Tag: New Zealand

New Zealand father on the run almost 4 years with his kids shot dead by police, authorities say

Wellington, New Zealand — A man who evaded authorities with his three children in the remote New Zealand countryside for nearly four years was shot and killed by a police officer Monday, law enforcement said.

One child was with Tom Phillips at the time of the confrontation and the other two children were found in the forest hours after the shootout, in which an officer was critically injured.

The December 2021 disappearance of Phillips and his children – now about 9, 10 and 11 years old – confounded investigators for years as they scoured the densely forested area where they believed the family was hiding. The father and children weren’t believed to ever have traveled far from the isolated North Island rural settlement of Marokopa where they lived, and credible sightings of them were rare.

Phillips hasn’t been formally identified, but authorities believe he was the man killed.

Police officers and area residents stand at a roadblock near where a police shootout occurred near the town of Piopio in New Zealand’s Waikato region on Sept. 8, 2025 in which, authorities said, Tom Phillips, a New Zealand father who spent nearly four years as a fugitive with his children, was killed in a police shootout.

DJ MILLS / AFP via Getty Images

A police officer was shot in the head and critically injured during a confrontation with Phillips after he robbed an agricultural supplies store early Monday morning, New Zealand’s Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Jill Rogers told reporters in the city of Hamilton. The child with Phillips at the time of the robbery was taken into custody.

The officer was undergoing surgery at a hospital. His injuries were survivable, Rogers said, but he was shot “multiple times with a high-powered rifle” and additional surgeries were expected.

The whereabouts of Phillips’ other two children were unknown immediately after the shooting and authorities had serious concerns for them, Rogers said earlier.

About 13 hours after their father was killed, however, Rogers told reporters that the children had been found unaccompanied at a remote campsite in a rugged forest. The child taken into custody Monday had cooperated with the authorities, enabling them to narrow the search area, she said.

The farm supplies store targeted Monday was in a small town in the same sprawling farming region of Waikato, south of Auckland, as the settlement of about 40 people the family had vanished from.

Members of the media stand on the side of a road where a police shootout occurred near the town of Piopio in New Zealand’s Waikato region on Sept. 8, 2025. Authorities said Tom Phillips, a New Zealand father who spent nearly four years as a fugitive with his three children, was killed in the shootout.

DJ MILLS / AFP via Getty Images

Tom Phillips saga captivated New Zealand

The case has fascinated New Zealanders and the authorities made regular unsuccessful appeals for information.

Sightings of Phillips were limited to surveillance footage that showed him allegedly committing crimes in the area. He was wanted for an armed bank robbery in May 2023, accompanied by one of his children, in which he reportedly shot at a member of the public.

Phillips didn’t have legal custody rights for his children, Detective Senior Sgt. Andrew Saunders told reporters in 2024. When Phillips and the children vanished, police said was over a custody battle. Authorities have said the children hadn’t had access to formal education or health care since their disappearance.

Law enforcement always believed that Phillips help concealing his family, and some residents of the isolated rural area expressed support for him. A reward of 80,000 New Zealand dollars ($47,000), large by New Zealand standards, was offered for information about the family’s whereabouts last June but was never paid.

December 2021 wasn’t the first time Phillips prompted national news headlines after disappearing with his children. The family went missing that September, launching a three-week land and sea search after Phillips’ truck was found abandoned on a wild beach near where he lived.

Authorities eventually ended the search, concluding the family might have died, before Phillips and the children emerged from dense forest where he said they had been camping. He was charged with wasting police resources and was due to appear in court in January 2022, but weeks before the scheduled date, he and the children vanished again.

Police didn’t immediately launch a search because Phillips, who is experienced in the outdoors, had told family he was taking the children on another trip. He never returned.

The search intensified again after several sightings of Phillips in 2023 in the same region where he had vanished.

Phillips and his children were spotted in October 2024 when a group of teenage pig hunters saw them trekking through the bush and filmed the encounter on their phones.

He was also seen on surveillance video last month as he robbed a grocery store in the night, accompanied by one of his children.

The children’s mother issued a statement to Radio New Zealand on Monday in which she said she was “deeply relieved” that the “ordeal” for her children had ended.

“They have been dearly missed every day for nearly four years, and we are looking forward to welcoming them home with love and care,” said the woman, who has been identified in New Zealand news outlets only by her first name, Cat.

Phillips’ family had previously appealed to Phillips to turn himself in and return the children.

“There’s a lot of love and there’s a lot of support, and we’re ready to help you walk through what you need to walk through,” his sister, Rozzi Phillips, told New Zealand news site Stuff in an exclusive interview last month.

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September 8, 2025
New Zealand airport puts three-minute limit on goodbye hugs

Emotional farewells are a common sight at airports, but travelers leaving the New Zealand city of Dunedin will have to be quick. A new three-minute time limit on goodbye hugs in the airport’s drop-off area is intended to prevent lingering cuddles from causing traffic jams.“Max hug time three minutes,” warn signs outside the terminal, adding that those seeking “fonder farewells” should head to the airport’s parking lot instead.Video above: This trick could save up to $500 on your next flightThe cuddle cap was imposed in September to “keep things moving smoothly” in the redesigned passenger drop-off area outside the airport, CEO Dan De Bono told The Associated Press on Tuesday. It was the airport’s way of reminding people that the zone was for “quick farewells” only.The signs had polarized social media users, De Bono said.“We were accused of breaching basic human rights and how dare we limit how long someone can have a hug for,” he said, adding that others had welcomed the change.The signs were meant as an alternative to those at other airports warning of wheel clamping or fines for drivers parked in drop-off areas. Some in Britain have imposed fees for all drop-offs — however brief.Dunedin’s airport — a modest terminal serving a city of 135,000 people on New Zealand’s South Island — preferred a “quirky” approach, De Bono said.Three minutes was “plenty of time to pull up, say farewell to your loved ones and move on,” he said. “The time limit is really a nicer way of saying, you know, get on with it.”A 20-second hug is long enough to release the wellbeing-boosting hormones oxytocin and serotonin, De Bono said. Anything longer was “really awkward.”But passengers need not worry unduly about enforcement. “We do not have hug police,” De Bono said.Visitors might, however, be asked to move their lingering embraces to the parking lot, where they can cuddle free of charge for up to 15 minutes.

Emotional farewells are a common sight at airports, but travelers leaving the New Zealand city of Dunedin will have to be quick. A new three-minute time limit on goodbye hugs in the airport’s drop-off area is intended to prevent lingering cuddles from causing traffic jams.

