The man who died after a crash on State Highway 2, near Dannevirke, has been named as Hamish Cameron.Emergency services were called to the fatal crash near the intersection of SH2 and Otanga Rd at 5.39am on April 28. The 24-year-old…

Flames engulfed a house in Warkworth this afternoon, sending clouds of black smoke into the air. Fire and Emergency New Zealand crew were called to the Palmer St address just before 5pm.A spokesperson said the fire at the 10m…

Former Dunedin mayor Dave Cull was a fun-loving family man and industrious leader, mourners were told at his funeral today.Hundreds of people packed into the Dunedin Town Hall to celebrate Cull’s life.Celebrant Melanie Kerr said…

A meteor that blazed brightly across the Canberra sky last night is just a taster of what Australians can expect to see later this week.

Canberra resident David Marriott filmed the meteor streaking through clear, starry skies above the Australian Capital Territory just before 8.30pm.

Australian National University astronomer Dr Brad Tucker described the video as "impressive", and he tipped Australians would be treated to a "spectacular" meteor shower later this week, if skies were clear.

READ MORE: China's 21-tonne rocket set to crash back to Earth days after launch

Last night's meteor was probably the size of a small pebble, Dr Tucker said.

"We can tell this by there was no sonic boom … and also just how long and how bright it was."

The meteor was likely "only a few centimetres" in diameter.

Amateur astronomer Ian Musgrave told 9News.com.au the meteor spotted last night was a sporadic "bit of space dust" which had "slammed into our atmosphere".

It was not associated with the much-anticipated Eta Aquariids, he said.

READ MORE: Space X crew returns safely to earth

"The Eta Aquariids are one of the best southern hemisphere meteor showers (caused by) debris from Halley's Comet," Mr Musgrave said.

The best time to see Eta Aquariids this year will be early morning between May 7-9.

Dr Tucker said Australians across the country, but especially those in the north, were in for an Eta Aquariids treat.

"(Eta Aquariids) will look different than what was captured last night … because you get so many of them over the course of a few hours it looks quite spectacular."

Darker winter night skies mean Australian star gazers are generally more likely to see meteors.

READ MORE: Meteorite flashes across the sky in Surfers Paradise

Contact: ms******@******om.au

FOLLOW: Mark Saunokonoko on Twitter

Smoke across Sydney and central NSW was so thick this morning it could be seen from space.

Much of southern NSW has woken up to a blanket of smoke and fog this morning following hazard reduction burns over the weekend.

Satellite images this morning show the fog was widespread and pooling in valleys and other low-lying areas across the state today.

READ MORE: Over 50s can get coronavirus jabs from today

https://twitter.com/BOM_NSW/status/1389000486733467649

Sydney Harbour Bridge was gradually obscured as smoke and fog moved in between 7am and 7.30am.

Multiple ferries in the city are now running again after being cancelled.

Visibility was reduced to less than 100 metres at Camden and Canterbury and around 100 metres at Bankstown, Holsworthy and Richmond.

The NSW RFS also warned smoke is settling on the Central Coast, and in the Blue Mountains, Snowy Valleys, Southern Highlands and the Illawarra and Shoalhaven.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard warned people with asthma to be "very cautious."

"It can certainly affect your lungs as it is me at the moment," he told Today.

"Stay inside if you can and make sure you use your preventers."

https://twitter.com/FerriesInfo/status/1388975178839887875?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Air quality in parts of Sydney is at very poor levels, according to Air Quality Concentration Data, with Chullora, Earlwood, Lidcombe and Liverpool the worst affected.

Light winds have made the smoke settle in residential areas, the RFS is warning, but they said it will lift as the day goes on.

https://twitter.com/NSWRFS/status/1388958977661149187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

"Strategies have been put in place to reduce the impact of smoke on the community, including the postponement of a number of planned burns and a reduction in area burnt for others," the RFS said in a statement.

"Hazard reduction burning is strategically planned to minimise the potential impact of smoke on public health however, some members of the community may need to take action to mitigate the risks of smoke from hazard reduction burning by planning ahead."

A showery change will sweep through central NSW on Tuesday further helping to clear some of the lingering smoke around the city.

This will improve Sydney's air quality through the middle of the week, although showers should continue into Wednesday and possibly Thursday.

Australia weather forecast

Sydney will be a sunny 26C.

Canberra is also foggy, with showers increasing and a maximum temperature of 21C.

Melbourne is wet and 19C.

Brisbane is a warm 25C, but showers are expected. Rain is also on the way in Adelaide, were it will be 20C.

Perth will be a mainly sunny 26C. Cairns is 29C but will remain cloudy.

Hobart is also seeing showers, and is 17C.

Australia is enjoying a "red hot recovery" in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic with jobs, iron ore prices and retail recovery all filling the nation's coffers.

New research by Deloitte Access Economics labelled Australia's financial return from the depths of the pandemic "red hot", forecasting a bumper budget to be handed down on May 11.

Economists found three factors which are driving Australia's economic recovery: unemployment falling far faster than forecasted; a rise in iron ore prices is boosting export numbers, and Aussie families have been less reluctant to spend than expected.

READ MORE: Unemployment falls again in Australia, Treasurer flags optimistic outlook

"Our defence of lives and livelihoods cost heaps, but the big bucks are already in the rear view mirror," writes Deloitte economists.

