Tuesday, April 21

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Kiwi caught with bullets, shells and gun parts at Australian airport
World News

Kiwi caught with bullets, shells and gun parts at Australian airport

By Mark Rigby and Danielle Mahe, ABC News Security officers seized bullets, shells and firearm parts at the Gold Coast Airport. Photo: Australian Border Force / supplied A 62-year-old man will face court after allegedly trying to export hundreds of bullets, shotgun shells and bullet casings, as well as firearm parts, on a flight from the Gold Coast to New Zealand. The New Zealand national was allegedly carrying some items on his body and had others in his luggage when he was stopped by Australian Border Force officers. The man is expected to appear in Southport Magistrates Court today and could face a maximum penalty of $782,500 and 10 years' imprisonment. A New Zealand man allegedly caught trying to leave Australia with hundreds of bullets, shotgun shells, and firearm parts has fa...
Auckland pulp and paper mill closing permanently, union says
Business

Auckland pulp and paper mill closing permanently, union says

Photo: Jessica Hopkins/RNZ Oji Fibre Solutions Penrose mill is permanently closing, the E tū union says. Union spokesperson Joe Gallagher said the mill's last day would be 18 December and at least 72 workers at the mill had been affected. Oji Fibre Solutions said it was considering closing its Penrose mill, partly due to high power prices. Up to 75 workers would be affected. Earlier this month, 230 workers at Winston Pulp International were told the sawmill and pulp mills near Ruapehu were both closing for good. About 30 workers attended a meeting at the Penrose milll on Wednesday morning. Work at the site was paused for 24 hours. The company's announcement pack given to workers, which RNZ has seen, said this was to give staff time to go home, digest the news, and talk to their families ...
Israel planted explosives in Hezbollah’s Taiwan-made pagers, sources say
World News

Israel planted explosives in Hezbollah’s Taiwan-made pagers, sources say

By Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily for Reuters Lebanese army soldier gestures to an ambulance rushing wounded people to a hospital in Beirut on 17 September 2024, after explosions hit. Photo: AFP / Anwar Amro Israel's Mossad spy agency planted a small amount of explosives inside 5000 Taiwan-made pagers ordered by Lebanese group Hezbollah months before Tuesday's detonations, a senior Lebanese security source and another source told Reuters. The details shed light on an unprecedented Hezbollah security breach that saw thousands of pagers detonate across Lebanon, killing nine people and wounding nearly 3000 others, including the group's fighters and Iran's envoy to Beirut. Iran-backed Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate against Israel, whose military declined to comment on the blasts. The pl...
Fonterra to build cool store size of 3 rugby fields
Business

Fonterra to build cool store size of 3 rugby fields

Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly Fonterra is investing about $150 million to expand the cool store at its Whareroa site in Taranaki. The new cool store will be the size of three rugby fields, store around 26,000 tonnes of cheese, and increase the site's cool store capacity by around five thousand tonnes. The Whareroa site processes up to 12.5 million litres of milk per day and produces 30 percent of the co-op's cheese. Construction on the new cool store will begin next month and is expected to take three years to complete. Fonterra chief operating officer Anna Palairet said as is always the case when making investment decisions, the co-op carefully considers where to allocate capital to maximise value to farmer shareholders and unit holders over the long-term. "The new cool store is st...
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore knew the risks – former astronaut says of paid stuck in space
World News

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore knew the risks – former astronaut says of paid stuck in space

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams hold a news conference from the International Space Station on 13 September. Photo: AFP PHOTO / NASA TV Two astronauts who flew to the International Space Station for eight days and ended up staying months were aware of the risks and will be being kept busy, a retired astronaut who knows the pair says. NASA astronauts Sunita "Suni" Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore crewed Boeing's Starliner which left earth on 5 June for what was meant to be an eight-day test mission. They're now expected to return in February on a different spacecraft. Retired astronaut Michael Fossum told Nine to Noon what happened to Wilmore and Williams was "pretty jarring" - to go from an eight day mission to months spent in space. But this was a test flight, he sa...
Synlait shareholders decide it’s ‘worth saving’, vote for new share deal
Business