“Max hug time three minutes,” warn signs outside the terminal, adding that those seeking “fonder farewells” should head to the airport’s parking lot instead.

Video above: This trick could save up to $500 on your next flight

The cuddle cap was imposed in September to “keep things moving smoothly” in the redesigned passenger drop-off area outside the airport, CEO Dan De Bono told The Associated Press on Tuesday. It was the airport’s way of reminding people that the zone was for “quick farewells” only.

The signs had polarized social media users, De Bono said.

“We were accused of breaching basic human rights and how dare we limit how long someone can have a hug for,” he said, adding that others had welcomed the change.

The signs were meant as an alternative to those at other airports warning of wheel clamping or fines for drivers parked in drop-off areas. Some in Britain have imposed fees for all drop-offs — however brief.

Dunedin’s airport — a modest terminal serving a city of 135,000 people on New Zealand’s South Island — preferred a “quirky” approach, De Bono said.

Three minutes was “plenty of time to pull up, say farewell to your loved ones and move on,” he said. “The time limit is really a nicer way of saying, you know, get on with it.”

A 20-second hug is long enough to release the wellbeing-boosting hormones oxytocin and serotonin, De Bono said. Anything longer was “really awkward.”

But passengers need not worry unduly about enforcement. “We do not have hug police,” De Bono said.

Visitors might, however, be asked to move their lingering embraces to the parking lot, where they can cuddle free of charge for up to 15 minutes.

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October 22, 2024
A New Zealand Airport Has Imposed a Three-Minute Hug Limit

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Emotional farewells are a common sight at airports, but travelers leaving the New Zealand city of Dunedin will have to be quick. A new three-minute time limit on goodbye hugs in the airport’s drop-off area is intended to prevent lingering cuddles from causing traffic jams.

“Max hug time three minutes,” warn signs outside the terminal, adding that those seeking “fonder farewells” should head to the airport’s parking lot instead.

The cuddle cap was imposed in September to “keep things moving smoothly” in the redesigned passenger drop-off area outside the airport, CEO Dan De Bono told The Associated Press on Tuesday. It was the airport’s way of reminding people that the zone was for “quick farewells” only.

The signs had polarized social media users, De Bono said.

“We were accused of breaching basic human rights and how dare we limit how long someone can have a hug for,” he said, adding that others had welcomed the change.

The signs were meant as an alternative to those at other airports warning of wheel clamping or fines for drivers parked in drop-off areas. Some in Britain have imposed fees for all drop-offs — however brief.

Dunedin’s airport — a modest terminal serving a city of 135,000 people on New Zealand’s South Island — preferred a “quirky” approach, De Bono said.

Three minutes was “plenty of time to pull up, say farewell to your loved ones and move on,” he said. “The time limit is really a nicer way of saying, you know, get on with it.”

A 20-second hug is long enough to release the wellbeing-boosting hormones oxytocin and serotonin, De Bono said. Anything longer was “really awkward.”

But passengers need not worry unduly about enforcement. “We do not have hug police,” De Bono said.

Visitors might, however, be asked to move their lingering embraces to the parking lot, where they can cuddle free of charge for up to 15 minutes.

Charlotte Graham-McLay / AP

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October 22, 2024
Women’s T20 World Cup Leaders

223 Laura Wolvaardt, South Africa (6 innings)
187 Tazmin Brits, South Africa (6)

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October 21, 2024
Unbelievable facts

A cat in New Zealand managed to trick two women into caring for him. Neither woman realized they…

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September 18, 2024
Unbelievable facts

The Australian Constitution allows New Zealand to join as a state at any time, an option that has…

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September 11, 2024
First day called off in Afghanistan-New Zealand cricket test due to wet outfield

GREATER NOIDA, India (AP) — A wet outfield at the Greater Noida Sports Complex meant that day one of the solitary Afghanistan-New Zealand cricket test was abandoned without a ball being bowled on Monday.

No toss took place at the venue, which is situated on the outskirts of Delhi, India’s capital. The region has received incessant rainfall over the past week.

The umpires, Kumar Dharmasena of Sri Lanka and Sharfuddoula Saikat of Bangladesh, inspected the conditions twice in the first session and then once each in the remaining two sessions.

Finally, at 4.30pm local time, they took the decision to call off play.

Play will now begin 30 minutes early on each of the remaining four days to make up for lost time.

This is Afghanistan’s third test of 2024, following one-off matches against Ireland and Sri Lanka. Star wrist spinner Rashid Khan is unavailable following back surgery.

New Zealand is kicking off a three-month subcontinental tour that will also involve series against Sri Lanka and India.

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Squads:

Afghanistan (from): Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Riaz Hassan, Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Ikram Alikhil, Bahir Shah, Shahidullah Kamal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Qais Ahmad, Zahir Khan, Khalil Ahmed, Zia-ur-Rehman, Afsar Zazai, Nijat Masood, Shamsurrahman, Abdul Malik

New Zealand (from): Devon Conway, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Will Young, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel, Tim Southee (captain), Matt Henry, Tom Blundell, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, William O’Rourke

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

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September 9, 2024
RBC Capital Markets: Market pricing of RBA rate cuts “totally misplaced”

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Alvin Tan, Head of Asia FX Strategy at RBC Capital Markets cites elevated inflation rates and slowing growth in Australia as proof that the easing path of the RBA will be more gradual, with rate cuts starting next year. Additionally, he examines the BOJ’s policy normalization path, saying that a rate hike would help to strengthen the yen in the long-term, but it would not be a “smooth ride” higher.

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September 4, 2024
Kim Dotcom loses 12-year fight to halt deportation from New Zealand to face US copyright case

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Kim Dotcom, founder of the once wildly popular file-sharing website Megaupload, lost a 12-year fight this week to halt his deportation from New Zealand to the U.S. on charges of copyright infringement, money laundering and racketeering.

New Zealand’s Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith divulged Friday that he had decided Dotcom should be surrendered to the U.S. to face trial, capping — for now — a drawn-out legal fight. A date for the extradition was not set, and Goldsmith said Dotcom would be allowed “a short period of time to consider and take advice” on the decision.

“Don’t worry I have a plan,” Dotcom posted on X this week. He did not elaborate, although a member of his legal team, Ira Rothken, wrote on the site that a bid for a judicial review — in which a New Zealand judge would be asked to evaluate Goldsmith’s decision — was being prepared.

The saga stretches to the 2012 arrest of Dotcom in a dramatic raid on his Auckland mansion, along with other company officers. Prosecutors said Megaupload raked in at least $175 million — mainly from people who used the site to illegally download songs, television shows and movies — before the FBI shut it down earlier that year.

