Author: Press Room

Chinese national Tingjun Cao is appealing against his conviction and sentence for murdering Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao, on the grounds of a miscarriage of justice.Cao, 54, was jailed for life for killing Bao after luring her to a Hornby house under the pretence of viewing the property for sale in July 2023.At his High Court sentencing in June, Bao’s family spoke of the unbearable loss of a daughter, wife and mother, describing Cao as a “despicable monster”.The Court of Appeal confirmed Cao filed the appeal on July 11, although a hearing date was yet to be set.According to…

Dangerous, cracked footpaths in the Auckland beachside community of Titirangi are finally being fixed – to the relief of a resident who has campaigned for the repairs for years.Titirangi resident Zoe Hawkins said she had been trying for years to get Auckland Transport (AT) to deal with footpaths on Wood Bay Rd, Otitori Bay Rd, Tanekaha Rd and Kohu Rd.”The fact that it’s taken 10 years for the action to happen is unfortunate,” Hawkins said.”I hope that their commitment to address this for Waitākere Ranges is something they follow through on.”The footpaths, wooden and concrete, had been deteriorating for years…

There are “grave concerns” for a woman missing for over a week. Te Anihana Beau Pomana, 25, was last seen leaving SkyCity on August 21 at around 5.06am on August 21, having left all her belongings at the hotel. Pomana checked into the hotel on August 18 and had no known associates in central Auckland. Detective Senior Sergeant Martin Friend said there were “significant concerns for her wellbeing”.“She may be acting erratically, and it is not known whether she has access to a cell phone.”Te Anihana Beau Pomana was last seen leaving SkyCity in central Auckland. (Source: Supplied)She was described…

Published on 30/08/2025 – 14:38 GMT+2 ADVERTISEMENT The EU’s foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, stated that frozen assets will not be returned to Russia unless Moscow pays reparations to Ukraine. Kallas argued at the informal meeting of foreign affairs ministers in Copenhagen that the bloc needs to be prepared in case of an eventual ceasefire or a peace deal. “We can’t possibly imagine that, if there is ceasefire or a peace deal, that these assets are given back to Russia if they haven’t paid for the reparations,” the high representative said. The EU’s foreign ministers meet in Copenhagen for an…

The owner of a store it’s suspected fugitive Marokopa father Tom Phillips broke into with one of his children said the only thing that was taken was milk.Police released footage showing a man and a child breaking into the Piopio Superette about 2am on Wednesday.It was the first sighting of Phillips and any of the children since October 2024 when a group of hunters in the bush near Marokopa saw Phillips and all three children in bush area west of Coutts Rd.Phillips and his children Jayda, Maverick, and Ember, have been missing since their father took them from Marokopa, a…

A windy weekend is on the cards for parts of the North Island, with strong winds, thunderstorms and hail forecast across Te Ika-a-Māui in the coming days.MetService has issued multiple strong wind watches ahead of an active front that is expected to move across the area on Sunday, followed by southwest gales.Rain warnings, strong winds set to barrel across the country – Watch on TVNZ+In the lower North Island, a strong wind watch was in place for Hawke’s Bay south of Napier, the Tararua District, and Wairarapa north of Martinborough until midnight.Westerly winds may approach severe gale strength, and MetService…

About 200 people packed out the Mt Eden Village Centre in Auckland on Thursday night, furious over plans for high-density housing in the area.Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Auckland Minister Simeon Brown directed Auckland Council earlier this year to allow for even greater housing and development around City Rail Link stations.The council was now consulting with local boards, iwi, and government ministries to allow for more apartments and terrace homes in walking distance of train and bus stations, more restrictive consenting requirements to increase resilience, and an increase in mixed housing suburban zones.The plan provided an alternative means for the…

A man has been arrested after allegedly throwing broken glass at a police dog and handler who were called to a crime spree in Hamilton last night. At around 9.30pm, police were alerted to a man who had reportedly stolen a mobile phone from a passerby walking near Alma St. Police said the same man had earlier been seen stealing cash from a restaurant on Victoria St. He attempted to do the same at another restaurant on Alma St before staff intervened. He then ran towards a river path, with police finding him outside a Mexican restaurant. “While police were…

A “very small live snake” was found at the home of a Christchurch traveller who had just returned home from Bali.Biosecurity NZ surveillance and incursion manager Wendy McDonald said trained handlers were sent to a Christchurch property after a report of a small snake found in the suitcase of a traveller who had recently returned from Bali.”A very small live snake was found wrapped around the toe of a jandal in the suitcase.”Preliminary identification by a herpetologist suggested it was a wolf snake, a type of non-venomous boa. The snake would be euthanised.McDonald said one or two snakes were found…

Invercargill parking wardens are facing abuse on the back of rising parking fines approved by central government.Last October, infringement costs rose by an average of 70% for overstaying or parking inconsiderately at council-controlled parking spaces.The jump in fees boosted revenue but also led to some unsavoury behaviour from the public, council manager consenting and environment Jonathan Shaw indicated.“Since the decision to increase parking infringement fees was made by central government, our compliance officers have noticed some pushback from members of the public, including several abusive incidents,” Shaw said.There were only a small number of negative interactions overall, he said, but…