Author: Press Room
Police are investigating in Hawke’s Bay after officers responded to multiple firearms incidents – including three that saw shots fired at properties. According to police, the four incidents took place between 3pm yesterday and 4am today. Three of the incidents saw two properties in Flaxmere, and one in Tamatea, shot at.The fourth was an “altercation” in Ahuiri at around 3.30pm yesterday, which saw the occupants of two vehicles pull baseball bats and weapons on each other. “There were no reports of any injuries,” police said. A spokesperson confirmed work was underway to see if the incidents were linked. “We know…
The Auditor-General is launching an inquiry into how government ministers handled conflicts of interest when it came to fast-tracked projects. Earlier this month, the coalition published a list of the 149 projects being considered through the Fast-track Approvals bill. It also highlighted the projects in which relevant ministers declared a potential conflict: eight for Regional Development Minister Shane Jones and one for Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop. In a statement issued this afternoon, Auditor-General John Ryan said he would investigate whether “appropriate systems and processes” were in place to ensure that ministers promptly identified all conflicts and took sufficient steps to manage them.…
Statistics on whānau Māori living arrangements and the conditions of their households have been released as an official Census statistic for the first time.Kirikowhai Mikaere, lead technician for the Data Iwi Leaders Groups and Te Kāhui Raraunga, said the datasets enable Māori to plan for future housing needs.“From today, iwi Māori have current, quality data on how people within their collective are living, including detail on household composition, income, and whether they have access to the things they need to live well, such as safe drinking water and electricity,” she said.“From the data released today, we know that most whānau…
Al Pacino rejected the offer to play Han Solo in Star Wars.The 84-year-old Hollywood legend revealed he had been approached by Lucasfilm to portray the suave space smuggler in the 1977 sci-fi epic, but ultimately decided to turn the offer down, allowing Harrison Ford to swoop in and take the part and become a pop culture icon.Speaking with Ross King on UK TV show Lorraine, Pacino said: “We don’t want Harrison Ford to hear this… Harrison, you are a great actor and I love you. I’m sorry but I made your career — let’s face it!”The actor joked the studio…
Less than three minutes passed between crew on the Aratere switching on autopilot and the Interislander ferry grounding, an interim safety report has found.The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has released an initial report into the incident in June, where the Aratere hit the shoreline shortly after departing Picton.No-one was injured and the vessel was refloated two days afterwards, with damage to its bow that required repair.TAIC will release a final report with further analysis and any possible recommendations at a later stage – today’s release sets our facts gathered so far.Aratere was fitted with a new steering control system to…
Sweden has seen a surge in shootings and bombings committed by gangs over the last year, which has spilled over the border into Denmark and Norway. ADVERTISEMENTSwedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to discuss the ways in which their two countries can combat rising gang crime and violence.It comes after a number of gang-related incidents were reported in Copenhagen, which local officials have attributed to young immigrants recruited by Swedish gangs.Sweden’s gang violence has escalated to the point where it has one of the highest per capita rates of gun crime in the…
The Prosecutor’s Office in Georgia announced on Wednesday it has launched an investigation into alleged vote rigging in last weekend’s parliamentary election. ADVERTISEMENTGeorgia’s President has refused to appear at the country’s Prosecutor’s Office after being summoned as a part of a probe into alleged vote-rigging in last weekend’s election.”I just want to say that it’s not up to the President to provide the proof that exists in society,” Salome Zourabichvili said at a press conference in Tbilisi after showing footage of alleged ballot violations. “The non-governmental organisation, the observers and regular citizens have been providing huge amounts of proof that…
I ‘dumbed’ down my phone for four weeks in an attempt to reduce the 27 hours I was spending on it weekly.A ‘dumbphone’ is the opposite of a smartphone, where it only has the basics such as calling, texting, alarms, and less of the addictive stuff like social media apps.I thought a blanket rule of turning off all my notifications except calls and texts was a smart idea, but it literally cost me.I got stung with a $50 no-show fee for missing my doctor’s appointment after accidentally booking the wrong date and missing the email reminder that clearly showed I…
A rāhui has been placed near Eastbourne, Lower Hutt, after the body of Terrence Jameson was recovered from the water on Monday.Public appeals for information on the 74-year-old’s disappearance were made on Sunday after he was last seen on Friday. Police have said Jameson’s death remains “unexplained”.Last night, Te Āti Awa representative Kura Moeahu, chairman of Waiwhetū Marae and Te Rūnanganui o Te Āti Awa, performed karakia where Jameson was located the day before at Point Arthur.Police said the rāhui has been laid down, taking effect immediately from Lion’s Rock heading out to Mākaro, also known as Ward Island. It…
By Susan Edmunds Inflation may be back within the Reserve Bank’s target range, but the past few years have left prices much higher than they were before the pandemic. Increases have not been evenly spread and some things are much more expensive now than others, compared to 2019. Here are some of the things that have increased in price, based on consumer price index data comparing September 2019 to September 2024. Food Food has had some of the sharpest price increases in recent years. Food price inflation picked up pace from the end of 2022 and peaked mid last year, with…