A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize — that is the claim America’s self-aggrandising president could well be making, and his supporters certainly are, as he moves towards a meeting with Kim Jong-un.
Trump will of course say it is the pressure he has put on North Korea and Chinathat has led to the apparent rapprochement between two bitter enemies, giving no credit to South Korea’s Moon Jae-in who has made it plain for a long time that he wants to make peace with the North. That leaves us waiting to see what transpires when Trump and Kim do meet, with expectations remaining low for many. But in the meantime there has been plenty to keep news junkies satisfied.
The man once lauded as America’s father of the nation, Bill Cosby, has been convicted of sexual abuse in what is being seen as a major victory for the #MeToo movement that took hold between Cosby’s two trials.
Royal couple Kate and William chose the name Louis for their second son, great news for the British bookies who were carrying heavy betting on Arthur.
In Britain a cold winter and early spring has been made more bitter by news that GDP has fallen to a five-year low, as complications continue to grow for Theresa May and her government with regard to efforts to disentangle Britain from the European Union.
In New Zealand the Auckland Blues reached a new nadir with a loss at Eden Park to the Jaguares of Buenos Aires. Until their Anzac Day disaster against the Melbourne Storm, the Warriors were flying high in Auckland’s battle of the rugby football codes.
A far more important development in Auckland was the frames going up for the first 18 KiwiBuild homes, starting a massive work programme on a major Labour election promise.But at $579,000 for a three-bedroom home and $649,000 for a four-bedroom one, there are fears they will still be out of range for young couples.
To end on a high note, the Productivity Commission says New Zealand can have a stronger economy and healthy environment by transitioning to a very low emissions economy over the next 30 years, and it is possible.