Lawyers for the Finnish-German millionaire and the others arrested had argued that it was the users of the site, founded in 2005, who chose to pirate material, not its founders. But prosecutors argued the men were the architects of a vast criminal enterprise, with the Department of Justice describing it as the largest criminal copyright case in U.S. history.

The men fought the order for years — lambasting the investigation and arrests — but in 2021 New Zealand’s Supreme Court ruled that Dotcom and two other men could be extradited. It remained up to the country’s Justice Minister to decide if the extradition should proceed.

Three of Goldsmith’s predecessors did not announce a decision. Goldsmith was appointed justice minister in November after New Zealand’s government changed in an election.

“I have received extensive advice from the Ministry of Justice on this matter” and considered all information carefully, Goldsmith said in his statement.

“I love New Zealand. I’m not leaving,” German-born Dotcom wrote on X Thursday. He did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

Two of his former business partners, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk, pleaded guilty to charges against them in a New Zealand court in June 2023 and were sentenced to two and a half years in jail. In exchange, U.S. efforts to extradite them were dropped.

Prosecutors had earlier abandoned their extradition bid against a fourth officer of the company, Finn Batato, who was arrested in New Zealand. Batato returned to Germany where he died from cancer in 2022.

In 2015, Megaupload computer programmer Andrus Nomm, of Estonia, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit felony copyright infringement and was sentenced to one year and one day in U.S. federal prison.

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August 16, 2024
Number of potentially lethal meth candies unknowingly shared by New Zealand food bank reaches 65

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Police in New Zealand have so far accounted for 41 chunks of methamphetamine enclosed in candy wrappers — each a potentially lethal amount of the drug — that were unknowingly distributed by an Auckland food bank.

The authorities were in the process of collecting two dozen more of the contaminated sweets from members of the public late Friday, police said in a statement, bringing the total number of candies accidentally shared in food parcels to at least 65. It was not known how many more were circulating, Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said.

No one has been seriously harmed by the sweets.

An unknown person donated the candies — which were in wrappers from the Malaysian confectionery brand Rinda and looked identical to boiled sweets — to the Auckland City Mission sometime in the past six weeks, the charity said Wednesday. A day earlier, staff frantically began tracking down the recipients of up to 400 food parcels after a client reported a “funny-tasting” sweet and drug testing revealed the candies were solid methamphetamine.

Three people were treated in hospitals after trying the candies but were quickly discharged. The “revolting” taste led most who tried the sweets to immediately spit them out, City Missioner Helen Robinson said.

The amount of methamphetamine in each candy was up to 300 times the dose someone would usually take and could be lethal, according to the New Zealand Drug Foundation, the drug checking and policy organization that first tested the candies.

Ben Birks Ang, a foundation spokesperson, said at a news conference on Wednesday that disguising drugs as innocuous goods is a common cross-border smuggling technique and more of the candies might have been distributed throughout New Zealand.

Rinda Food Industries said its factory in Malaysia was inspected on Thursday by the Malaysian Ministry of Health and samples were collected for laboratory testing.

“We would like to clarify that Rinda Food Industries does not directly export goods into New Zealand,” it said in a statement.

New Zealand authorities still do not know how many contaminated candies were distributed by the Auckland City Mission, or whether the sweets might show up elsewhere, Baldwin said. There are about 40 Rinda pineapple candies in each retail-sized bag, suggesting at least two bags were donated to the charity.

The contaminated sweets had a street value of 1,000 New Zealand dollars ($608) per candy, which suggests the donation was accidental rather than a deliberate attack, Birks Ang said Wednesday. The authorities said they were investigating whether the episode was an importation scheme gone awry — as well as reports that someone had attempted to sell one of the sweets on Facebook.

The charity’s food bank accepts only donations of commercially produced food in sealed packaging, Robinson said. The pineapple candies, stamped with Rinda’s label, “appeared as such when they were donated,” she added.

Rinda said in a statement Wednesday that the company would cooperate with authorities.

“We want to make it clear that Rinda Food Industries does not use or condone the use of any illegal drugs in our products,” General Manager Steven Teh said.

Methamphetamine is a powerful, highly addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system. It takes the form of a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol.

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August 16, 2024
Kim Dotcom, roguish face of 2010s online piracy, will finally be extradited to the US

Kim Dotcom, the Megaupload founder and hard-partying face of early 2010s online piracy, is finally headed to the US. Reuters reports that New Zealand’s justice minister signed an extradition order on Thursday to end the entrepreneur’s nearly 13-year legal battle, paving the way for the German-born Dotcom to face charges from the US government.

“I considered all of the information carefully, and have decided that Mr Dotcom should be surrendered to the U.S. to face trial,” Goldsmith said in a statement. The decision came more than six years after a New Zealand court ruled Dotcom could be extradited to the US, paving the way for appeals that culminated in today’s decision.

YouTube / Kim Dotcom

Once the 13th most visited site online, the file-hosting site Megaupload was a hotbed for pirated content. In early 2012, American authorities charged Dotcom and six others with racketeering, copyright infringement, money laundering and copyright distribution. The US indictment claimed Megaupload cost copyright holders $500 million in damages while making $175 million from ads and premium subscriptions.

The raid on Dotcom’s Auckland mansion was dramatic fare among 2012’s relatively tame headlines. The New York Times reported at the time that when he saw the police, Dotcom barricaded himself inside, activating several electronic locks and waited in a safe room. When officers cut their way inside, they saw Dotcom standing near “a firearm that they said looked like a sawed-off shotgun.”

YouTube / Kim Dotcom

Dotcom (born Kim Schmitz) had several brushes with the law before that. He at least claimed to have spent three months in a Munich jail in 1994 for “breaking into Pentagon computers and observing real-time satellite photos of Saddam Hussein’s palaces.” Soon after, he received a suspended two-year sentence for a scam involving stolen phone card numbers.

In 2001, he was accused in the largest insider-trading case in German history. He reportedly fled Germany to escape those charges, was captured in Thailand, extradited (this week isn’t his first go-round) and convicted in 2002. At some point after that, he moved to New Zealand, holing up in a luxurious mansion.

You can see that mansion — and a taste of his larger-than-life persona — in his music video “Good Life.”

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith signed the extradition order on Thursday and followed standard practice in giving Dotcom “a short period of time to consider and take advice” on his decision.

Dotcom, never one to mince words, posted a message on X that “the obedient US colony in the South Pacific just decided to extradite me for what users uploaded to Megaupload.”

