Rob Willems remembers the day he learned his brother, Bram, died as if it was yesterday. He woke in the middle of the night to what he was thought was his mother laughing hysterically – the sound was louder and more intense than…
Tag Archives: oceania
Puhoi tunnel arrest: Person stopped on Auckland motorway after police car rammed
A police incident involving a fleeing driver this morning ended with a patrol car being rammed and a driver climbing onto the roof of their stationary vehicle on the Northern Motorway. An Auckland truck driver watched in shock as…
Deep South Series: Milford Sound – is New Zealand's jewel lost to tourism?
The Herald is proud to present the first episode of a major new investigative documentary series Deep South produced and presented by Crux Productions. It’s a world heritage site and the country’s number one tourism destination…
Wellington student with service dog abused, refused Uber ride
A Wellington student who suffers epilepsy says she was labelled an “imbecile” and “mentally ret*****” when an Uber driver refused to carry her service dog, leaving her on a dark roadside.Nina Gellert, 21, ordered an Uber from her…
What happened to Ronald? Search for man last seen in 1966
Police have launched an appeal for information to find out where a man has been for the last 56 years.
Ronald Peter Owen was last seen at his family home on Norman Street in Wendouree West, Victoria, in 1966.
His family believes he may have travelled to New South Wales shortly after but wasn't reported missing at the time of his disappearance.
READ MORE: Xi gives Biden fiery warning on Taiwan during two-hour phone call
In July 2022, a family member went to a pop-up familial DNA collection program in Queanbeyan, NSW, to provide a sample of DNA and report Owen's disappearance.
The family member hoped providing a DNA sample would help to locate Owen.
At the time of his disappearance, Owen was 18-years-old and is described as being of Caucasian appearance, a solid build, about 175cm tall, with a fair complexion and brown hair.
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Today, Owen would be 75 years old.
Anyone with information about Owen's whereabouts is urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Asia's richest woman loses $18b before her eyes
Yang Huiyan, Asia's wealthiest woman, has seen her wealth fall to $16 billion from nearly $34 billion this year as China's property crisis escalates, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The 41-year-old controls Country Garden Holdings, China's largest real estate developer by sales. Her stake was largely transferred from her father Yang Guoqiang, who founded the company in Foshan, Guangdong province, in 1992.
Country Garden's stock has lost more than half its value this year, as the country's real estate sector has struggled with falling home prices, weakening buyer demand, and a debt default crisis that has engulfed some of its largest developers since last year.
READ MORE: Xi gives Biden fiery warning on Taiwan during two-hour phone call
Despite losing more than half her fortune, Yang remains the richest woman in Asia, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The plunge in her net worth has narrowed the wealth gap between her and fellow female billionaires in China, making Yang only some $143 million away from being surpassed by Fan Hongwei in wealth. Fan chairs Hengli Petrochemical, a chemical fiber producer.
Blame that on China's property quagmire.
Evergrande, China's most indebted property firm, defaulted on its US dollar bonds in December following months of liquidity issues. Since then, several other major developers, including Kaisa and Shimao Group, have also sought protection from creditors.
READ MORE: Russian battlefield casualties in Ukraine 'more than 75,000'
In recent weeks, the real estate crisis has escalated, as thousands of disgruntled homebuyers who had made down payments for unfinished homes threatened to stop paying mortgages if construction is not completed in time.
Country Garden is also facing growing liquidity stress. On Wednesday, the developer announced it would sell stocks at a nearly 13 per cent discount to raise $516 million, compared to its Tuesday's closing price.
Some of the proceeds will be used to repay the company's offshore debt, it added.
"The mortgage boycotts are a double threat to developers and to the housing market," said analysts at Capital Economics in a report on Wednesday.
READ MORE: Fears world's biggest economy heading into recession
They have drawn attention to the problem of cash-strapped developers being unable to complete properties that they have already sold, which is "putting off new homebuyers." The boycotts have also made banks more cautious about issuing mortgages, which could dent property sales further, they added.
In a report earlier this week, S&P Global Ratings estimated China's property sales could drop by a third this year because of mortgage strikes, as people believe developers won't be able to complete presold units in time— the most common way they sell homes in the country.
"Without sales, many more developers will collapse, which is both a financial and an economic threat," said Capital Economics analysts.
Cheeky cockatoos are terrorising a Sydney neighbourhood
Cheeky cockatoos are terrorising a Sydney neighbourhood, stealing lunches and raiding bins in the early hours of the morning.
Residents from Sutherland Shire, in the city's south, have flooded 2GB's Ben Fordham with calls, sharing their experiences with the naughty, highly-intelligent birds.
One listener said the native parrots come early, long before the garbage trucks, and pull everything out of the bins.
READ MORE: Rare video shows orcas kill great white shark and eat its liver
"They come and open up the bins," they said.
"They flock, come here, and open all the bins up and in they go and they rummage and pull everyone's garbage out into the street.
"They know, they're very smart."
READ MORE: Fears world's biggest economy heading into recession
Another caller quickly backed up the story, adding deer are also causing problem with bins.