Synlait shareholders decide it’s ‘worth saving’, vote for new share deal

A Synlait milk truck. Photo: Synlait/supplied Shareholders in embattled dairy company Synlait Milk have voted overwhelmingly to approve a range of measures to restore its finances and save the company. A special meeting has approved a $218 million issue of new shares to its two largest shareholders and a $450m finance package from a consortium of banks. The future of the debt-laden infant formula maker was hanging in the balance and needed shareholder approval to avoid the company likely going into insolvency. Chair George Adams said a 'no' vote would have sunk the company that "was worth saving", but saddled with debt totalling $565m. "To be clear, the board does not believe insolvency is the best option for Synlait or that creditors are paid and returns are delivered to shareholders,"...
Frenchman Dominique Pelicot admits to mass rape of his wife
World News

Frenchman Dominique Pelicot admits to mass rape of his wife

By Marc Leras and Makini Brice, Reuters Gisele Pelicot insisted on a public trial to expose her husband and the other men accused of raping her. Photo: CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP Warning: This story discusses sexual assault Dominique Pelicot admitted to drugging his wife and recruiting dozens of strangers to rape her over nearly a decade, begging for his family's forgiveness, as he told a French court: "I am a rapist." Pelicot's hearing, the centrepiece of one of France's most spectacular criminal trials in recent history, had to be delayed last week due to his bad health. He faces multiple charges including rape, gang rape and privacy breaches by recording and disseminating sexual images. Pelicot appeared in court with a cane on Tuesday morning and spoke to the judge through a microphone....
Jetstar accused of misleading customers on flight disruption compensation
Business

Jetstar accused of misleading customers on flight disruption compensation

Jetstar aplogised for errors made regarding compensation in 2022 and 2023. Photo: 123rf The Commerce Commission is filing charges against Jetstar for misleading consumers about compensation for flight delays and cancellations. The commission said under aviation law customers must be reimbursed when flights were disrupted for reasons within an airline's control, such as staffing and mechanical issues. Costs that may be reimbursed included meals, accommodation or replacement travel. The commission claims Jetstar discouraged consumers from seeking compensation and likely denied legitimate claims in 2022 and 2023. In a statement general manager Vanessa Horne said airlines should not mislead their customers. "The Commerce Commission expects large businesses to take their responsibilities und...
Nine killed, thousands wounded as pagers explode in Lebanon
World News

Nine killed, thousands wounded as pagers explode in Lebanon

By Laila Bassam, Reuters An ambulance rushes wounded people to the Beirut Medical Center after pagers used to communicate exploded across Lebanon. Photo: AFP / Anwar Amro Militant group Hezbollah ha s promised to retaliate against Israel after accusing it of detonating pagers across Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least nine people and wounding thousands of others who included fighters and Iran's envoy to Beirut. Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makary condemned the late afternoon detonation of the pagers - handheld devices that Hezbollah and others in Lebanon use to send messages - as an "Israeli aggression". Hezbollah said Israel would receive "its fair punishment" for the blasts. The Israeli military, which has been engaged in cross-border fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah sinc...
IRD pauses sharing personal data with social media giants
Business

IRD pauses sharing personal data with social media giants

Photo: AFP Inland Revenue (IR) says it has paused sharing people's personal data with social media giants. RNZ revealed last week Inland Revenue shares the details of up to half-a-million taxpayers with Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn, several times a month for targeted advertising campaigns. The department is reviewing the practice after warnings that its hashing method does not protect personal data. "Inland Revenue has received a number of complaints since the story first ran," it said on Tuesday. "Our review into the use of hashing is ongoing and as part of that IR has paused the creation and uploading of new custom audience lists." This puts a block on its ability to run social media ad campaigns. It was also now working with the Privacy Commissioner's Office which "has contacted IR ...