Category: CTF

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Cook Islands has reported its first dengue-related death, amid a significant increase in cases, and reminders to tourists to stay safe.

The country’s health ministry said an elderly patient with underlying conditions had arrived to hospital late in the disease’s progression, and died on 2 February.

Authorities have now announced Operation Namu-26 to raise awareness and promote prevention.

Dengue is a virus passed between people by mosquitos, and Operation Namu-26 will include an increase in insecticide spraying work on the affected islands, as well as a nation-wide clean up to reduce places where water could pool and mosquitos could breed.

The Cook Islands declared a dengue outbreak in May 2025, and more than 500 cases have been recorded there since.

In New Zealand, 86 people had been reported to have contracted dengue, with 75 of those cases connected to travel to the Cook Islands.

A senior health protection officer told RNZ Pacific that New Zealand had also reported 40 suspected cases of dengue since May, in visitors returning from the Cook Islands.

There had been “a significant increase in dengue cases on Rarotonga at the end of December 2025, and again at the end of January 2026”, the Cook Islands health ministry said.

Cases had been found on the islands of Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Atiu, Mauke and Mangaia.

Tourist companies would be providing dengue prevention items to visitors, and spraying on their properties following the ministry’s guidelines, it said.

Anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms, headache, joint or muscle pain, or rash should “seek urgent medical attention immediately …so that timely care can be provided”.

New Zealand clinician and University of Auckland lecturer Dr Maryann Heather recently told RNZ that one in four people infected with dengue get sick.

Symptoms include headaches, pain behind the eyes, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, joint pain, skin rash, lethargy, tiredness, and high fever, and can be severe. The disease can be more dangerous for young children and elderly people.

“If you aren’t improving or concerned, you should seek medical attention, especially if you think you have dengue fever after returning from the islands,” Heather said.

“It’s crucial to educate and warn people travelling back to the islands so they are aware that dengue fever is present, especially since it is seasonal.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/08/cook-islands-reports-first-dengue-death-amid-increase-in-outbreak/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A person has died at Dairy Flat, north of Auckland, after a motorbike crash.

Emergency services were called to Horseshoe Bush Road about 1:30am on Sunday, police said.

The bike was the only vehicle involved, and the rider died at the scene, they said.

The road was closed after the crash, but had since been reopened.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/08/one-dead-in-crash-north-of-auckland/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellington’s Terrace Tunnel will be closing for work overnight this week – from the night of Sunday 8 February through to the morning of Friday 13 February.

The Wellington Transport Alliance regularly closes a tunnel on State Highway 1 for routine maintenance.

First up is the Terrace Tunnel, then Mount Victoria Tunnel on the 16 February, and the Arras Tunnel on Buckle Street on 17 February.

In each case they will be closed from 9pm until 5am.

Work typically carried out during the closures includes cleaning, repairs, replacing lights, clearing drains, keeping emergency systems up to date, maintenance for fire detection and fire suppression systems, and maintenance for ventilation and air quality monitoring systems.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/08/wellington-sh1-tunnel-closures-begin/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A big hospital IT crash in the South Island in mid-January was caused by a third-party hardware failure, Health New Zealand says.

It had earlier said a similar outage later the same month in Auckland and Northland was due to a technical failure at a commercial data centre.

Health NZ’s (HNZ) 10-year digital upgrade plan depends on external data centres doing better than it can

The southern outage on 13 January took out systems doctors and nurses need, forcing them to use paper for 36 hours at hospitals in Dunedin, Invercargill, Lakes and some rural areas. Systems were progressively restored through that period.

It impacted “a range of clinical systems in Te Waipounamu”, HNZ acting chief IT officer Darren Douglass told RNZ.

The outage ran from 3.21am on 13 January until 3.30pm the next day.

“We are working with the vendor and internally reviewing opportunities to speed up the response and restoration,” he said.

A review was underway.