This was followed by a call from "Tim", who said the birds have learnt to unzip bags and are raiding lunchboxes at his daughter's school.
"They would open the kids' bags, they worked out how to unzip them, take their plastic lunch boxes out," he said.
"Fly them in the air and drop them and eat their sandwiches.
"It's a real mess."
He added that "almost every week" someone on his street has their bins raided and he's resorted to weighing them down with waterbottles taped to lids.
According to the Australia Museum, the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo's normal diet consists of berries, seeds, nuts and roots.
It described the large, native parrots as "conspicuous".
READ MORE: Xi gives Biden fiery warning on Taiwan during two-hour phone call
The calls came just months after a resident in Victoria's Dandenong Ranges caught the white and yellow birds damaging property on CCTV.
Alli Galliott's cameras captured cockatoos gnawing and nibbling at timber in the backyard – structural beams, wooden play equipment and any other wood they can find.
The mum-of-two estimates the cockies have done thousands of dollars worth of damage.
Rare video shows moment orcas kill great white shark and eat its liver
The pod of orcas circle the 2.7 metre great white shark in slow and calm movements before they launch at it.
The coordinated attack was captured from above by a drone in South Africa's Mossel Bay and it has marine biologists very excited.
The vision, first shared with Daily Beast for Discovery Channel's highly-anticipated Shark Week, is a world-first.
It shows one of the orcas ripping out the shark's liver and eating it.
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It comes weeks after research concluded a pair of "serial" killer whales were responsible for great white carcasses washing up off the coast of Gansbaai in 2017, a former hotspot for the large fish.
Addressing the clip, lead author Alison Towner, a senior white shark biologist at the Dyer Island Conservation Trust, said she wasn't aware vision of the rare behaviour had been filmed.
READ MORE: Fears world's biggest economy heading into recession
"(It's) one of the most incredible pieces of natural history ever captured on film," she said.
"We are looking forward to sharing the science behind this and the rest of the interaction soon, and trust me there is more."
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The paper, published in African Journal of Marine Science, said eight dead great whites have washed ashore since 2017, all were the victims of orca attacks.
Seven of the sharks had livers removed, while some had their hearts removed too.
It was concluded the wounds were the signatures of the same two orcas, which may be members of a rare shark-eating morphotype.
The orcas have caused the remaining population of sharks to flee the waters they once dominated.
The rare drone vision will debut in the special Shark House and comes days after another stunning clip was released.
The first video showed the moment a 4.8-metre great white shark broke through the plastic cage of a diver, forcing him to make a desperate swim for safety.
Money Matters: Refund loophole most consumers have no idea about
Every week we will break down, debunk and demystify your rights as a shopper in Australia. This week we are looking at whether consumers can still receive a refund if they've lost the purchase receipt.
We all know life is getting more expensive than ever before, and how important it is to stretch every dollar you make.
That's why each week we'll answer a question surrounding what shoppers are – and aren't – entitled to when dealing with retailers and manufacturers.
MONEY MATTERS: Does a shop have to honour a price set by mistake?
Help! I never deal with paper
Hi there,
I recently purchased a cheap vacuum from a big-box department store that's well known in Australia.
I bought it using the self-service checkout and stupidly – I know it's my fault – threw away the receipt before I got home.
The vacuum turned out to be a complete dud. It wouldn't turn on when plugged in.
I was wondering if it was still possible to get a refund if I've lost the receipt?
That sucks (excuse the pun).
The answer is: it depends – but I'm optimistic that you can get that refund.
In Australia, you technically need to provide "proof of purchase" to be eligible for a repair, replacement or refund under the consumer guarantees.
A receipt is obviously the easiest way to do this – but not the only way.
Other ways you can provide "proof of purchase" is via a credit or debit card statement, a lay-by agreement, or even a copy or photograph of the receipt.
MONEY MATTERS: Can a business refuse legal tender in Australia?
Basically you need to be able to reasonably demonstrate that you purchased the item.
So if you used a debit or credit card, I'm reasonably confident you can provide that record as proof of purchase.
Particularly in the case of big-box stores I always think it's worth asking the question regardless.
You're entitled to a refund in this case because the product did not work as intended.
Interestingly, a little-known fact of consumer law is that businesses must always give you a receipt for anything over $75.
You also have the right to request a receipt for anything under $75 and the receipt must be given within seven days of asking.
MONEY MATTERS: Legal loophole in sign commonly seen at checkouts
Do you have a consumer question you want answered? You can get in touch with reporter Stuart Marsh at sm****@******om.au.
The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.
Police searching for teen after 'out of character' disappearance
Police say they hold concerns for a teen's welfare after her "out of character disappearance" on the Gold Coast.
The 14-year-old, who has not been named, was last seen around 4.40pm on Monday at an address on Fairweather Drive.
The girl is described as Caucasian, slim build, sandy coloured hair and green eyes.
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Both police and family are concerned for the teen's welfare, saying it is "out of character".
Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is asked to contact police on Crime Stoppers or Policelink.