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'Councils can easily handle their debt'
Ratepayers think councils are heavily indebted and can't borrow any more. But ratings agency S&P says councils are well-managed, higher-rated than their peers overseas, and can easily handle the debt. New Zealand councils are improving their debt ratings faster than anywhere else, according to S&P, contrary to the perceptions of ratepayers and mayors who regularly argue they cannot borrow more for infrastructure. The ratings agency issued credit...
Newsroom National
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Wellington Water in crisis as councillors eye exits
Wellington's biggest councils are considering pulling out of the region's shared water services company after a 'summer of sewage' broke the confidence of councillors, Dileepa Fonseka reports from leaked emails Sewerage failures are so bad in one part of Wellington city that trucks were called in to drive sewage “sludge” to its destination rather than pipe it. Brad Olsen, an economist at Infometrics, told Newsroom Wellington’s summer of sewage...
Newsroom National
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Nine dead in Turkey after earthquake hits Iran border area
The quake damaged buildings some 90 km (56 miles) to the west in the Turkish city of Van, and to the east in dozens of villages in Iran, where state TV said 75 people were injured including six in hospital, though there were no fatalities.
Reuters World
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'Failure in the system': Call for action after Hannah Clarke murder
“I told you: this is your fault.” Rowan Baxter confronted his estranged wife, Hannah Clarke, in a suburban Brisbane park on Boxing Day before taking their daughter Laianah, placing her in a car and fleeing the pre-arranged contact visit.
The Guardian World
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Tensions escalate in Syria as another Turkish soldier dies
Tensions in north-west Syria continued to escalate on Saturday after another Turkish soldier was killed in a bomb attack by Russian-backed government forces. Turkey’s 16th military death in Idlib province came as fighting has intensified, huge numbers of people have been displaced, and talks between Ankara and Moscow have stalled.
The Guardian World
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Brits evacuated from Diamond Princess cruise ship arrive back in UK
Dozens of Brits who were trapped on board a coronavirus-hit cruise ship have arrived back in the UK. Some 32 British and European passengers who were on board the Diamond Princess in Japan landed in Boscombe Down, a Ministry of Defence base in Wiltshire, on Saturday.
Evening Standard World
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Chopper pilot in Bryant crash had flying violation in 2015
According to the FAA report, Zobayan's helicopter was near the Hawthorne, California, airport and heading north when he asked the LAX tower for permission to cross LAX airspace. Zobayan was told that weather conditions didn't meet the minimum for pilots using visual flight rules — that is, flying by sight.
Associated Press World