Will Shanklin

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August 15, 2024
Sicilians deal so well with drought that tourists don’t notice. A record dry year could alter that

AGRIGENTO, Italy (AP) — Lakes are dry and fields are scorched by heat in Sicily, but water is still gushing copiously for tourists.

After an almost totally rain-free year on the Italian island, fountains inside Agrigento’s famous archaeological park are still flowing, and pools in rows of hotels are full.

Like many Mediterranean islands, people in Sicily are used to long spells without rain, but human-caused climate change has made weather more erratic, and droughts can be longer and more frequent. Islanders are surviving as they have for decades – they store as much as they can in cisterns and use tankers to deliver water – and do it so well visitors that don’t feel the difference. But this year, the drought has gotten so bad that it’s putting residents at even greater risk, even as water still flows to hotels and tourist sites.

Fanaco Lake that provides water to a vast part of souther Sicily, including the city of Agrigento, shows the extremely low level of it’s water after a winter with very scarse precipitations, in Castronovo di Sicilia, central Sicily, Italy, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Fanaco Lake that provides water to a vast part of souther Sicily, including the city of Agrigento, shows the extremely low level of it’s water after a winter with very scarse precipitations, in Castronovo di Sicilia, central Sicily, Italy, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Resilience in a dry year

The drought is punishing. The local water basin authority has tightly rationed water for almost a million residents – they are allowed as little as two to four hours a week — to get through the summer. And on Friday, the first Italian navy tanker ship arrived to supply 12 million liters (3.2 million gallons) of water to the most affected residents.

But Agrigento residents are among the most drought-resilient in Italy, and even with rationing, they still run their businesses, hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, and households without missing a shower, neglecting their garden or closing the swimming pool.

“Nobody can cope with water shortage better than southern Sicilians,” said Salvatore Cocina, head of the local civil protection, who has the hard task of coordinating what little water is left on the island.

Visitors refresh at a drinking fountain in the Valley of the Temples archeological park, in Agrigento, southern Sicily, Italy, Thursday, July 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Visitors admire the ancient Greek Concordia temple, in the Valley of the Temples archeological park, in Agrigento, southern Sicily, Italy, Thursday, July 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Water scarcity is not new as southern Sicily’s terrain does not hold much water and the aqueducts are leaking. The region is also prone to dry spells, particularly in the summer.

Most residents own a private cistern that can hold at least a thousand liters (264 gallons) of water. The city’s rooftops are dotted with large plastic tanks, and just as many are underground in gardens and basements.

Despite the water emergency, tourists continue to flock to the beautiful beaches of southern Sicily and line up to admire the vestiges of ancient Greek colonies.

Antonino Contino, left, and his wife Antonella Croce fill jerry cans with water for daily use at Agrigento’s only public fountain, after they faced difficulties having water delivered by the tankers they were relying on, Southern Sicily, Italy, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

“I did not have any problem with water,” said New Zealand tourist Iain Topp, as he sweated under the blazing sun during a visit to the 2,500-year-old temple of Concord. But he added that he was “told to conserve water because there could be a shortage.”

Gianluca, an Italian tourist from Lodi who didn’t give his last name, said “there are no problems with drought” in his experience and “at my hotel, they told me they have their own reserves, their cisterns.”

The Valley of Temples archaeological site, which its director said drew in over a million visitors last year, has also been prioritized, so doesn’t suffer from water scarcity.

“We have water 24/7,” explained director Roberto Sciarratta. “Our archaeologists are at work, the valley is open also at night with theater plays. We have no problems with water supplies.”

Water reserve cisterns are seen on the roof of a building backdropped by the Ancient Greek Concordia temple in Agrigento, southern Sicily, Italy, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The Ancient Greek Hera Lacinia temple, known as the Temple of Juno, is backdropped by the nearby city of Agrigento, southern Sicily, Italy, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Meanwhile, water-scarce residents’ tactics are working reasonably well for now, but they have been facing exceptionally difficult circumstances.

2024 has been the worst year for rainfall in more than 20 years according to the civil protection regional department. Lake Fanaco, which supplies water to Agrigento province, used to collect up to 18 million cubic meters of water during an average rainy season, which normally runs from September to April. But by April the lake’s water was already below 2 million cubic meters and is now almost completely dry.

In May, the national government declared a state of emergency for drought and allocated 20 million euros ($21.7 million) to buy water tankers and dig new wells.

And temperatures in southern Sicily are currently 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) warmer than the 1991-2020 average, according to the Climate Shift Index, meaning water is quick to evaporate.

“If it does not rain in September, we will have to start tapping critical reserves, and wells and aquifers will also go below critical levels, not just our lakes,” said Cocina.

President of the Agrigento Federalberghi, hotel owners association, Francesco Picarella opens the lid of the water reserve that supplies his Hotel Del Viale, in Agrigento, in the southern Sicily, Italy, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Solutions stretched thin

Salvatore Di Maria’s phone rarely stops ringing. He is a driver and owner of one of the main water tanker fleets in the area.

On a recent hot day, Di Maria picked up his phone as he filled his gleaming blue tanker at a public water station to yet another customer.

“I need 12,000 liters (3,170 gallons) of water,” said the voice on the other end, calling from a tourist resort.

“There is a waiting list of 10 to 15 days,” Di Maria answered.

A worker refills a water tanker at the Aica, Azienda Idrica Comuni Agrigentini, Agrigento municipalities water company, before going to supply a holiday resort in the nearby town of Porto Empedocle, in southern Sicily, Italy, Thursday, July 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Everyone asks him for water. Everyone wants to make sure they will not run out of water. Everyone wants to have full cisterns. And tankers are the best way to deliver the precious water directly to residents without leaks.

Dozens of tanker drivers speed along the winding roads delivering water to priority areas as determined by the local water company, AICA. Higher priority groups are sick or elderly people, hospitals, and several key businesses, such as hotels.

“The drought emergency was a wakeup call,” explained Settimio Cantone, president of AICA. “Our aqueduct leaks 50 to 60 percent of its water.”

“We are now digging new wells, fixing the entire waterworks and reactivating a desalination plant with the emergency funds. This will make our province more independent,” he said.

“Sicily is so vulnerable due to leaky pipes and obsolete and undersized infrastructures. It is not just climate,” said Giulio Boccaletti, scientific director of Euro-Mediterranean center on climate change.

In between visits from water tankers, several Agrigento residents make frequent trips to the only public fountain left open in town to fill their jerrycans on the way home.

Nuccio Navarra is one of those residents, filling up jerrycans from the Bonamorone fountain two or three times a day. “In my house we receive water every 15 days and the pressure is very low, and those who live on the upper floors cannot fill the cisterns,” he said.

