Sharjah24 – AFP: Cyclone Dovi caused power outages, mudslides and evacuations across New Zealand on Sunday, but neither the storm nor the music of Barry Manilow could dislodge anti-vaccine protesters camped outside parliament.
Instead, hundreds of protesters -- inspired by the "Freedom Convoy" of truckers in Canada -- danced in the mud to the tunes meant to force their dispersal.
Not even a tongue-in-cheek offer of help from singer James Blunt could end the stand-off in the capital Wellington, which entered a sixth day with no sign of ending.
Meanwhile, as winds of up to 130 kilometres per hour (80 mph) buffetted Wellington and other parts of New Zealand, police urged people to avoid all non-essential travel, with many roads blocked by mudslides or floodwaters.
Several houses just north of Wellington have also been evacuated because of mudslides.
Power was out in many areas across the country, and the fire service responded to multiple incidents of trees falling on houses and power lines, as well as roofs lifted and houses flooded.
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