Latest news with #CalvinSamuel
RNZ News
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- RNZ News
Road closed in Leeston after two pedestrians hit by car
Emergency services are at a crash in Leeston, Selwyn. Photo / File Photo: Calvin Samuel Emergency services are responding to a serious crash that has closed a road in Canterbury's Selwyn district. Harts Road near Leeston is closed after a vehicle struck two pedestrians at the intersection with Leeston Road at around 7.40pm. Police say there are serious injuries. Motorists are advised to avoid the area.
RNZ News
27-06-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
Wild weather: Auckland road reopens after debris from fallen roof forced closure
An Auckland road has reopened after debris from a fallen roof forced it to close earlier on Friday as wild weather lashes the country. An area of Crayford Road and Blockhouse Bay Road was closed after wind blew off a 25-30m section of a commercial building's roof and partially collapsed the front of the structure. The area of Crayford Road and Blockhouse Bay Road is closed after wind blew off a 25 - 30 metre roof of commercial building. Photo: Supplied / Dan Lake Photo: Calvin Samuel Powerlines near the damaged building were also down, and Fire and Emergency had deployed half-a-dozen appliances to the site. Powerlines near the damaged building are also down. Photo: Fire crews checked the building for occupants but said the building was empty. There were no reports of injuries. Photo: Calvin Samuel Meanwhile, a 'red level' severe thunderstorm warning was in place for Auckland, parts of Northland and Waikato , as torrential rain hits the upper North Island.
Independent Singapore
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Independent Singapore
In a private ceremony, Jaclyn Victor weds her long-time partner, Calvin T. Samuel
MALAYSIA: Jaclyn Victor, the Malaysian Idol winner, recently experienced a happy moment. Besides releasing some new music, she recently tied the knot with her long-time boyfriend, Calvin T. Samuel, as reported by Hype . At first, the singer kept her partner's identity under wraps. However, she did admit that her children had started to accept him as part of the family, even at the beginning of their relationship. Photo: Instagram/Jaclyn Victor Apparently, only close friends and family knew about the wedding as Victor has never publicly disclosed any information about the ceremony or even her engagement. Anyway, the happy event was shared by her friends, and here is what happened: Victor tied the knot with Calvin T. Samuel this past weekend. He's a director and executive coach at Wadadli Ltd. and a lecturer. Celebrity guest list The intimate ceremony, held at a secret location, was attended by friends and family. The celebrity guest list included Shila Amzah, Marsha Milan, Atilia Haron, Salamiah Hassan, Ning Baizura, Anuar Zain, and Ziana Zain. Many of Jaclyn's friends captured special moments from the ceremony, like when she walked down the aisle and she and Calvin exchanged their promises and said 'I do.' Of course, no wedding is complete without pictures, and all the celebrity guests made sure to grab some photos with the happy couple. Touching messages Some of them left touching messages, wishing the newlyweds a lasting marriage. 'From Malaysian Idol days to this radiant bride, I stand with pride and joy by your side. To @calvintsamuel, please take good care of my sis — we all love her dearly 🙏🏼,' wrote Shila Amzah. 'What a glorious day! Our beautiful goddess @jaclyn_victor has found her king, Calvin @calvintsamuel. May God bless you both and grant you a great adventure ahead. May you always love each other and be each other's strength and pillar for life,' wrote Ning Baizura, congratulating her dear friends. Fans congratulated Jaclyn and her husband on their nuptials in heartfelt replies to the posts. 'Asia's Divette' Jaclyn Victor (born on Dec 4, 1978) is a highly accomplished Malaysian singer, actress, and businesswoman. She rose to fame by winning the first season of Malaysian Idol in 2004. She is known for her powerful vocals and has been dubbed 'Asia's Divette.' She is considered a legend in Malaysia. Victor was previously married to Shawn Rivera, an American singer. They got married on Jul 19, 2014, but divorced in January 2020 after five years . They have two children : a son named Jonah Joshiah Rivera and a daughter named Molly Marguerite Rivera .
Malay Mail
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Shila Amzah, Vince Chong celebrate Jaclyn Victor's new marriage
KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — Malaysian Idol winner Jaclyn Victor married Calvin T. Samuel in a private ceremony over the weekend. Fellow singer Shila Amzah shared the joyful news on Instagram, posting several photos from the wedding. In her Instagram caption, Shila expressed her happiness for Jaclyn's 'beautiful new chapter' and wished the couple love and laughter in their journey together. Akademi Fantasia's first ever winner, Vince Chong, also posted photos from the event, describing it as a 'beautiful night of celebrating the union of two beautiful souls'. In his Instagram profile, Samuel lists himself as a certified professional coach and Methodist minister who served in towns across Essex, England. This marks Jaclyn Victor's second marriage following her 2020 divorce from American singer Shawn Rivera, with whom she shares two children.