Climate scientist Boccaletti fears for the future, although he noted that fixing water infrastructure and investing to adapt agriculture and engineering as AICA hopes to do could offset some concerns.

Tourists enjoy the swimming pool of the “L’Ancora” holiday resort in the sea town of Porto Empedocle, in southern Sicily, Italy, Thursday, July 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Tourists sit on the beach of the sea town of Porto Empedocle, in southern Sicily, Italy, Thursday, July 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The Mediterranean basin “will experience higher temperatures, less rainfall and continued sea level rise during the coming decades,” according to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The group dubbed the region a “climate change hotspot” due to the vulnerability of human society and ecosystems.

“What used to be extraordinary is the new normal,” said Boccaletti.

Tourists and residents hang out in a central street of Agrigento, southern Sicily, Italy, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

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Leila El Zabri contributed from Rome.

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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August 6, 2024
Who is Ilona Maher? Here’s what to know about the US women’s rugby sevens Olympian and TikTok star

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — Rugby sevens star Ilona Maher has been a huge hit on social media as the U.S. women’s team has progressed to the semifinals at the Paris Olympics.

She’s been busy making funny TikTok and Instagram reels and also empowering posts about women and sports. She’s also producing some big hits on opponents at Stade de France as a regular starter for the U.S. women’s rugby sevens team.

Her video recruiting recently retired NFL center Jason Kelce as a super fan for the No. 4-ranked U.S. team after their first two games on Monday magnified the attention.

The 27-year-old Maher isn’t new to this. Her hilarious takes on village life in the pandemic-era Tokyo Olympics three years ago made her one of the breakout stars of those Games.

How did Maher become famous on TikTok?

Spectators were barred from Olympic venues in Tokyo, and there’s always strict rules anyway about who is allowed into the athletes’ village. Those weren’t barriers for Maher. With fans locked out under harsh social-distancing rules, her social media followers got a humorous inside look at the Games — starting with the bedding.

Maher and her rugby sevens teammates tested out the cardboard beds in a TikTok video that gained millions of views, showing them performing CPR on the bed, doing yoga and even throwing a mock tantrum.

What is Maher doing during the Paris Olympics?

Another Olympic village, more cardboard beds.

“Hey everyone, we’re back testing out the cardboard beds. My bed is going to break, yes, but I’m going to do it anyway,” Maher says by way of introduction to the video that showed her and some of her teammates wrestling on the beds, doing gymnastics moves and Irish jigs, among other things. Nothing to lose sleep over.

Her U.S. teammates, including Nicole Heavirland, Naya Tapper and Sammy Sullivan, often make it into Maher’s posts. Then there’s the people she runs across at the Olympics — like Snoop Dogg (“He’s an insanely cool dude”) and U.S. tennis star Coco Gauff (the topic turned to pickleball). To the guy who asked if she was an Olympian and then wrongly guessed which sport: “All 5’10” of me, 200 pounds — a gymnast. Wrong!”

What is #beastbeautybrains?

Maher uses a #beastbeautybrains hashtag with the aim of spreading body image positivity and bringing more attention to rugby and women’s sports in general.

From the U.S.-branded bikini, to the rugby uniform to the stylish formal Ralph Lauren clothes, Maher wears them all with pride and seemingly equal comfort in a vast range of photos and reels of her Olympic wardrobe.

She’s strong — her stiff-arm shoving away attempted tackles against Japan and France were plenty evidence of that.

She’s fast — running almost the length of the field to score against Japan showed that.

She’s smart — as well as gaining a nursing degree, following in the footsteps of her mom, she worked to graduate from rugby enthusiast to professional athlete. Next step is to make its pay better.

She summed it up in a quick post to her million-plus Instagram followers before the opening ceremony on Friday.

“As the Olympics officially start, I want you all to take a look at all the different body types on display. All body types matter. All body types are worthy from the smallest gymnast to the tallest volleyball player, from a rugby player to a shot-putter and a sprinter. All bodies are beautiful and can do amazing things. So truly see yourself in these athletes and know you can do it, too.”

How is the US women’s rugby sevens team doing in Paris?

The U.S. advanced to a semifinal match against defending champion New Zealand with a 17-7 quarterfinal win over Britain, avenging a loss to the British at the same stage in Tokyo three years ago.

Maher played an instrumental role in the first try, using her big fend to brush off one tackler, draw in a defender and then release Tapper into the clear on the left wing to score.

She made another barging, long-range run just before halftime to ensure the U.S. kept momentum.

Sammy Sullivan and Kristi Kirshe scored second-half tries to seal the win.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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July 29, 2024
Buses carrying Chinese tourists veer off New Zealand road in 2 crashes at the same spot. 15 hurt

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Two buses carrying Chinese tourists veered off the same stretch of road in perilous weather conditions on New Zealand’s South Island on Thursday, with 15 passengers taken to hospital, two of them seriously hurt.

The buses were traveling in the same direction on a stretch of highway popular with tourists when they slid from the road and overturned, at about the same time and only 100 meters (109 yards) apart, New Zealand’s police said in an emailed statement. Temperatures in the area were freezing and others driving on the highway reported heavy fog and black ice on the road at the time.

Their cause was not known, New Zealand officials said. A spokesperson would not confirm the nationality of those on board but the Chinese consulate in Christchurch told The Associated Press by email that the buses were carrying Chinese tourists.

The local ambulance service said 15 people were taken to hospital, two by helicopter in a serious condition. Eight of those hospitalized were moderately hurt and five had minor injuries. Officials did not say how many others were treated at the scene or how many people were on the buses.

No other vehicles were involved in the crashes. The road remained closed several hours later, with no alternate routes available.

Grace Duggin, an Australian tourist, was traveling in a car behind one of the buses and saw it veer off the road, rolling multiple times before landing in a field. Conditions before the crash were made treacherous by slippery black ice, she said, which regularly closes the South Island’s tourist highways in winter.

One man pulled bloodied passengers out through a hatch in the roof of the bus, Duggin said.

“It was mostly the little kids who had severe head lacerations,” she said. “All the windows were completely smashed out on both sides and the windscreen, so obviously there’s been a lot of glass injuries.”

Duggin said the other bus appeared to have veered off the road at the same time, a short distance further along the highway on the same side of the road.

Neither bus appeared to have been involved in the other’s crash, she said. The two vehicles appeared identical, though no logo or company name was visible on either.

