Auckland

Akil Mitchell, who plays for the New Zealand Breakers, was in Auckland for an Australian NBL game on Thursday night when the incident happened.

The finger of an opposing player accidentally dislodged his eyeball.

The American fell to the ground holding his hands to his left eye and was rushed to hospital.

The 35-year-old had not played a competitive match since she lost to Karolina Pliskova in the semi-finals of the U.S. Open last September, withdrawing from all tennis to deal with a persistent shoulder injury.

The 22-time grand slam winner, who had participated in a charity doubles match with sister Venus against All Blacks siblings Julian and Ardie Savea before the tournament started, was appearing for the first time in Auckland and persistent rain on Monday postponed her first round match until Tuesday.

Just two main draw singles matches were completed on the first day, with a number of qualifying also still to be completed.

22-time grand slam winner Williams will play Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier first up before Naomi Osaka resumes her match with Annika Beck of Germany with the Japanese player a set up.

The New Zealand number one Marina Erakovic will then play seventh seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, before third seed Caroline Wozniacki opens her campaign against Nicolle Gibbs of the United States.

The pair will fight for the WBO belt at Vector Arena in less than a fortnight, on December 10.

Parker's trainer Kevin Barry said the 24-year-old heavyweight's past four years as a professional - during which he has won all 21 of his fights - has served as an apprenticeship.

Ruiz has spent eight years as a professional and is unbeaten in 29 fights.

Barry said that gives the visitor a distinct advantage.

The festival from 12-13 March is expected to attract 100,000+ visitors over the two days, after returning to Western Springs, Auckland’s favourite public space featuring a lake surrounded by grassy areas and trees.

Residents of Paptoetoe have told how they saw a woman gagged and bound with ropes tumble out of a car boot on Huia Road, though police have so far said only that she was thrown from the car.

A Middlemore Hospital spokesperson said this morning that the woman was in a critical condition in the intensive care unit and "causing concern".

A gorgeous bright, pink and black hand printed strapless tiered dress worn by Princess Kate in the Solomon Islands during the 2012 Royal Diamond Jubilee tour that put TAV Pacific on the international radar.

The Pacific Christian School in Mangere had its registration suspended last week by the Education Ministry.

The school's principal, Lisita Paongo, says police warnings given to the school lacked evidence. Ms Paongo says families and staff are disappointed with the decision and want the school to stay open.

She says they're even more upset because they found out through the media before a formal announcement was made by the school's board.

The school came under scrutiny last year, when an 11 year old stabbed another child with a pair of scissors.

Employers gathered in Auckland today to hear about a trades training programme aimed at plugging a predicted labour shortage in the construction and infrastructure sectors.

It is estimated 32,000 jobs will be generated in the next three to five years in New Zealand.

Auckland's Mayor Len Brown says the initiative will help address the high number of unemployed Maori and Pasifika people and boost the city's economy.

The regional summit was called to consider emergency response solutions at a time when more frequent natural disasters are expected as a result of climate change.

In their report, delegates recommend building capacity so local officials can take the lead when disaster strikes.

Vincent Omuga, Acting Head of the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Pacific, says the different capacities of countries to deal with disasters make a tailored approach necessary.