Blog

Today, quality fakes have never been better - and sellers are far more blatant with advertising their wares. Photo: Screenshot By Carolyn Enting* It used to be that you had to know someone in the know to get a good fake handbag. It was also easier to tell the difference between real and fake. Today, quality fakes have never been better - and sellers are far more blatant with advertising their wares. The influx of luxury reps on the market is also upping the stakes on finding counterfeits pop up on popular reseller platforms. So how do you tell the difference? Reseller platforms like Designer Wardrobe use the services of Nancy Krakowka of My Haute, New Zealand's premium designer authentication provider. Krakowka is often called upon by Designer Wardrobe or buyers and sellers on TradeMe f...

Bangladeshi people celebrate at Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's office after she resigned and left the country. Photo: AFP / NurPhoto Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned after weeks of deadly anti-government protests, putting an end to her more than two decades dominating the country's politics. Hasina, 76, fled the country, reportedly landing in India on Monday. Jubilant crowds took to the streets to celebrate the news, with some storming the prime ministerial palace, reportedly looting and vandalising parts of her former residence. Hours after Hasina's resignation, President Mohammed Shahabuddin ordered the release of jailed former prime minister Khaleda Zia and all students detained during recent protests against a quota system for government jobs. President Shahabud...

By Gianluca Avagnina, BBC News An Indonesian police spokesperson holds up a photo of Glen Malcolm Conning in a video. Photo: Indonesian Police / Supplied A helicopter pilot from New Zealand has been killed in the Indonesian region of Papua, police have said. Glen Malcolm Conning, 50, was killed by a pro-independence group known as Free Papua Organisation (OPM), according to police. OPM spokesman Sebby Sambom told the BBC that he had not been able to verify the Indonesian authorities' claim. It comes nearly a year and a half after the abduction of another pilot from New Zealand, Phillip Mehrtens, who remains in captivity. Authorities say the group responsible for Conning's death is the same that is holding Mehrtens. RNZ has been unable to confirm this. Conning was killed when rebels r...

By Stephan Shemilt, BBC Andrew Flintoff. Photo: AFP / GLYN KIRK Andrew Flintoff has revealed his struggle with anxiety, nightmares and flashbacks following the high-speed car accident which he says "changed my life forever". The former England all-rounder sustained serious facial injuries in a crash while filming Top Gear in December 2022. Now the 46-year-old has spoken publicly for the first time about the incident and its aftermath as part of the second series of Freddie Flintoff's Field of Dreams, which begins on BBC One on 13 August. "I don't know what completely better is," said Flintoff in scenes filmed at the beginning of this year. "I am what I am now. I'm different to what I was. It's something I will have to deal with for the rest of my life. Better? No, different." One of ...

By Nadine Yousif, BBC News A picture taken on January 13, 2020, during a press tour organised by the US-led coalition fighting the remnants of the Islamic State group, shows US army drones at the Ain al-Asad airbase in the western Iraqi province of Anbar. Photo: AFP / Ayman Henna Several US personnel have been injured after a suspected rocket attack on an American military base in Iraq, US officials have said. The attack comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Middle East was at a critical moment following the killings of senior leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah. Officials told the BBC's partner CBS News the Al Asad airbase in western Iraq was attacked and that they are still assessing the damage. They have not yet said who was behind the attack. Security sources told CBS...

By Kylie MacLellan and Catarina Demony for Reuters A protester holding a piece of concrete walks towards riot police as clashes erupt in Bristol on 3 August 3, 2024. Photo: JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said violent protesters who had targeted Muslim communities would swiftly face the "full force of the law" as he sought to quell days of anti-immigration rioting. The fatal stabbing of three young girls in the northwest English town of Southport last week has been seized on by anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim groups, with disinformation spread online and amplified by high-profile far-right figures to spark disorder in towns and cities. "Whatever the apparent motivation, this is not protest, it is pure violence and we will not tolerate attacks on mosques or our ...

By Anbarasan Ethirajan and Hannah Ritchie Bangladeshi people celebrate at Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's office after she resigned and left the country. Photo: AFP / NurPhoto Bangladesh is at a historic turning point. Weeks of anti-government protests have toppled its long-serving prime minister Sheikh Hasina, and an interim government is expected to be formed. After Hasina resigned and fled the country on Monday, huge crowds stormed her official residence in Dhaka amid reports of looting and disorder in the capital. At least 20 people were killed in the violence, adding to the more than 90 deaths on Sunday - which already marked the worst single-day casualty figure from any demonstrations in Bangladesh's recent history. Now, Hasina - a former pro-democracy icon, who critics say had ...