Author: Press Room

Police are speaking to people of interest after a smash-and-grab at a Michael Hill store in Auckland’s Botany this afternoon.Police inspector Danny Meade said it received reports of seven offenders entering the store at about 4.20pm.”The group have used various weapons to smash the glass cabinets and have taken a quantity of jewellery.”Meade said the offenders fled the scene in two allegedly stolen vehicles, which were found abandoned near Botany Downs Secondary College a short distance away.Police are speaking to several people of interest, he said.Inquiries are ongoing.

Not many franchises have fuelled society’s timeless fascination with the boundless possibilities of a utopian future like Star Trek.Next year the sprawling franchise will add more shows, Lego sets and even a Rose Parade Float in a yearlong celebration of its 60th anniversary.The hefty lineup of “fan-centric” celebrations was announced by the franchise on its 59th anniversary Monday, known as Star Trek Day. The projects are the first wave, Paramount said in its announcement.”The 60th anniversary celebrates ‘Space for Everybody’, extending an open invitation to celebrate the future that Star Trek aspires to — a future of HOPE, a future…

Child and adolescent clinical psychologist Sarah Watson says the next chapter for the Marokopa children following the death of their father Tom Phillips was going to be “very complex and tricky”. Jayda, 12, Maverick, 10, and Ember, 9, are in the care of family and Oranga Tamariki following yesterday’s dramatic conclusion to more than 1000 days missing.Follow our live updates hereOne of the children was with their father when he was fatally shot early yesterday, after a police officer was injured in a shooting.The other two were safely recovered from a remote campsite that afternoon.Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said information…

Five Otago supermarkets have been banned from selling alcohol for two days over an online booze promotion. FreshChoice Roslyn, Green Island, Roxburgh, Queenstown and Lake Hāwea will not be allowed to sell alcohol for the 48-hour period starting later this month.   They are among 22 South Island FreshChoice supermarkets — including the Southland stores in Riverton, Te Anau and Otautau — hit by the suspension. The suspension of 38 FreshChoice supermarkets nationwide was called for in an application by police, a decision issued by the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority said. They alleged the supermarkets advertised a nationwide promotion offering customers the opportunity…

Brad Pitt has starred in a new advertisement filmed in New Zealand and directed by Taika Waititi.In the commercial, the 61-year-old appears in Queenstown and uses a De’Longhi Perfetto coffee machine.Pitt also sported a beard and jewellery from his girlfriend Ines de Ramon’s line, Anita Ko.(Source: De’Longhi)The advertisement features comical elements, such as him being taught how to pronounce “perfetto” by Italian actor Riccardo Scamarco, who narrated the piece.In a statement, Pitt said: “Taika bought the humour, De’Longhi brought the ritual. Together, that was perfetto.”In an interview with People, Waititi said he enjoyed working with Pitt on the ad.Kiwi filmmaker…

Wellington house prices are now up to 30% below their peak, as the housing market continues to record a steady slide, QV says.It has released its latest data, which shows the QV House Price Index fell 0.8% in the three months to the end of August.The new national average value of $906,977 is 0.2% higher than the same time a year earlier but 13.4% below the January 2022 peak.In the quarter, Queenstown was up 2.5%, and Hastings 1.7%. But Nelson was down 3.2%, and Wellington 2.4%.Auckland, Whangārei, Hamilton, Napier, Palmerston North, Christchurch and Dunedin also recorded drops.Spokesperson Andrea Rush said…

A child of fugitive Tom Phillips cautioned police of firearms hidden at the campsite the group were staying at before entering yesterday.Phillips died after a shootout with police after they were called to reports of a burglary in the early hours of Monday.Follow our live updates hereOne of his children, who was with him at the time, then began assisting police.More than 12 hours later, the remaining two children were located in a remote campground.Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told Morning Report he was very relieved the children had been recovered safely.He said police knew there were firearms at the campsite,…

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including new details about the end of the Marokopa search and how the injured officer is doing, plus Banksy’s new politically charged artwork. Police have released new details about where the remaining children of Tom Phillips were found late yesterday, and given an update on the injured police officer. Prince Harry is back in the UK, fuelling speculation he could meet his father, King Charles, in a bid to heal their ongoing rift. Bansky has painted a mural on the outside of London’s main courts, depicting a judge bashing a protester.

The Commerce Commission has filed charges under the Fair Trading Act against New Zealand’s largest gym chain CityFitness for alleged misleading membership price advertising.The Commission alleges an advertised membership price did not include a compulsory 3% fee, which it says was inaccurately labelled as a “transaction fee”.Businesses should not exclude compulsory fees from their advertised prices as it goes against consumers’ right to accurate pricing, said general manager of competition, fair trading and credit Vanessa Horne.”It shouldn’t be a difficult exercise to work out how much your gym costs.”The charge period for the alleged misleading claims was between December 21,…

Two state schools are in contract negotiations to become charter schools as early as next year – but their identities remain under wraps.The Charter School Agency said the schools applied last year to convert and had consulted with their communities.”When the schools open depends on the outcome of these negotiations. Information will become publicly available after contracts have been signed. Until then, information is commercially sensitive,” the agency’s chief executive Jane Lee said.The agency said, in total, six state and six state integrated schools, including the two that had been approved, had expressed interest or applied to become charter schools.They…