“All major incidents are subject to post incident reviews, which focus on root causes and corrective actions, and commence immediately following an incident once immediate response and restoration activities have been completed.”

It was not clear if that included debriefing staff to check what the impacts on them and patients were.

HNZ was quick to downplay the impact of the four IT outages last month on patients, but unions said their members reported stress and chaos on themselves.

“We take safeguarding the integrity of public information and data very seriously,” Douglass said.

HNZ earlier said all four outages in January were due to technical issues, and three were due to “third-party vendor issues”.

The agency has been turning to external vendors, which include big cloud-computing operators, more and more.

Key IT projects it has promised will cut wait times and boost care for patients have anchor contracts with US Big Tech companies.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/08/southern-hospital-it-outage-caused-by-third-party-hardware-failure-health-nz-says/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Decaying suspension cables have been removed from an historic Manawatū bridge, after one fell into the river below, leaving just two concrete towers standing as reminders of the past.

One of the cables spanning the former Ōpiki toll bridge next to State Highway 56, south of Palmerston North, came down in high winds on New Year’s Eve.

The cable failure was the second in less than two years.

This week, Horizons Regional Council, which now owns the bridge, announced both the bridge’s cables, which were in poor condition, would come down, clearing the path for Manawatū River users and avoiding a costly repair bill.

The removal work finished on Thursday, leaving only the bridge’s concrete pylons remaining.

Horizons central region engineer Paul Arcus said, given the bridge’s importance to the local community and historical value, great care was taken with the removal.

The tension was removed from the cables, before they were cut at each end and then pulled out using heavy machinery.

“We had to create bespoke clamps to hold on to them,” Arcus said. “They’re definitely constructed in a way that wouldn’t be done these days, so we had to get new things created, so we could hold on to them.”

For now, they’d sit in a paddock next to the bridge site, while their future was decided, Arcus said.

Bits of it would likely be given to community groups or other parties that had expressed an interest.

The removal work cost about $70,000, while repair options could have hit about $130,000, without factoring in extra bills, such as for consenting.

“It’s a little bit out of the council’s wheelhouse of what we do as a core activity and we don’t have funding directly related to historic structures.

“I think the council themselves have decided that this is the sensible solution,” Arcus said.

The bridge was built by the Akers family for their flax business in 1918 and the cabling is said to have been secondhand then – sourced from Waihi’s gold mines.

The flax industry collapsed shortly after, but the bridge remained open as a private toll route, until the current state highway bridge opened in 1969.

The suspension bridge’s decking was removed then, but it’s remained as a landmark for commuters for more than 50 years since – albeit one that now looks different.

This week, Clive Akers, who still lives near the bridge, said he was relaxed about the cabling’s removal.

Historic Places Trust Manawatū Horowhenua chairwoman Cindy Lilburn said the trust was saddened to see the cables go from such an iconic structure.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/08/historic-manawatu-bridge-is-no-more-after-decaying-cables-removed/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Bosco the French bulldog, known for ripping it up on his surfboard, returned to the moana in Paihia this Waitangi Day, flying the He Whakaputanga flag before the annual waka celebrations.

Now five years old, Bosco the French bulldog was joined by younger companion Treasure, an 18-month-old French bulldog, who is also learning to ride the waves.

Owner Dylan Bacher said being part of the day was about showing up and supporting the kaupapa.

“Mainly for the youth, mainly just keeping it simple and actually being a part of everything,” he told RNZ. “Seeing the culture and supporting it – keeping that culture real.”

Bosco and Treasure paddled out, as crowds lined the shoreline and kaihoe prepared to launch, with treaty grounds officials telling RNZ about 35,000 people that descended on Waitangi on Friday.

Bacher said the atmosphere on the water was something special.

“Going through with Bosco was amazing, like it always is, and hearing everyone’s supportiveness,” he said.

“Watching the waka come out, that’s just something special to be a part of and actually see from out on the water.”

After coming ashore, the dogs were met with cheers from tamariki and whānau.

