The number of people deported from New Zealand has fallen by 40 percent; and family, friends, politicians and members of the public will farewell the former Prime Minister Mike Moore in Auckland this afternoon.
1. Tauranaga residents are being reassured their safety after a police shootout in the area last night. A man fired about 20 shots at a police car as he led them on a chase through an inner city suburb. He was subsequently shot dead by police.
2. Sir Bob Jones has withdrawn his defamation case against Renae Maihi, who set up a petition after he wrote an article which suggested Māori should be grateful to Pākehā for existing. The Lower Hutt property investor had been suing Maihi for defaming him by calling him a racist, and saying he is an author of hate speech. Sir Robert’s lawyer Fletcher Pilditch today said the case had been discontinued.
3. A woman on trial for murdering her abusive partner has told the jury about falling in love with the man she went on to kill. Karen Ruddelle is on trial in the High Court at Auckland after pleading not guilty to murdering Joseph Ngapera in Manurewa in 2018.
4. The union representing workers at the Imperial Tobacco factory in Lower Hutt says its closure is a blow to the wider community. The nearly 100-year-old Petone factory will close costing 122 people their jobs.
5. Family, friends, politicians and members of the public will farewell the former Prime Minister Mike Moore in Auckland this afternoon. Moore, who also led the World Trade Organization, died earlier this month aged 71.
6. A surge in fruit and vegetable prices has driven the largest monthly rise in food costs in nearly three years. Official numbers show prices rising 2.1 percent in January the month before.
7. A convoy of essential vehicles will be allowed into Milford Sound ahead of forecast, rain and severe gales in the lower South Island. Road access has been cut since last week when the region was hit with flooding and landslides. The four-wheel drive convoy will be the first in since emergency services on Wednesday.
8. Met service has issued a heavy rain warning for Westland, South of Ōtira from early Sunday morning. It says upto 100mm of rain could accumulate near the coast in one day and 250mm over the ranges, as tropical cyclone Uesi passes by.
9. A prominent Taranaki businessman has been sentenced to two years and 10 months jail for his part in the methamphetamine supply ring. Lachlan MacMillan who appeared in the New Plymouth District Court today had earlier pleaded guilty to five representative charges of supplying and possessing the class A drug, also known as P.
10.The number of people deported from New Zealand has fallen by 40 percent. There were about 1,700 deportations in the last financial year compared to almost 3000 the year before.
11.The search area for missing British tramper Stephanie Simpson has been narrowed to one area of extremely challenging terrain of Mount Aspiring National Park. Simpson, a 32-year-old from Essex who was on a working holiday, was reported missing after she did not return to work on Monday. She had been tramping in the park over the weekend.
12. NASA scientists say they’ve overturned the theory of how the planets in the solar system formed. The established views that material crashed together violently until labor came worlds but new results suggest the process was slower.
13.The US Government has filed fresh charges against the Chinese tech giant Huawei and its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou who is fighting extradition from Canada.
14. In Australia, an inquiry has heard the Prime Minister Scott Morrison not only gave suggestions about which communities sports projects should be funded but also chose them based on political goals.
15. Lawyers for Harvey Weinstein’ have called on the jury at his sexual assault trial to find him not guilty even if that decision is unpopular with the public. Closing statements have begun in the six week long trial.
16. A sea lion and its pup have died after being hit by a vehicle in South Otago. Eight-year-old Matariki and the one-month old pup were on Kaka Point Rd near Balclutha on Wednesday night.
17. It’s been a triumphant night for the Silver Ferns and their coach Dame Noeline Taurua at the 57th edition of the Halberg Awards in Auckland tonight. The Silver Ferns capped off their night by winning the supreme award which was presented by Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy.