The country’s transport agency had earlier issued a warning about wintry conditions on the road, State Highway 8. The stretch where Thursday’s crash happened — between the township of Lake Tekapo and the town of Twizel — had been closed days earlier after another crash on a snowy, icy morning.

Like many of the South Island’s tourist highways, the road traverses the pristine mountain and lakefront vistas that draw visitors to New Zealand — but can be dangerous in the Southern Hemisphere winter, especially to travelers unused to winding, slippery roads. Tourists and locals have died on the same stretch before; in April, four were killed — including two Malaysian students studying in New Zealand — in a three-car crash.

In 2019, an American tourist pleaded guilty to driving charges after he drifted onto the wrong side of the road, hitting another car and killing a man who was visiting from Australia.

Elsewhere in the country, tourist buses have plunged from New Zealand’s highways — which outside of the main cities are often winding, narrow or mountainous — in deadly crashes before. In one of the worst episodes, a bus flipped in rainy conditions north of Rotorua, on the North Island, in 2019 killing five tourists from China.

In 2008, eight tourists and their driver were killed when their bus hit a logging truck.

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Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu contributed reporting from Beijing.

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July 27, 2024
New Zealand finance minister: Interest rates aren’t going down until inflation ‘stickiness’ is reduced

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Nicola Willis, finance minister of New Zealand, discusses the country’s inflation forecast and what the government and central bank are doing to get inflation back into the target range.

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April 18, 2024
2024 World Happiness Rankings: USA Falls Out of Top 20, Youngest Hit Hardest
What are the top 20 happiest countries in the world? How do mental health and well-being trends look in the United States and Canada? The 2024 World Happiness Report is in!

The World Happiness Report is a research initiative to compare happiness levels between different countries.

The project first launched in 2012, surveying more than 350,000 people in 95 countries asking them to rate their happiness on a 10-point scale.

Each year they release a new report and the 2024 full report was just published a few weeks ago. There are some interesting findings in it that are worth highlighting.

First let’s look at the happiness rankings by country.

Top 20 Happiest Countries

Here are the top 20 happiest countries in 2024 according to the report.

The scores are on a scale of 1-10. Each participant was asked to think of a ladder, with the best possible life for them being a “10” and the worst possible life being a “0.” They were then asked to rate their current lives. The final rankings are the average score for each country.

(By the way, this simple test for measuring subjective well-being is known as the “Cantril Ladder,” it’s a common tool used in public polling especially the Gallup World Poll.)

The results:
The top 10 countries have remained stable over the years. As of March 2024, Finland has been ranked the happiest country in the world seven times in a row.

There was more movement in the top 20 rankings. Most notably, this is the first year that the United States dropped out of the top 20 (from rank 15 to 23 – an 8 place drop).

More alarming are the age gaps in happiness reports. In both the U.S. and Canada, those above the age of 60 report significantly higher rates of happiness than those below 30.

Above age 60, the U.S. ranks 10 overall on the world happiness rankings. Below age 30, the U.S. falls to rank 62, just beating out Peru, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Could this be a sign of a continuing downward trend in places like the U.S. and Canada?

Potential Factors Behind Life Evaluation

How to measure happiness is always a controversial topic.

To this day, psychologists and social scientists don’t really have a reliable way to determine happiness besides simply asking someone, “How happy are you?”

However, the World Happiness Report attempts to take the above findings and break them down into six main factors that contribute to overall life evaluation on a societal level.

These factors don’t influence the final rankings, they are just a way to make sense of the results:
- GDP per capita – A general measure of a country’s overall wealth.
- Life expectancy – A general measure of a country’s overall health.
- Generosity – The level of a country’s trust and kindness through charity and volunteering.
- Social support – The level of a country’s social cohesion and community.
- Freedom – The level of a country’s freedom to live life as a person sees fit.
- Corruption – A general measure of government competence and political accountability.
Each factor helps explain the differences in overall happiness between countries, with some countries performing better in certain areas over others.

One benefit of this model is that it looks beyond GDP (or “Gross Domestic Product”) which has long been the overall benchmark for comparing countries in the social sciences. The U.S. has the highest GDP in the world and frequently ranks in the top 10 per capita, but the happiness rankings show there is more to the picture.

Conclusion

The World Happiness Report is a good guideline for comparing happiness and well-being between different countries. How does your country rank? It will be interesting to see how these rankings change over the next few years, do you have any predictions?

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Steven Handel

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April 4, 2024
New Zealand to Ban Disposable Vapes

After scrapping a plan several months ago to ban people born after 2008 from buying tobacco cigarettes, the New Zealand government on Wednesday announced a total ban on single-use e-cigarettes—also known as disposable vapes—and said it will increase the fines on retailers selling cigarettes and vapes to those under 18, in the country’s latest approach to discourage smoking among youth.

“The rapid rise in youth vaping has been a real concern for parents, teachers, and health professionals,” Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said when announcing the changes to New Zealand’s Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act. She added that reusable vapes would remain available for adults as they are “a key smoking cessation device” but that too many teenagers use disposable vapes because “they’re cheap and remain too easy to get.”

Costello said the New Zealand government is “committed to tackling youth vaping and to continue to drive down smoking rates to achieve the Smokefree goal of less than 5% of the population smoking daily by 2025.” As of last year, she said, 6.8% of the population smoked daily.

Under the new rules, fines for retailers caught selling regulated products like vapes and cigarettes to minors would be increased from NZ$10,000 (about $6,000) to NZ$100,000 ($60,000). Costello said the New Zealand Cabinet also reconfirmed a range of additional smoking-related regulations set to take effect on March 21, including “a ban on vaping products with images of cartoons or toys on the packaging, and limiting flavor names to generic descriptions.” Meanwhile, reusable vape products will have until Oct. 1 of this year to include removable batteries and child-proofing mechanisms.

New Zealand is the latest country to ban disposable vapes after the U.K. announced a similar measure in January. And New Zealand’s neighbor Australia has banned the importation of disposable vapes since Jan. 1 amid concerns over widespread teenage use. As of December last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said 34 countries had banned e-cigarettes, while 74 countries had no vape regulations in place.

Not all in New Zealand are on board with the country’s new ban, however. A spokesperson for right-wing pressure group New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union warned that banning disposable vapes outright will have a number of adverse effects. “We welcome the proposed changes in relation to harsher penalties and enforcement for those illegally selling vaping products to minors but extending this crackdown to a ban on disposable vapes will simply drive people back towards smoking and encourage a blackmarket of unregulated vaping products as seen in Australia,” Connor Molloy said in a statement posted on X. “This ban will simply [make] it harder and more expensive to quit smoking, instead encouraging people to remain or revert to smoking, or to consume black market vaping products where the risks are completely unknown.”