“It’s unbelievable how much love these two dogs get,” Bacher said. “The kids especially, we could hear them from the shoreline calling out to us.”

The whānau, known as the ‘Pirate Crew’ or ‘Bosco’s Pirate Life’ on social media, have more than 52,000 followers on TikTok and more than 93,000 likes. Some of their most popular videos of Bosco riding the waves have reached millions of views.

Online, some have jokingly referred to Bosco as ‘Ngāti Kuri’ – a playful nod to the Māori word for dog, and Far North iwi Ngāti Kurī.

“He’s in there supporting everything and little Treasure too,” Bacher said. “She’s learning by watching Bosco and just hopping on the board herself.”

Bacher said he pays close attention to the dogs’ behaviour and only takes them out on the surfboard when they are comfortable.

“You can’t make them do that,” he said. “Bosco just hops on the board himself and now Treasure does too.”

He said the message behind their presence at Waitangi remained the same as in previous years.

“Keep it real, keep supporting each other,” he said. “Waitangi Day is a beautiful day, when everyone is supportive of each other.”

Bacher said coming together under values of aroha (love) and kotahitanga (unity) was especially important for rangatahi.

“The world’s a hard place at the moment and we’ve got to keep making it better for the youth,” he said. “We need to learn to be together, look after the world and respect what we’ve got.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/08/famous-surfer-dog-bosco-makes-a-splash-at-waitangi/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A big government project has begun to improve understanding of seismic risks at schools, starting with the Welllington region.

Seismic risk assessments for buildings generally undergo regular shifts in what is required, key in particular was research into the 2016 Kaikōura quake and, more recently, government policy aimed at lightening the costs on owners of quake strengthening.

A Treasury report suggested two tranches of the new school seismic projects were approved in December by the Cabinet, with each worth more than $100 million and each at the stage of a detailed business case.

The Education Ministry confirmed to RNZ it was “undertaking preliminary work to better understand seismic risk across parts of the school property portfolio”.

“This work is focused on improving information and informing future options, and is being considered in stages,” said chief executive for school property Jerome Sheppard.

The two tranches were on a list of 23 big projects from roads to hospital wards to defence housing that totalled more than $25 billion in forecast spending over the next four years.

The two were categorised as medium-to-high-risk investments.

“We are looking first at Greater Wellington, where seismic risk is generally better understood, and where assessment and planning work is more progressed,” said Sheppard.

Several Wellington schools, such as Wellington Girls and Onslow College, have gone through years of angst and disruption for students over earthquake assessments and upgrade projects.

“This work is at an early stage,” Sheppard said. “Wellington schools continue to operate as normal and are aware of the seismic status of their buildings.

“Any future decisions about next steps would be subject to Cabinet consideration.”

Five months ago, the government introduced a new “risk-based” approach to earthquake strengthening to supercede rules brought in after 2016, which it said would save building owners nationwide more than $8.2b.

In 2022, the Building Research Association and the ministry did structural testing into the seismic capacity of buildings commonly used in schools nationwide. This showed that “the buildings are inherently resilient”.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/08/government-examines-seismic-risks-at-schools-starting-in-wellington/

Source: Radio New Zealand

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/08/george-saunders-animosity-on-social-media-is-not-entirely-genuine/

Source: Radio New Zealand

SH2 is closed in both directions near Kaitoke, north of Wellington, following a three-vehicle crash this afternoon.

Police said they were notified of the crash at about 4pm. It occurred at the intersection of SH2 and Waterworks Road, between Upper Hutt and the Wairarapa.

Emergency services are at the scene, and the road remains blocked while they respond to the incident.

NZTA Waka Kotahi said people travelling between Upper Hutt and the Wairarapa should delay their journeys, as no local road detours are available.

Motorists are being advised to avoid the area if possible and to check the Journey Planner for the latest travel information.

There was no immediate word on injuries or when the road is expected to reopen.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/07/sh2-closed-near-kaitoke-after-three-vehicle-crash/