Author: Press Room
The Government has agreed to fund a new courthouse for Whanganui.It will invest $100m into building the new facility on a large block bound by Bell, Dublin, Wicksteed and Liverpool streets in the west of the city.An artist’s impression released of the building gives the first insight of what it will look like.The 5000 square metre courthouse is being built alongside a new police station as part of a modern, new “justice precinct” on the former Ucol Polytechnic campus site.The Ministry of Justice and police have been working with iwi and hapū to develop the concept of a centralised justice…
Heat alerts have been issued in four locations as MetService warns of continuing warm temperatures across the eastern coasts of New Zealand.Gisborne, Napier and Hastings are all in for 32C days, while Blenheim is expected to record a 30C maximum.”The temperature is forecast to be very hot for this location,” messages on the MetService website read.”We advise you to keep hydrated, seek shade, check in with vulnerable people and look after your pets and livestock.”Using 20 years of data, meteorologists have picked a threshold for 46 locations across the country, with the alert triggered if the mercury spikes.Overnight temps still…
Beatles legend Paul McCartney is being honoured in a specially minted British coin collection.The Royal Mint, which has struck the coins of monarchs from Alfred the Great in the ninth century through to King Charles III, revealed on Friday that it is launching a McCartney coin collection for collectors to buy.On one side of the coins, as is custom, will be the king. On the other, it will be all about McCartney’s career in the wake of the Beatles split in 1970.The Royal Mint said the range will come in a variety of finishes as well as coloured editions. The…
New Zealand will not get another official cash rate (OCR) update until February — but economists agree that it is likely to be another 50 basis point cut when it happens.ASB said that after the latest OCR announcement, it had changed its forecast to a 50 basis point cut in February, instead of the 25 basis points it previously forecasted.”The Reserve Bank’s public comments… indicate that [it] sees a 50 basis point cut in February as more of a base case.”We take these comments at face value, though stress that the size of the next cut will still depend on…
Eight visa agents in Thailand have been arrested and charged with using fake documents to help individuals from rural parts of the Southeast Asian country apply for visitor visas to work in New Zealand.The fraud, originally uncovered by an Immigration NZ (INZ) staff member working in the Thai capital of Bangkok, also allegedly involved the sale of forged New Zealand residence class visas.Vehicles, gold, bank records and forged documents were seized following simultaneous searches at five locations.INZ national manager risk and verification Geoff Scott said the arrests showed neither New Zealand nor Thailand “will stand idly by when people are…
A Bentley Continental GT that used to be owned by popstar Sir Elton John is being auctioned in Auckland next week.Estimated to sell for between $50,000 and $80,000, the car will go under the hammer on December 10 as part of vehicle group Sunday Drive’s Christmas Class and Performance Live auction. Bidding has already begun online.Auction manager Rick Ortiz told Breakfast the car was originally bought by John in 2004 and owned by him and his partner for more than 10 years.”It’s a heavily optioned vehicle, he didn’t skip out on any of the options, he ticked all the boxes.”The…
Thousands of Romanians gathered in a popular square in the capital Bucharest to stage a pro-Europe rally. It comes just a few days before the second round of the country’s presidential election, as concerns over the political scene veering towards populism loom large. ADVERTISEMENTMore than 4,000 Romanians participated in the demonstration in University Square in downtown Bucharest. Protesters waved Romanian and European Union flags side-by-side, and were heard chanting pro-EU slogans. The rally comes just a few days before a presidential runoff vote takes place in the country on 8 December. Far-right Calin Georgescu stuns Romania as he wins first…
Amber Heard is expecting her second child.The Aquaman actor is said reportedly “delighted” to be expanding her family with a sibling for her three-year-old daughter Oonagh, though she didn’t share any further details.Her spokesperson told People magazine: “It is still quite early in the pregnancy, so you will appreciate that we do not want to go into much detail at this stage. Suffice to say that Amber is delighted both for herself and Oonagh Paige.”The 38-year-old star – who was previously married to Johnny Depp – revealed in July 2021 she had welcomed Oonagh into the world three months beforehand,…
Two men have been arrested after an alleged “violent scuffle” outside a takeaway restaurant in Auckland’s Ōtara this week.Police said a man allegedly entered the restaurant on Bairds Rd at around 3.30pm on Tuesday and stole a box cutter before getting into an altercation with a young man on the street.”Both men have begun to fight each other, resulting in the younger man suffering an injury on his chin,” Inspector Rakana Cook said.”The injured man has then picked up a hammer and chased the older man with it as police arrived and took both of them into custody.”Cook said this…
A French school, another Australian school, and a school sponsored by a group of state schools are among five new charter schools announced today.The announcement brings the total number of charter schools opening next year to six.The schools include two aimed at disengaged students — Christchurch North College, a middle school for children in Y7-10, and in Auckland the Busy School, for students in Y11-13 and part of an Australian chain of schools.Auckland also gets the Ecole Francaise Internationale which would provide a curriculum approved by the French government, and North West Creative Arts College, a secondary school with a…