AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND : Two people were killed on late Monday morning when their small plane crashed in a busy park in central New Zealand, police said. There were no survivors. The accident happened at around 10:45 a.m. local time when the Aerostar Yak 52TW aircraft went down in a park in the town of Fielding, which is located in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region of New Zealand's North Island. There were two people on board. Witnesses said the small aircraft, which is often used as an acrobatic training plane, was making unusually loud noises before it crashed. The pilot reportedly struggled to keep the aircraft under control, turning and spinning the plane before it plummeted down nose-first. The violent crash also caused an explosion and fire, destroying the aircraft and leaving only mangled metal behind. The identities of those killed were not immediately released, but Inspector Mark Harrison said the victims were 'well known' in the Manawatu area. They had taken off just 25 minutes prior to the accident from Taonui Aerodrome near Feilding. "The park borders a river and residential houses, and has a children's playground, so it is extremely popular with the local ...
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Wellington, A hot air balloon caught fire and crashed in New Zealand Saturday morning, killing all 11 people on board, a media report said. The balloon came down in flames near the small town of Clareville, north of Wellington on the North Island, about 7.30 a.m., the Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported. TVNZ said there were 10 passengers and a pilot on board the balloon. A cyclist who witnessed the crash told Radio New Zealand that he saw flames licking up the side of the basket below the balloon. He said he saw 10 metres of flames trailing from the descending balloon. "It came down like a bloody rocket and then there was a big bang," the New Zealand Herald website quoted a local resident named David McKinlay as saying. The area is a popular hot air ballooning destination. A ballooning website said the hot air balloon took off after sunrise and lasted for an hour. The crash site was cordoned off and only emergency workers and the families of those in the balloon were being allowed through, said Radio New Zealand. ...
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Moscow, The US has topped a list of countries taking part in charity, followed by Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Russia was ranked 130th in the list. The study of 153 nations was conducted by Britain's Charities Aid Foundation. Called the "World Giving Index 2011", the study ranked the charitable behaviour of people from countries based on how likely their residents are to donate money, volunteer their time and aid strangers. Britain was ranked the world's fifth most charitable country. It moved up from the eighth position last year, and was named the second-most generous nation globally in monetary terms. Results showed that 79 percent of Britons donate money to charity every month, while 28 percent of people in the country do volunteer work each month. The Netherlands, Canada, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Laos completed the top 10 ...
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Wellington, The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) announced Thursday it was leaving the interest rates unchanged on 2.5 percent, citing a deteriorating global financial outlook. RBNZ Governor Alan Bollard said it was prudent to leave the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 2.5 percent given the global uncertainty and the "moderate pace" of domestic demand, reported Xinhua. "Continuing difficulties related to sovereign and bank debt in a growing number of European economies have resulted in high levels of volatility in financial markets. There has also been a softening in international economic activity, including in the Asia-Pacific region," said Bollard in the policy assessment of the RBNZ December Monetary Policy Statement. "Global developments are having some negative impact on New Zealand, though to date it has been limited. Business confidence has declined and investment spending is likely to remain weak for some time. In addition, tightness in international markets means funding costs for New Zealand banks will increase to some degree over the coming year." He said the risk on further weakening conditions remained as outlined in the previous RBNZ Monetary Policy ...
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Wellington, Construction work in New Zealand fell to its lowest level in 10 years in the quarter to the end of September, the government statistics agency announced Monday. Building activity fell 2.3 percent in the quarter due to a drop in non-residential construction, said a statement from Statistics New Zealand. Non-residential building activity had fallen over the latest three quarters, and the September quarter was at a similar low level as in the December 2009 quarter, reported Xinhua. Residential building activity remained unchanged, but was at its lowest level in 18 years, said the statement. The agency said it assessed the effects of the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes by comparing building activity in the region with the rest of the country in the September quarter. "Overall building activity in Canterbury appeared to have a similar drop as in the rest of New Zealand," industry and labor statistics manager Louise Holmes-Oliver said in the statement. "However, residential building work in the region seemed to have fallen, while the rest of the country had a small increase. Non-residential building work in Canterbury appeared to have risen, while it ...
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