Wild weather lashes the country, more than 5000 senior doctors strike over a pay dispute, and Lorde announces her new album name and release date.
1 Heavy rain, gales cause travel disruptions across the country
Large parts of the country were hammered by wild weather as torrential rain and gale-force winds set in for the next few days.
A state of emergency was declared for Canterbury's Selwyn District this morning due to heavy rain and rising river levels. Wellington's wind warning has been upgraded to red as MetService warns of a "threat to life" from flying items and falling trees.
Flights and ferry sailings were cancelled as strong wind watches, heavy swell warnings and road snowfall cautions were also in effect across other parts of NZ.
2 More than 5000 senior doctors strike over pay dispute
More than 5000 senior doctors have gone on strike following months of unsuccessful negotiations with Health New Zealand.
Health NZ put forward an updated offer last week, but that was rejected by The Association of Senior Medical Specialists
Health NZ said today’s strike would lead to 4300 planned procedures being postponed.
3 US economy shrinks 0.3% in first quarter
The US economy shrank at a 0.3% annual pace from January through March, the first drop in three years, as US President Donald Trump's trade wars disrupted business.
First-quarter growth was slowed by a surge in imports as companies in the United States tried to bring in foreign goods before Trump imposed massive tariffs.
4 Lorde announces new album name and date for release
Lorde has announced that her newest album, Virgin, will be released on June 27.
The New Zealand singer, whose real name is Ella Yelich O'Connor, announced update on her website, which also displayed what appears to be the album cover art — an X-ray of a pelvis.
5 Ruby Tui left out of Black Ferns squad for Pacific Four tournament
Rugby superstar Ruby Tui has been left out of the Black Ferns squad for the next month's Pacific Four series.
Tui, Renee Holmes and Chelsea Bremner are three headline players who missed selection in the 33-player squad announced at a training camp in Upper Hutt today.
All played prominent roles in the Black Ferns' Rugby World Cup triumph in 2022.
ONE VALUABLE STATE HOME
The woman living in the country's most valuable state house says it should be sold, as Kāinga Ora plans to put hundreds of homes on the market.
The state house is on a leafy street in Auckland's inner-city suburb of Ponsonby and is worth close to $4 million.
"My thoughts would be I reckon they should sell it," its current occupant says.
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