Police have launched a homicide investigation after an eight-year-old died in Southland; and a video game that appears to celebrate the March 15 Christchurch mosque shootings has been banned by the Chief Censor.
1.Police have launched a homicide investigation after an eight-year-old died in Southland. Emergency services were called to Otautau, a small town northwest of Invercargill yesterday. Southland area commander Inspector Mike Bowman said two Otautau addresses were currently under police guard.
2.A video game that appears to celebrate the March 15 Christchurch mosque shootings has been banned by the Chief Censor. The game puts the player in the role of a character called Brenton Tarrant and anyone who is not a white heterosexual male is a target.
3.A man who spent many years advocating on behalf of children in state care has outlined cruel treatment given to children in Social Welfare homes in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Oliver Sutherland was giving evidence on day 3 at the Royal Commission on Abuse and Care.
4.The profit for the country’s biggest bank has fallen as its expenses grew more than income against a background of controversy. ANZ has reported a profit of $1.82 billion for the year ended September, down 8 percent on the year before.
5.Samoa’s Government is considering closing all schools as the country reacts to a deadly measles epidemic. Yesterday, the Health Ministry revealed two more people are believed to have died from measles, an eight-month baby and a 37-year-old, in addition to the suspected measles-related death of a 14-month toddler.
6.Schools are facing a shortage of a 1000 teachers next year despite a big increase in the supply of qualified staff. Education Ministry figures show most of the extra teachers will be needed in primary schools in 2020.
7.The Government will chip in with $12 million from the Provincial Growth Fund to help build a 1300-seat theatre in Waikato, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced. The new $74 million theatre would be built on the former Hamilton Hotel site, overlooking the Waikato River.
8.Twitter has banned all political advertising worldwide, saying that the reach of such messages “should be earned, not bought”. “While internet advertising is incredibly powerful and very effective for commercial advertisers, that power brings significant risks to politics,” company CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted.
9.A police officer who ordered his dog to bite a man on the foot has been cleared of wrongdoing by the Independent Police Conduct Authority. Officers were detaining the man who had a history of violent offending, including using a blood-filled syringe to attack a police officer.
10.A Wellington inner harbour ferry operator East by West has been handed a hefty fine for a grounding that injured passengers and caused significant damage to the boat.
11.Police have broken up an attempt by climate activists to block a busy street in Christchurch as part of a protest outside a gas industry meeting.About 30 members of Extinction Rebellion demonstrated outside the Rydges Hotel on Latimer Square, which is hosting the New Zealand Gas Industry Forum.
12. Owners of the digger stuck in mud at a popular North Shore beach will have to meet council conditions and seek permits before it can be removed.
13. No-one will be prosecuted over the death of potentially hundreds of long-finned eels dug up and dumped by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council workers clearing a drain, the Ministry for Primary Industries says.The dead and dying eels were discovered by Napier resident Matiu Heremia encased in tonnes of mud that had been dumped on the banks of the Moteo River in February.
14. Drilling of the seabed in and around Port Nelson is due to begin today in preparation for the port to handle larger ships.
15.Wellington has been confirmed by the United Nations as a city of film. The award is part of UNESCO’s wider creative cities network in which film is one of the seven creative fields a city can be recognised for.
16. A Chinese hospital has disciplined its staff after a social media post surfaced alleging medical instruments used by a celebrity were offered for sale online.
