Telecommunications company Spark is selling its video streaming platform Lightbox to Sky Network Television for an undisclosed price; and enrolment numbers figures indicate student numbers have fallen again at many polytechnics.
1.The US House of Representatives is poised to impeach President Donald Trump, an act he calls an assault on America. He is expected to be impeached by a large majority when two separate votes are taken this afternoon setting stage for his trial in the Senate.
2.The man charged with the murder of a Whanganui woman Jasmine Wilson has pleaded not gulty in the High Court in Whanganui this morning. A 28-year-old was making his second appearance on the murder charge, he also faces a string of violence charges.
3.A Swiss tourist found guilty of murdering his wife in a Nelson hotel has been sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum of 10 years. A jury found 64-year-old Bin Jiang guilty after a trial at the High Court in Nelson last month. His wife, Yanyan Meng, was strangled to death in the couple’s hotel room last April, while they were on holiday in New Zealand.
4.Inclined baby sleeper that have caused dozens of deaths in the United States have been banned in New Zealand. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has advised today it is now illegal to import or sell the products in this country.
5.Christchurch’s Mayor is blaming her husband for not declaring six large donations towards her re-election campaign. An auction run by Lianne Dalziel’s husband Rob Davidson brought in $40,000 but she did not declare individual contributions until yesterday under pressure from another Mayoral candidate John Minto.
6.The charity that raises money for Middlemore Hospital is asking for donations because resources are so stretched by the Whakaari/White Island eruption. Eight of the injured victims are being treated in the burns unit there. The Middlemore Foundation says it wants to raise money for some specialty equipment and supplies.
7.The economy recorded modest growth in the middle of the year. Gross Domestic Product a broad measure of the country’s economic health rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent for the three months ended September.
8.Telecommunications company Spark is selling its video streaming platform Lightbox to Sky Network Television for an undisclosed price. The agreement reached by the two companies last night is still subject to regulatory and legal conditions.
9.The Waitangi Tribunal has released another report further criticising the Crown for stripping Māori in the ‘King Country’ of their mana motuhake. It’s revealed part four of the Te Rohe Pōtae district inquiry which addresses 277 claims concerning Crown actions after the signing of the treaty.
10.A man who murdered his friend more than eight years ago has been sentenced to life imprisonment. In the High Court in Wellington last month the jury found David Lyttle guilty of murdering Brett Hall. Hall who was 47 went missing from his Wanganui property in May 2011 and his body has never been found.
11.A soldier taken into military custody amidst suspicion of far-right involvement has been charged under the Armed Forces Discipline Act. The man, an army private was arrested on Friday after a joint investigation by the Defence Force and the police and is being held at Linton Military Camp near Palmerston North.
12.A Gloriavale teacher who pleaded guilty to indecently touching and exposing himself to a nine-year-old pupil can now be named. Just Standfast, a member of the Gloriavale Christian Community pleaded guilty in November 2018 to one charge of sexual conduct with a child under 12.
13.The daughter of Ilham Tohti, a Uighur intellectual imprisoned in China has accepted the top European human rights prize on his behalf. The award is given to those who’ve made outstanding contributions to the defence of human rights.
14.A developer seeking to build beside an oil well in New Plymouth is confident the site poses no risk. The Seaport Land Company wants to transform Fonterra’s former Ngāmotu cool stores into apartments, offices, shops and restaurants.
15.Enrolment numbers figures indicate student numbers have fallen again at many polytechnics. Eight of the 16 institutes had nearly 3000 fewer domestic students in August than at the same time in 2017.
16.All Blacks coach Ian Foster has confirmed John Plumtree and Greg Feek will be part of his coaching set up. Plumtree only took over as Hurricanes head coach this year replacing Chris Boyd and will be the forwards coach, while Feek – a former All Black and Ireland assistant coach – will look after the scrum.
17.A distant star and its orbiting planet will be known to the world by Maori names. The star will be called kererū and the planet karaka.