"The cost of JobKeeper, the Coronavirus Supplement and other programs peaked back in mid-2020, and they've now mostly wrapped up.

"Compared to Treasury, we see the economy in 2020-21 and 2021-22 as having much lower unemployment, but stronger inflation, a higher currency and higher long-term interest rates."

READ MORE: What you need to earn to afford a mortgage in Sydney

Deloitte forecasts that Australia will record an underlying cash deficit of $167 billion this year and $87 billion next year – as much as $31 billion better than expected.

"That's stunningly good news. The budget is getting better rapidly because the economy is getting better rapidly. Yet a bit of perspective is handy here. Yes, things are getting a lot better. But they are getting better from a starting point in which the proverbial had hit the budgetary fan," says Deloitte Partner Chris Richardson.

"So although our forecasts are way ahead of Treasury's latest, that still leaves them heaps less happy than they were – as an example, the deficit is an eye-wateringly $95 billion larger than the matching projections for 2021-22 that Treasury issued in late 2019."

READ MORE: Commonwealth Bank accused of underpaying workers $45 million

Richardson says that by recovering faster than expected, the Australian Government will have more room to move in its latest budget.

"Vaccines, tourism, housing, aged care – there's been extra policy support where it's been needed most," says Richardson.

"The bottom line is spending in 2020-21 may be $9.8 billion less than in the official figures – mainly because the sharper-than-forecast recovery means JobKeeper and the Coronavirus Supplement were less costly than feared, but also because JobMaker … isn't making jobs."

READ MORE: Morrison government spends $1.2b to create thousands of apprenticeships

Overall, economists attributed the nation's economic recovery to its health recovery: by actively keeping cases low the government has supercharged the business communities ability to recover.

"It still seems to come as a surprise to many that global growth is recovering fast, that Australia's world class defence against the virus has us near the front of that pack," writes Richardson.

"Australian living standards grew faster than their decade average through 2020, that we are the first (and so far only) advanced nation to have more jobs now than before the pandemic, and that overall job momentum is set to be only temporarily disrupted by the end to JobKeeper."

The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

With Indian hospitals struggling to secure a steady supply of oxygen, and more COVID-19 patients dying amid the shortages, a court in New Delhi said it would start punishing government officials for failing to deliver the life-saving items.

India recorded a slight drop in new infections yesterday, with 392,488 from a high of 401,993 in the previous 24 hours.

It also reported 3,689 additional deaths, bringing the total to 215,542.

Experts believe both figures are an undercount with concerns just five per cent of infections are being recorded.

READ MORE: Melbourne nurse stranded in India after mercy dash to see dying father

The government has been using the railroad, the air force and the navy to rush oxygen tankers to worst-hit areas where overwhelmed hospitals are unable to cope with an unprecedented surge in patients gasping for air.

Twelve COVID-19 patients, including a doctor, on high-flow oxygen, died on Saturday at a hospital in New Delhi after it ran out of the supply for 80 minutes, said SCL Gupta, director of Batra Hospital.

The Times of India newspaper reported another 16 deaths in two hospitals in southern Andhra Pradesh state, and six in a Gurgaon hospital on the outskirts of New Delhi because of the oxygen shortage.

With the government unable to maintain a steady supply of oxygen, several hospital authorities sought a court intervention in the Indian capital where a lockdown has been extended by a week to contain the wave of infections.

"Water has gone above the head. Enough is Enough," said New Delhi High Court, adding it would start punishing government officials if supplies of oxygen allocated to hospitals were not delivered.

"We can't have people dying," said Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Patil.

The court said it would start contempt proceedings.

New Delhi recorded 412 deaths in the past 24 hours, the highest since the pandemic started.

The army opened its hospitals to civilians in a desperate bid to control the massive humanitarian crisis.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government also gave emergency financial powers to the army set up new quarantine facilities and hospitals and buy equipment.

READ MORE: The world is in the midst of its worst coronavirus outbreak yet

The military also called up 600 doctors who had retired in the past few years.

The navy deployed 200 nursing assistants in civilian hospitals, a government statement said.

On Saturday, India said all adults 18 and over could get shots.

Since January, nearly 10 per cent of Indians have received one dose, but only around 1.5 per cent have received both, although the country is one of the world's biggest producers of vaccines.

India has so far given more than 156 million vaccine doses. Some states have already said they don't have enough for everyone, and even the ongoing effort to inoculate people above 45 is sputtering.

The United States, Britain, Germany and several other nations are rushing therapeutics, rapid virus tests and oxygen to India, along with some materials needed for India to boost its domestic production of COVID-19 vaccines.

A pedestrian has been struck on a highway in the Bay of Plenty – part of which has now been closed as a result. Police said they were told of a crash involving a pedestrian on Waiōeka Rd in Ōpōtiki just before 5am….

A prominent real estate agent has died following a car crash in Invercargill.Southland Real Estate Ltd agent Neil van Schaik died after a two-vehicle crash in Chelmsford St at 10.20am on Saturday.Police initially said one person…

‌ State Highway 2 is closed between Ōpōtiki and Waioeka Gorge after a pedestrian was hit by a vehicle.A police spokeswoman said the incident, about 6km south of Ōpōtiki, was reported at 4.53am.The road…