Car submerged in Christchurch's Avon River, fears people could be inside
Fire and Emergency NZ was 'working to determine whether there is anybody inside', a spokeswoman told the Herald.
The car was submerged in the river near Pages Rd in New Brighton, she said.
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1News
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- 1News
Kiwi describes being inside Melbourne synagogue as it was set on fire
A New Zealander inside a Melbourne synagogue subject to an alleged arson attack on Friday says it is a worrying escalation from "hate speech into violence". Flammable liquid was poured over a door and set alight on Friday. About 20 people were in the East Melbourne Synagogue at the time of the attack. Counter terrorism police have arrested a 34-year-old man. Also in Melbourne, on the same night, about 20 masked protesters harassed diners at an Israeli-owned restaurant. Three cars were also set on fire outside a Melbourne business. One of those inside the Melbourne synagogue on Friday evening was New Zealander Murray Meltzer. ADVERTISEMENT He told RNZ's Morning Report it was a "very tranquil" service before the attack. "Congregants meet there every week on a Friday around sunset for the Shabbat services, and regularly a handful of us meet for dinner afterwards — that's what was happening on Friday night." Shortly before 8pm, soon after dinner began, the synagogue's bell began ringing "repeatedly, which is unusual". "One of the children, around age 13, was playing at the front of the building," Meltzer said. They glanced at the CCTV monitor — which Meltzer called an "unfortunate sign of the times [with] concern about rising anti-Semitism" — and ran towards the back. "By then there was smoke starting to creep under the front entrance and find its way into the central synagogue sanctuary area, and as a result of that, we obviously ran to the front initially to try and put out the fire. Everyone else was at the back of the building. "And by then we had a couple of passersby that had spotted the flames developing at the front of the building called the fire brigade, which is located fairly close by, so fortunately, the fire brigade was there very quickly, thank goodness." ADVERTISEMENT An unknown man entered the grounds of the synagogue on Albert Street in East Melbourne at 8pm yesterday. (Source: Google Maps) The gravity of what had happened — not just at the synagogue, but elsewhere — "hit home the next day" when people showed up for the Saturday morning service and there was a "large press crowd there". There has been a rise in the number of anti-Jewish and Islamophobic incidents in Australia since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war in 2023. In December last year, another synagogue in Melbourne was set alight. Australia in early 2024 banned Nazi salutes and the public display of symbols associated with designated terror groups like Islamic State and Hamas. Last week it cancelled American rapper Kanye West's visa after he released a song Heil Hitler, praising the genocidal Nazi Party leader. A synagogue in Sydney earlier this year was graffitied with swastikas, while in December anti-Islamic graffiti appeared in the city's west. The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including deadly Texas floods, Australian woman attacked by a lion, and Elon Musk's new political party. (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT Meltzer said whoever lit the latest fire in Melbourne would have known there were people inside as all the lights were on. "It's shifted the sort of activity we've seen in recent times from, from just a bit of hate speech and people's right to protest and stand up and say what their views are — just sort of, kind of shifted it quite dramatically. It's been left to fester and develop, and I guess the speech has moved from just a bit of hate speech into violence. "And that's a real, that's a real, that's a real concern for us as a community." Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke condemned the attack as an "attack on Australia". (Source: Nine) 'Attack on Australia' Meltzer praised politicians from both sides of the Australian political divide for condemning the incidents. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he viewed the incidents with "utmost gravity," and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said they "have no place in our country". ADVERTISEMENT "Australians have every right to be able to conduct their faith, to engage with each other in peace and harmony. That is the Australia that we cherish." Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, speaking from the scene on Sunday, called it an "attack on Australia". "There's been some reporting that no one was physically injured — that doesn't mean no one was harmed. The community here was harmed. The Jewish community in Australia was harmed, and we were harmed as a nation."
1News
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Kiwi van Gisbergen wins in Chicago, completing NASCAR weekend sweep
New Zealand driver Shane van Gisbergen completed a sweep on the Chicago Street Course, winning the NASCAR Cup Series race on the tricky downtown circuit. It was van Gisbergen's second victory of the season and his third career Cup win. The Trackhouse Racing driver also won in Chicago in 2023, becoming the first driver to take his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963. Ty Gibbs was second, and Tyler Reddick finished third. Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five. It was a dominant weekend for van Gisbergen, a three-time champion in Australia's Supercars. The 36-year-old New Zealand native won the Xfinity Series race from the pole Saturday. He also was the top qualifier for the Cup race. Michael McDowell joined van Gisbergen on the front row and quickly moved in front. He won Stage 1 and led for 31 laps before he was derailed by a throttle cable issue. ADVERTISEMENT Van Gisbergen regained the lead when he passed Chase Briscoe with 16 laps left. As fog moved into downtown Chicago with thunderstorms in the forecast, van Gisbergen controlled the action the rest of the way. Drivers race in a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at the Grant Park 165, July 6, 2025, in Chicago. (Source: Associated Press) AJ Allmendinger was sixth, and Ryan Preece finished seventh. Ryan Blaney, who won the second stage, was 12th. William Byron's day was cut short by a clutch problem. The Hendrick Motorsports driver began the day on top of the series standings. After McDowell seized the lead early in the race, Carson Hocevar caused a multicar crash when he hit the wall and spun out between Turns 10 and 11. Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Daniel Suárez and Will Brown were among the drivers collected in the wreck. "I didn't see it until the last second," Keselowski said. "I slowed down and I actually felt I was gonna get stopped and then I just kind of got ran over from behind. It's just a narrow street course and sometimes there's nowhere to go." Ty Dillon and Reddick moved into the third round of NASCAR's inaugural in-season tournament when Keselowski and Hocevar were unable to finish the race. Dillon, the No. 32 seed, eliminated Keselowski after he upset top-seeded Denny Hamlin last weekend at Atlanta. Gibbs, Preece, Alex Bowman, John H Nemechek, Zane Smith and Erik Jones also advanced. The winner of the five-race, bracket-style tournament takes home a US$1 million prize (NZ$1.6 million). Bowman, the 2024 champion on the downtown street course, won his head-to-head matchup with Bubba Wallace. Bowman and Wallace made contact as they battled for position late in the race after they also tangled in Chicago last year.
NZ Herald
4 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Qantas cyberattack: Potential criminal makes contact with airline
Qantas says a potential cyber criminal has made contact after last week's hack compromised six million customers' data. The airline was targeted last Monday when a contact centre was infiltrated. 'A potential cyber criminal has made contact, and we are currently working to validate this,' Qantas said today. 'As this
