Author: Press Room

The death of Malcolm-Jamal Warner at just 54 was mourned by fans and admirers of the actor, who played the only son of Bill Cosby’s Cliff Huxtable on the landmark series The Cosby Show from 1984 to 1992 and also starred on the UPN sitcom Malcolm & Eddie with Eddie Griffin.Warner died Sunday (local time) in an accidental drowning at a Costa Rica beach, authorities there said Monday (local time).Actor Tracee Ellis Ross, who later played Warner’s wife in the BET sitcom Reed Between the Lines, wrote that her “heart is so, so sad.” Magic Johnson said, “Every time I…

The man killed in an altercation in Hamilton early on Sunday morning was celebrating his upcoming birthday, police say. The 20-year-old died in hospital after he was critically injured during the fight on Alexandra Street shortly after midnight. The incident, described by police yesterday as a “senseless act of violence”, is believed to have involved two groups of people. Police said three other people were treated for moderate and serious injuries at the time. Police said today they had since been discharged from hospital. A forensic examination of the street was completed on Sunday afternoon.Detective inspector Daryl Smith said police…

Police have seized $6000 worth of counterfeit cash and arrested a 26-year-old man following an investigation into fraudulent Facebook Marketplace transactions in Auckland.Sergeant Pam Dravitski said police received reports of offending where a man would allegedly arrange to purchase items off the platform with an offer to pay in cash.”There, the offender would allegedly use counterfeit cash to make the sale and take off with the goods.”Similar reports were collated and further inquiries led police to an Ōtara address last week.Dravitski said around $6000 in counterfeit cash and equipment used to manufacture the notes were located when a search warrant…

By Anan Zaki of RNZ  Sky TV has agreed to fully acquire TV3 owner Discovery New Zealand for $1. Discovery NZ is a part of United States media giant Warner Bros. Discovery. NZX-listed Sky said the deal would be completed on a cash-free, debt-free basis, with completion expected on August 1. Sky expected the deal to deliver revenue diversification and uplift of about $95 million per year. It expected Discovery NZ’s operations to deliver sustainable underlying earnings growth of at least $10m from the 2028 financial year. Sky chief executive Sophie Moloney said it was a compelling opportunity for the…

Sky TV has agreed to buy Discovery NZ, which owns Three, for $1, the company announced this morning. The move was announced to the NZX, and would see US television giant Warner Bros Discovery leave New Zealand’s free-to-air television market. Under the deal, Sky would take control of all TV3 brands, including Three, Bravo, Eden, Rush, HGTV, and the network’s streaming platform, ThreeNow. The sale was made on a cash-free, debt-free basis and was expected to be completed on August 1. The deal also included a multi-year commercial agreement for the continued supply of Warner Bros Discovery’s premium content to…

The Government has approved a business case and $83m in funding for a new Waikato University medical school, as part of a plan to strengthen the health workforce.The New Zealand Graduate School of Medicine will receive more than $150 million from the university — supported by philanthropy — according to the Government, bringing total funding to more than $200 million.Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the third medical school for New Zealand would not just be a “significant investment” for the health system but for Hamilton and the Waikato region.”New Zealand simply isn’t training enough doctors to meet the future needs…

Mackenzie District Mayor Anne Munro is stepping aside due to her cancer diagnosis.Munro shared the news last year and testing has confirmed the cancer is metastatic.She said while treatment was ongoing, her prognosis remained uncertain, and she had made the decision in the interest of continuity and stable leadership.”Although I’ve stayed up to date with council business, the work we do is complex and fast-moving. I’m simply not across the level of detail needed to provide the leadership our council and community deserve at this critical time,” she said.Munro said the council was navigating a time of significant change —…

Malcolm-Jamal Warner the actor who played teenage son Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, has died at age 54 in an accidental drowning in Costa Rica, authorities there said.Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Department said Monday that Warner drowned Sunday afternoon (local time) on a beach on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast. He was swimming at Playa Cocles in Limon province when a current pulled him deeper into the ocean.”He was rescued by people on the beach,” the department’s initial report said, but first responders from Costa Rica’s Red Cross found him without vital signs and he was taken to the morgue.Warner…

Porirua City Council is set to create a memorial for more than 1800 former patients of the local hospital buried in unmarked graves. But Pacific leaders are asking to be meaningfully involved in the process, including incorporating prayer, language, and ceremonial practices.More than 50 people gathered at Porirua Cemetery last month after the council’s plans became public, many of whom were descendants of those buried without headstones.Daniel Chrisp, the Cemeteries manager, said it was encouraging to see families engaging with the project.Chrisp’s team has placed 99 pegs to mark the graves of families who had come forward so far. One…

ADVERTISEMENT The rival leaders of ethnically divided Cyprus are meeting at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday to discuss the future of the island and build upon talks in March, which marked the first step toward renewed dialogue after years of deadlock. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the latest meeting “will provide an opportunity to continue the dialogue and exchange views on the progress made since March. At that last meeting in Geneva, Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar agreed to trust-building measures on issues like energy, environment, youth affairs and demining, as…