hurricane spared Tampa a direct hit, and the lethal storm surge that scientists feared never materialised.\
5 Revealed: All the 300 Fast-Track projects, ministers' conflicts of interest
The Government has outlined the process it followed when conflicts of interest were identified with its Fast-track Approvals bill.
An independent advisory group was set up to assess the 384 projects that applied to be listed in the bill, which will pass through Parliament by the end of the year.
The group provided recommendations on each project, which was then assessed by ministers Chris Bishop, Shane Jones and Simeon Brown, who compiled a list of 149 to put before Cabinet, which were approved.
The full report from the advisory group has now been published by the Ministry for the Environment.
ONE BIG RETIREMENT
Rafael Nadal is retiring from professional tennis at age 38, he announced Friday, after winning 22 Grand Slam titles — 14 at the French Open — during an unprecedented era he shared with rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Nadal has competed infrequently the past two seasons because of injuries and said next month's Davis Cup finals will mark his farewell to the sport. He had hip surgery in 2023 and entered just two of the past eight major tournaments.
"The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two, especially. I don't think I have been able to play without limitations," Nadal said in a video message. "It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make. But in this life, everything has a beginning and an end."
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