Author: Press Room
The Turkish language has gone viral on social media for a particular trait: a tense that you can supposedly use specifically for gossip. ADVERTISEMENTIn a social media trend that will delight linguists and gossipers alike, a post is doing the rounds on X celebrating the so-called “gossip tense” in the Turkish language.As its nickname implies, this language feature can be used in Turkish to have a good old gossip — or rather to talk about events that you haven’t witnessed yourself, emphasising that what you’re talking about is just hearsay.You can also be judged for misleading people if you don’t…
The summer fire season appears to have started early in the south, with firefighters tackling a forestry plantation fire in North Canterbury.The fire is burning in a block of forest at View Hill, around 15km west of the town of Oxford in the foothills of the Southern Alps.Fire and Emergency spokesperson Simon Lyford said the fire was “contained but not under control”.He added the blaze was “only 80% under control” and that two helicopters previously working on the fire had been released.”Remaining firefighters are working to fully extinguish the blaze and hand the land back over to the property owners…
The defence for Himatjit Kahlon has closed in his manslaughter trial following the death of 21-year-old Aiden Sagala who unknowingly drank a can of beer that contained liquid methamphetamine.Kahlon gave Honey Bear Beers to Sagala for being a “good worker” at Fonterra — where Kahlon was a team leader and Sagala had been working prior to his death in March 2023.Police arrested Kahlon on March 28 and, in an interview, he said a friend — who cannot be named but has pleaded guilty to drugs charges — “fooled” him.Kahlon and his friend would drink at a warehouse in Manukau where…
The man on trial for the murder of Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao abruptly stood up and left the courtroom today, interrupting the proceedings.A translator for Tingjun Cao said the accused man believed testimony being given to the High Court at Christchurch “was not the truth”.Cao, who returned to the courtroom today after a short adjournment, had declined to attend the trial yesterday. Justice Lisa Preston advised the jury to take “no inference” from the absence of Cao yesterday, or his walking out today.(Source: Kai Schwoerer/The Press/Pool)Meanwhile, the real estate agent in charge of the property where Bao was…
The Ruapehu mayor has warned his community to expect higher costs for water services.Mayor Weston Kirton says new water regulations will increase the end cost for users, regardless of which new service delivery model the council chooses.Ruapehu District Council must decide in principle before the end of the year whether to go it alone in future water service delivery or work with others.Under the Government’s Local Water Done Well legislation, councils have a year to develop a water services delivery plan for ministerial approval.The plan must cover drinking and wastewater, with an option to include stormwater.The plan can be developed…
Police have a man in custody who was sought in connection with the fatal stabbing of a woman on a bus in Auckland’s Onehunga yesterday.Police named the wanted man 37-year-old and released a photo of him this morning. This afternoon, police said the man being sought handed himself in at North Shore police station.Acting Detective Inspector Alisse Robertson said police would like to thank the wider community for sharing the appeal.A 37-year-old man previously sought by police over the death handed himself in at North Shore police station. (Source: 1News)”The investigation is still in its infancy and there’s still a…
A South Auckland contractor who caused significant environmental damage has been handed one of the largest fines in recent history for resource management breaches.Prameet Sharma was fined $144,500 and ordered to pay $11,575 in reparations for illegal earthworks and environmental contamination at his Drury property at Judge Richardson Dr.Sharma was convicted on three charges, including breaching an abatement notice, depositing contaminated fill, and conducting unauthorised earthworks exceeding legal limits.In a written statement, Auckland Council said the court heard that between 2015 and 2022, Sharma allowed illegal earthworks on his property, depositing over 33,900 cubic metres of contaminated fill, far exceeding…
An extensive search for a wallaby in Southland has returned no results, as unconfirmed sightings mount in the region.On September 17, Environment Southland was notified of a reported sighting near the Waiau River control gate in Te Anau Basin.The regional council activated a search involving both trained dogs and drones, but the animal was never found.Environment Southland biosecurity and biodiversity operations manager Ali Meade said droppings were discovered during the search and were identified by experts as likely belonging to a wallaby.DNA testing came back inconclusive, however, which was probably because of the sample’s age.The animals are an introduced pest…
Polish PM Donald Tusk met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić to discuss Serbia’s EU membership progress, emphasising Serbia’s importance to the EU and the potential for stronger bilateral and economic cooperation. ADVERTISEMENTPolish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić during a visit to Belgrade on Thursday.During talks in the Serbian capital, the pair discussed Serbia’s progress towards membership of the European Union.”You know that I am more of a sceptic than realist, but they opened up some new perspectives and some new hope that it is possible to expect in the future, I would not say acceleration…
The husband of ejected MP Darleen Tana has set up a new e-bike business, just months after his former business was liquidated owing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Company Office documents confirm Christian Hoff-Nielsen has registered a bike hire company, Woohoo Trading, with him listed as the sole director and shareholder. Allegations were made against Hoff-Nielsen’s former business that migrant workers were owed wages and there had been breaches of visa conditions. That led to questions of Tana about how much she knew of the claims, what she did about them, and what steps she took to inform the Green…