The WHO has argued that vapes are “not shown to be effective for quitting tobacco use at the population level” and urged governments worldwide to ban their sale to all ages or implement measures that would dissuade the public, particularly children, from using them.

Chad de Guzman

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March 19, 2024
Australian Endometriosis Patients Find Relief Through MMJ Despite Cost Barriers | High Times

Using cannabis for pain relief is nothing new. Across the U.S., most states include chronic pain as a qualifying condition for medical cannabis.

Looking broader, individuals around the globe are already embracing cannabis for these pain-relieving qualities alongside the additional benefits it may offer. While we’re still learning exactly how cannabis can work to treat symptoms and provide relief for specific conditions, many are taking matters into their own hands with promising results — and these trends could very well help to shape further research and policy.

A recent survey published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology took a closer look at symptom management pertaining to cannabis and endometriosis, finding that patients often turn to cannabis to alleviate their symptoms despite ongoing barriers to access.

Cannabis Use Among Endometriosis Patients

Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus, generally resulting in severe pelvic pain and inflammation. The tissue acts in the same way as the lining inside the uterus, thickening, breaking down and bleeding with each menstrual cycle. Endometriosis involving the ovaries can also result in cysts, causing surrounding tissue irritation and formation of scar tissue.

Endometriosis can start at the time of a person’s first menstrual period and last until menopause. We still don’t know what causes endometriosis, there is no way to prevent it and there is no cure. However, there are a number of treatments to help ease the related symptoms. Some opt for surgery to remove lesions, while many embrace hormonal intrauterine devices, birth control methods, opioid-based pain medications and more for ongoing relief.

That said, we can safely add cannabis to the list of modern-day treatments given its prevalence of use.

In the survey, Australian researchers examined the perspectives of 192 people with a history of cannabis use and endometriosis. Noting it as a “very expensive disease, with substantive out of pocket costs for pain and symptom management,” researchers reference cost and accessibility to cannabis-based medicinal products (CMBPs) as a primary focus of the survey. They also cite the lack of information surrounding ideal products, modes of administration and efficacy in current research.

Researchers gathered data through an online survey of Australian and New Zealand residents, via social media and community-based advocacy platform Cannareviews.co. Respondents included those using either illicit cannabis or legal CMBPs prescribed by a doctor to manage endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain-related symptoms. However, the published report only includes data from Australian respondents.

Endometriosis, Cannabis Use Trends and Symptom Relief

The survey found that THC-dominant CBMPs are most commonly prescribed to Australians with endometriosis, noting multi-product use as a common trend with most people reporting the use of at least two products. For those with only one prescription (23%), it was almost always a THC-dominant product.

Most respondents (59.4%) said they used cannabis recreationally and for endometriosis symptom management, though many exclusively used cannabis to manage symptoms (40.1%).

Patients reported improvements in common endometriosis symptoms through the use of legal CBMPs, specifically sleep (68.9%), chronic pelvic pain (44.5%), nausea (47.9%), anxiety/depression (45.4%) and menstrual pain (38.7%).

They also reported a reduction in the use of opioids, hormonal treatments, non-steroidal inflammatory drugs, neuroleptics and illicit cannabis.

Oils and flower were the most common product types, illicit or legal.

Examining Cost and Access to Cannabis Medicines

The results also pointed to legal, THC-dominant cannabis medications being more expensive than illicit “equivalents” and that the extra cost for legal access often led to people underdosing (76.1%) or resorting to illicit cannabis to “bridge the gap” and easen cost burdens (42.9%).

Researchers note that relying upon illicit cannabis products can lead to inadequate symptom management, using products that have not been tested for safety and quality and of course associated legal ramifications.

Nearly all (96.3%) respondents said that their cost burden would be substantially reduced if CBMPs were a Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) listed and subsidized product.

The bulk of respondents said they would consider moving insurers if they found out their private health insurance would not reimburse the cost of cannabis medicine as well — 60.9% said maybe, depending on other factors; 20.3% said yes, so long as the premium was the same price or less; 11.7% said yes, even if the premium was higher; only 7% said no.

Researchers said that patients’ willingness to switch insurers based on this variable “speaks to the pivotal nature of cost concerns (and perceived effectiveness) relating to affordable access to cannabinoids.” Additionally, they state that the results suggest a need for a greater response from insurers in the country.

“Given the lack of well-tolerated alternatives for medical management of endometriosis, this is an equity issue that urgently needs addressing,” they add.

Limitations and Looking Ahead

Researchers note that self-reported nature of cost, diagnosis and product consumption as a limitation. They also cited the potential for their recruitment methods — through social media and Cannareviews’ patient base — to produce recall and selection bias, as participants may have either had more severe impacts to quality of life or a more positive experience with illicit or medicinal cannabis than the broader population.

Still, the data affirms that many are already finding relief and relying on cannabis treatments for endometriosis, highlighting the need for better access.

“Given major issues with symptom management and the self-reported reductions in pain and other symptoms, improving access to medicinal cannabis for this population is important and timely,” authors conclude. “Reductions in cost of both product and consultations, as well as coverage by insurance are areas which need addressing.”

Keegan Williams

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March 11, 2024
Creepy water park that was once New Zealand’s largest now left to rot

ABANDONED, torn apart by weather and left to rot – one of New Zealand’s largest and most adored water parks is now an apocalyptic wasteland.

The iconic Waiwera Hot Pools in Auckland was central to the local community before it became a haunting reminder of better times.

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The iconic Waiwera Hot Pools became a haunting reminder of better timesCredit: Facebook

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The water park’s pools have been left in disarrayCredit: Facebook

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The whole site is littered with weeds, broken plaster, the remains of chairs, pool covers and dead palm treesCredit: Facebook/Derelict NZ

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Rubbish floats in green swamp-like pools surrounded by roofless, graffiti-covered buildingsCredit: Facebook/Derelict NZ

After decades as a destination spot, the resort closed its doors in 2018 with the promise of a major renovation.

But its gates have stayed firmly shut, hiding what former visitors have described as a “horror movie”.

Rubbish floats in green swamp-like pools surrounded by roofless, graffiti-covered buildings.

The whole site is littered with weeds, broken plaster, the remains of chairs, pool covers and dead palm trees.

But decay had long sunk in since its former Russian billionaire owner abandoned ship a few years ago.

Waiwera, known for the healing qualities of its water, was the site of the country’s first tourist spa in the 1880s.

