Whanganui Chronicle

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Latest documents

• Quiz1Which designer fashioned the latest Air NZ uniforms?

• 23 people killed Gunmen killed 23 people in four separate attacks in central Nigeria’s Benue state, a Red Cross official said yesterday, the latest flare-up of unrest in the region. The attacks happened Saturday night in four villages. Clashes between nomadic cattle herders and farmers over land use are common in central Nigeria. “Reports from the field have confirmed the killings of at least 23 people from different attacks,” Red Cross secretary in Benue state Anthony Abah told AFP. Several others were wounded, he added. Two attacks by gunmen last month in neighbouring Plateau state left more than 100 people dead. Across the wider Middle Belt, including in Benue, land used by farmers and herders is coming under stress from climate change and human expansion, sparking competition for increasingly limited space. New jet defended Donald Trump yesterday defended plans to receive a new Air Force One plane as a gift, after it was reported he would accept a luxury Boeing jet from Qatar despite strict rules on presents for United States Presidents. Calling the plane a “flying palace,” ABC News, which first reported the story, said the Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet gifted from the Qatari royal family would possibly be the most expensive gift ever received by the American Government. The controversy around the jet — and Trump’s statement that it was coming “free of charge” — builds on questions the US leader is facing over potential conflicts of interest with his family businesses and use of public office. In a social media post yesterday, Trump went on the offensive to say the plane would be a temporary “gift” that would go to the Defence Department, and would replace an existing four-decade-old model used to transport US Presidents. Trump, 78, said the process was unfolding as a “transparent transaction”. Thousands protest Thousands of people protested against the far right across Germany yesterday, as the AfD party appeals a decision to label it an “extremist” group. Germany’s domestic intelligence service last week labelled the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party a “right-wing extremist” group, accusing it of seeking to undermine the country’s democracy. It suspended the classification while AfD’s appeal of the measure moves through the courts. Anti-AfD demonstrators marched in 60 localities across Germany, following a call by the “Together against the Right” group. In Berlin 3000 protesters gathered in front of the Brandenburg gate, according to the police.

• Butter price hike impacts groceries

  Butter, beef and chocolate were among the grocery products with the largest annual price increases in April, according to the Grocery Supplier Cost Index (GSCI).

• Blessings, not tips, from future Pope

  When Pope Leo XIV dined out as a bishop in the Peruvian town of Chiclayo, his appetite was big and his tips came in the form of blessings rather than cash, staff recall.

• Battling nation’s ‘silent killer’

  One in three New Zealanders over 30 have high blood pressure – but many of them do not even know it.

• CLUB RUGBY ROUNDUP

  Results, May 9-10

• Broadway robbery A late-night aggravated robbery in Marton left an employee shaken, with police appealing for information to help find the offender. Police were notified that a person had entered a commercial property on Broadway about 10pm on Saturday, May 10. Police said the alleged offender threatened an employee with a weapon before leaving with an undisclosed amount of cash. The offender fled on foot before police arrived and left the employee “shaken”. Manawatū Police want to speak to any witnesses or anyone who may have information to assist the investigation. Information can be reported online through 105.police.govt.nz or call 105, using the reference number 250511/1196.

• NZ black market worth a cool $50b

  The size of the black market, to borrow from former US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, is a known unknown.

• Pair holed up in India — but would rather be back home

  New Zealand cricketers Mitchell Santner and Bevon-John Jacobs remain in India despite wanting to return home.

• Community wants speed bumps gone Petition gathers more than 200 signatures

  Apetition to remove the speed bumps outside the Aramoho Shopping Centre has gained traction, with the Whanganui District Council set to discuss their future soon.

Featured documents

• Booze Barons

  Asimple convenience or a plague on society? Whatever your view of liquor outlets, new laws on the way are expected to curb the enormous growth the industry has seen in New Zealand over the past couple of decades....

• Parole Board: System ‘fundamentally wrong’

  Ateenage offender with alcohol and violence issues sat behind bars, in a cell neighbouring his father’s, for more than a year without receiving any rehabilitative treatment....

• What’s holding up open banking?

  Why are our banks so far behind in providing customers with open banking? It’s a service that will improve a range of financial tasks, ranging from remortgaging to budgeting. Similar countries have had this technology for years....

• Pulling retail out of terminal slide

  Auckland Airport’s international terminal is said to have its hum back, with emotions high among travellers reuniting with family and friends after more than a year of closed borders....

• Thousands of jobs at aviation fair

  Auckland Airport is hosting job fair with around 2000 positions on offer and its chief executive Carrie Hurihanganui is well placed to know what it takes to get one of them....

• Driver escapes drug convictions

  Adriver who had methamphetamine and cannabis in his system when he crashed a work vehicle, injuring two colleagues, has escaped drugged-driving convictions after correct procedure wasn’t followed in obtaining a blood sample....

• ‘Little’ trust hails funding for project cutting power bills

  People behind the first Whanganui project to receive funding from the Government’s Māori Housing Renewable Energy Fund want to encourage others to apply for upcoming rounds....

• CRIME WAVE

  Ram raids, smash-and-grabs, protests on youth justice facility rooftops: the visibility of youth crime has increased markedly, as have political frustrations, with Chris Hipkins and Christopher Luxon saying they’ve had a “gutsful”....

• None

  It was a single word, unflinchingly direct and utterly terrifying....

• HUNTING the HUNTERS

  Written on the wall of the Head Hunters’ gang pad is a quote from the classic Godfather film series that says: “Real power can’t be given. It must be taken”....