RNZ News
04-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Navy helicopter upgrade needed after Seasprites 'worked to the bone'
Defence Minister Judith Collins with members of the New Zealand Defence Force at Sunday's announcement. Photo: RNZ / Calvin Samuel The government's $2 billion spend on new naval helicopters is being welcomed by experts, but the opposition says other problems need just as much focus. Defence Minister Judith Collins's pre-Budget announcement on Sunday revealed replacement of the Navy's Seasprite helicopters would be the first major expense from the $12 billion capability plan unveiled last month. She also revealed a $957m spend from the Budget - separate from the capability plan - on Defence Force activities, personnel and property. "As a maritime nation we are prioritising naval capability. The new helicopters will be able to go further and carry larger loads, including weapons, personnel and equipment - all of which is critical for Defence to protect New Zealand and New Zealanders," Collins said. Labour leader Chris Hipkins said it was a sensible approach, but similar levels of spending were needed in other areas like health, education and housing. "I think the replacement of the Seasprite helicopters is necessary. We do rely on them for things like disaster recovery, for the provision of humanitarian aid, and I think ultimately it's good to see the government investing in them," he said. "Replacement of the Seasprites is well and truly justified, but the government's clearly prioritising defence spending while offering austerity in areas like health, education and housing. I think New Zealanders need to see a similar level of commitment to investment in those areas. "This is a government that scaled back hospital redevelopments, it scaled back school rebuilds, and has almost completely stopped building new state houses. Those are vital investments in New Zealand's future as well." He said he was not in a position to judge the price-tag, but military procurement was different from the commercial sensitivity in the private sector in that prices were "fairly standard", so it was good to see the government being transparent about costs. The Green Party's Defence spokesperson Teanau Tuiono called the military focus of the government's spending into question. "Preparing for war is not how we build peace," he said, "We've been told by Nicola Willis that this upcoming budget is going to be an austerity budget, there's nothing in the bank do a lolly scramble - well someone's got all the lollies and it appears to be Judith Collins and David Seymour," he said. Willis - the Finance Minister - last week revealed the 22 May Budget's operating allowance would be about $1.1 billion smaller than previously expected, but said it was not an austerity approach. Tuiono called for a stronger focus on Pacific diplomacy and climate change mitigation, rather than spending up large on military hardware. "Is that what the Pacific is asking us? That's a question I would have: have Pacific leaders told us they actually want us to get helicopters? What you often hear from them is that they want support around climate change. "More can be done to support the Pacific and the focus needs to be on that relationship, and we've got to look at it in the context of the US up-sticks and leaving. "That takes a lot of dialogue. It takes diplomacy. I don't think it means arming up." University of Otago professor of international relations Robert Patman said New Zealand did need to do more on climate change, but disagreed that investing in defence was a preparation for war. "In a world in which there is conflict, unfortunately, perception of weakness can make you a target and it's no secret that we've only been spending about 1 percent of GDP on defense for about two or three decades," he said. "I think if you want an independent foreign policy you do need to have the capability to not only defend yourself but also to contribute to multilateral security operations. Most problems in the world today - particularly in the world of security, but also climate change and also economic problems - they don't respect borders. "This defense announcement we've had doesn't signal a willingness to act unilaterally or even be part of some alignment of a great power. It signals, I think, a pragmatic recognition that since we basically rely on the multilateral system and we believe in the rules based order ... we do have to have the capability to contribute with others, to deal with problems that threaten that order." He said the spending announcement was not only encouraging because it gave certainty over the helicopters' replacement, it was also signalling that the government was "very mindful that we're a maritime nation, and our maritime estate, so to speak - that exclusive economic zone around New Zealand - needs to be monitored". "It's a form of insurance. You hope you don't have to use it, but... it's nice to have it in place, just in case something untoward or unexpected develops, and I think this is quite sensible policy making." Victoria University's Centre for Strategic Studies director David Capie said the defence force had been under-invested in for decades, and in recent years had been unable to perform some of the tasks expected of it. The helicopters were also essential, he said, for the Navy to be able to do what it needed to do - and the replacement of them was something that had been planned during the previous government's term. "You need helicopters that can actually extend the effectiveness of our frigates and other vessels ... they're also likely to be bigger than the ones that the Navy currently operates, and so they'll also be capable to fulfil a number of other other roles, like search and rescue and humanitarian assistance and response." He said the Seasprites had been "worked to the bone". "We had eight helicopters, we've cut that back to five essentially to cannibalise the ones that we have, to keep them in the air ... it's another classic case of New Zealand is really running assets into the ground, it becomes more and more expensive to keep them operating, and so there are some things that just suddenly become urgent and really need to be addressed. "So $2 billion is a lot, but this you also need to think that this is an investment over many decades of a future capability and it's part of an insurance policy that's vital for our nation's security." At the announcement, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the focus was on ensuring NZDF had the personnel in place and bringing new assets into the system, and signalled defence could be a priority for additional new spending. "If we have more money, if our economy is doing better, of course we'll tip more money into it as we go," he said. "It comes from a place of us as a new government saying 'look, we cannot have economic prosperity without defence and security. We're living in an Indo-Pacific region that is more geostrategically contested and competitive. We see rising tensions through the world but also through our region. "It's really important you don't just spout off with your values and your words, you've actually got to follow it up with some actions and some commitment." A spokesperson for Judith Collins said all figures for the helicopter spending - and all other estimates from the Defence Capability Plan - would be subject to finalised business cases. Exactly which model of helicopter would be chosen would also depend on the business case, but the $2b minimum set aside for them in the Budget would cover the cost of the helicopters themselves, as well as their operating costs for the first four years. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