From the 60s onwards, the thermal resort was being constantly developed and upgraded as it catered to an increasing influx of tourists in summer months.

And by the 90s, it had been turned into a thrilling water park and in the early 2000s, truly hit its glory days.

Up to 350,000 splashed about in its warm waters every year.

And by 2005, it boasted some major waterslides – the names of which are still well known by former visitors, including The Black Hole, Twister and Speedslide.

Inside bizarre abandoned theme park with eerie giant statue modelled after classic tale near infamous ‘suicide forest’

In total, it now had 25 pools, including a movie pool and an adults-only pool.

The park also made money from bottling up the famous local water to be sold to restaurants, bars and shops.

Local news outlet, The Spinoff, described the Waiwera Hot Pools as “a place of hopes and dreams” for all the kids that grew up nearby.

A site that “put us on the map” until it was “mismanaged into oblivion,” the outlet said last year.

It was referring to Russian Billionaire Mikhail Khimich who became obsessed with Waiwera after trying its water for the first time in 2008.

In 2019, he leased all the land and businesses associated with it, including the water park and hotel.

However, critics accused the businessman of only being interested in the water bottling plant as he ploughed his energy into taking the brand global.

Under his helm, Waiwera Artisan Water began to be shipped internationally and even once scooped an award for “world’s best water”.

However, the water park was neglected, underfunded and quickly losing its spark.

It began racking up one star ratings online as visitors despaired over “terrible” conditions.

Decay was creeping in, there was algae in the swimming pools, exposed nails near pool areas and children were getting hurt on the rusting waterslides.

A few upgrades were made in 2012 but its patrons said it was far too little, too late.

The resort continued to suffer as visitor numbers tanked and businesses shut.

In 2017, plans emerged for major and costly renovations to restore the park to its former glory and also add an entire new section that would include pirate-themed water slides and a cafe.

It was closed in December – and the public was told renovations could take up to two years.

But it never reopened.

Khimich reportedly laid off all the employers and construction workers were spotted at the site, but they appeared to be taking it down, The Spinoff reports.

All the slides were removed except the much-loved Twister and the rest of the park was left to rot.

It turned out that Khimich had gone bankrupt and had two years worth of unpaid bills on the resort.

He fled the country, abandoned the property and allegedly left behind hundreds of thousands in debt.

“It looks like something out of the Syrian war,” one local man told the YouTube channel, The Department of Information.

“It should be bulldozed,” another said.

“The place looks like a bomb site,” a third said.

Now, it’s back in the hands of its long-term owners who hope to carry out an entire renovation that is set to cost a staggering £120million.

Last year, The Sun told the pitiful story of L’aquatic Paradis water park, which has been dubbed the “world’s creepiest”.

The spooky Spanish theme park has sat abandoned for almost 30 years – rotting, decaying and terrifying the locals due to the grim urban legend behind its closure.

And thousands of miles away, another eerie deserted water park has been terrifying those that live near to it.

Ho Thuy Tien park in Hue. Vietnam was abandoned to the jungle 17 years ago after only being open for two years.

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End of an era: Waiwera Thermal Resort is to be demolished after years of sitting in disrepairCredit: Facebook/Derelict NZ

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After decades as a destination spot, the resort closed its doors in 2018Credit: Facebook/Derelict NZ

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Waiwera, known for the healing qualities of its water, was the site of the country’s first tourist spa in the 1880s. It has now been left to rotCredit: Facebook

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After decades as a destination spot, the resort closed its doors in 2018Credit: Facebook

Iona Cleave

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February 28, 2024
The hottest housing markets for the super rich in 2024

The Port of Fontvieille Harbor in the Principality of Monaco.

Education Images | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

The ultrawealthy are looking for a better lifestyle and strong investment when it comes to buying their next home, according to a new study.

One-quarter of American ultra-high-net individuals, or those worth $30 million or more, plan to buy a residential property this year, according to the Douglas Elliman and Knight Frank Wealth Report. The average ultra-high-net-worth individual already owns four homes, according to the report. One-quarter of their residential portfolio is outside their home country.

When it comes to priorities for their next big purchase, the ultrawealthy ranked “lifestyle” and “investment” at the top of the list, followed by taxes and safety.

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While luxury real estate has been buffeted by many of the same pressures as the rest of the market — low supply, slow sales, rising prices — the ultra-high-end has fared slightly better. Last year in the U.S., there were 34 sales over $50 million, down from 45 in 2022 but still way up from the pre-pandemic years.

With interest rates stabilizing and possibly falling this year, real estate experts say there are early signs that luxury supply may be growing, which could lead to more sales.

“If we do see a pivot to lower rates, or at least more confidence that inflation is going in the right direction, I think you will begin to see inventory building up again,” said Liam Bailey, partner and global head of research at Knight Frank.

The report forecasts that the best-performing U.S. luxury market this year for price growth will be Miami, with an expected increase of 4%, according to the report. New York ranked second in the U.S., with expected price growth of 2%, followed by Los Angeles with 1% growth.

Globally, the top market for luxury real estate is expected to be Auckland, New Zealand, with projected price growth of 10% in 2024. Mumbai ranks second, at 5.5%; followed by Dubai (5%); Madrid (5%); Sydney (5%); and Stockholm (4.5%).

Elegant adobe-style homes beneath the towering gaze of the nearby Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Tyson Paul | Loop Images | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

Last year, the world’s top 100 luxury real estate markets posted a solid 3% gain on average price. The best-performing luxury real estate market in the world was Manila, Philippines, with 26% growth, fueled in part by investors fleeing Hong Kong and China. Dubai came in second place, at 16% price growth, followed by the Bahamas at 15% and the Algarve region in Portugal at 12%.

Among the worst performers last year were New York, with prices down 2%, and San Francisco, basically flat at 0.5%. The biggest decline in the world among prime markets was Oxford, in the U.K., down 8%.

Bailey said ultrawealthy American buyers are increasingly venturing overseas. He said U.S. buyers are now the leading foreign purchasers of ultraprime London properties — those priced above $10 million. They are also increasingly active in Europe.

“They’ve become quite a big presence, so much more noticeable now in Italy, France and Portugal particularly than they were,” Bailey said. “I think the American buyers have become much happier to explore and kind of think about alternatives.”

Still, $1 million doesn’t buy what it used to in the U.S. and abroad. In Monaco, the world’s most expensive real estate market, $1 million gets you 172 square feet of prime real estate, according to the Wealth Report. In Aspen, you get 215 square feet, while in Hong Kong, you get 237 square feet, which makes New York look like a bargain with 367 square feet.

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February 27, 2024