Welcome to the world of aerial pizza delivery - Domino's sets the trend in New Zealand

At long last, the concept of aerial pizza delivery is taking shape - it has become a reality with the first pizza being delivered by drone. It is a Domino's Pizza and the first delivery of a Peri-Peri chicken pizza and a chicken and cranberry pizza was made to Whangaparaoa, north of Auckland.
The drone company Flirtey has teamed up with Domino's to deliver pizza through the unmanned aerial vehicle.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 16 November 2016.

The delivery of pizza by using a drone was a world-first and Domino's expected high demand from customers when it started trials. The obvious benefits of such a delivery system meant avoiding traffic and congestion, and limiting delivery time.
The successful delivery followed several operational and product trials, including food temperature testing and co-ordinating with government.
Research carried out by Domino's showed that 70 per cent of customers would use drone delivery if given the opportunity. New Zealand is, right now, its trial market but it is also looking at trials in Australia, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Japan and Germany.


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Auckland barber aims for a Guinness World Record by completing 400 haircuts in eight hours

His name is Brendan Blake and he has been a barber in Auckland for the last 18 years. He plans to try for a Guinness World Record for giving 400 haircuts within eight hours. It will be a part of his fundraising efforts for Movember Foundation, which tackles men's health issues including cancer and mental health issues.
He himself is a cancer patient and two of his friends have committed suicide last year.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 18 October 2016.

Brendan Blake or Bundy, as he is better known, owns barbershops in Auckland and Wellington. He has been barbering for 18 years and is now getting together a team to achieve the world record for the most haircuts given by a team of 10 barbers in eight hours. The present record is 375 and he plans to break it with his team.
He has been given the thumbs up from the Guinness World Book of Records and the haircut day will be held at the Britomart Country Club on November 18. They aim to keep haircuts to 10 minutes each and, apart from two-minute breaks between each haircut, the team will keep going non-stop for eight hours.
Bundy's has his own record of 48 haircuts in one day of work.


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A ginger cat acts as the ears of a deaf sailor of Auckland

He is a sailor from Auckland and cannot always hear everything around him while at sea because he is totally deaf and his six-month-old ginger cat acts as his ears. The cat has a long-winded name but is Skatty for short and it plays an important role when the pair go sailing around New Zealand.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz darted 10 July 2016.

He has no training as such but knows instinctively that his owner is deaf. Therefore, he has taken it upon himself to let his owner know if a boat comes alongside, or when people are at his door or when his phone receives text messages.
The 58-year-old owner is originally from South Africa and is a computer programmer. He built his 32-foot double-ended junk La Chica himself and lives on board with Skatty in summer. His cat keeps him company constantly whether below the deck or above it. The cat is polydactyl which means he was born with extra toes on each paw. Such a trait was considered highly desirable to old-time sailors because they are believed to be good mousers since the extra toes helped get better grip on the deck.


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Retired Californian couple imprisoned in Auckland on charges of drug smuggling

The lives of retired people are not always a bed of roses and, when there are others who want to take advantage of these people and lay traps for them, it is difficult to avoid the sad consequences. That is what the couple from the US discovered the hard way.
It is about this American couple from California. The man was a Vietnam war veteran, his wife - a cancer patient. They had raised two adopted daughters together since they were married in 1974 and had, now, set their sights set on traveling the world. But - they fell victim to a drug racket and landed behind bars in New Zealand.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 15 April 2016.

The couple was contacted by a Ghanaian man who promised them free vacation with lodging and boarding in various locations - all they had to do was to carry packets and hand them over to someone at the destination. They were told that the packets contained some harmless chemicals that was meant to clean cash that had been dyed to avoid detection by authorities.
The couple believed what they had been told and in 2013, they made three trips in six months from India to Japan, Peru to Ghana, and Brazil to Italy. They were under the impression that they were doing nothing wrong.
In 2015, they were asked to fly from Peru to Hong Kong and collect packages that "appeared to be bedsheets, coffee and rice". In Asia, they split the consignment and delivered it to two separate parties as they had been directed and then spent weeks in a Hong Kong hotel until they heard from Ghanaian again.
This time, they collected two locked suitcases and, on October 19 last year, they flew to Auckland on an Air New Zealand flight. Once there, trouble began when the Customs staff asked them to open the bags. They did not have the keys and, after the bags wee forced open, out came the huge consignment of 7.2kg of methamphetamine - this Class A drug was potentially worth more than $7 million.
They could have been put in prison for 14-years but were given sentences of 4-years and two months taking into consideration their age and medical history.


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Emirates Airline to cut down total time for non stop 14000-Km flight from Auckland to Dubai

Emirates Airline has plans to cut down total time taken for the ultra-long 14000-Km flight from Auckland to Dubai by using smart planning and technology. This will undoubtedly be one of the longest air routes in the world by distance, and Emirates will go in for making use of flexible routes, which can vary by day, by resorting to taking advantage of tail winds and avoiding head winds - that will help to reduce the time in the air.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 24 February 2016.

The airline will begin its first non-stop service from Dubai to Auckland on March 1, and with the longer duration return leg departing the next day. It will be operated by a Boeing 777-200LR and should typically take just under 16 hours from Dubai to New Zealand and 17 hours, 15 minutes in the other direction.
The non-stop flight will have a complement of 13 cabin crew and four pilots, allowing for rest periods.
The technology that Emirates plans to introduce will eliminate an en-route stop in Australia which could reduce the time to Auckland by up to three hours. And, such measures would also result in increased fuel economies - a plus point with focus on the health of the environment.
Emirates has been eyeing the non-stop flight to New Zealand for about two years. As informed, the most optimal route would be chosen just two hours before commencement of the flight with options of updating during the flight itself. A contingency flight plan would always be there to take care of unexpected events arising during the flight.


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This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 27 January 2016.

As indicated by the state-owned airline, it has had its eyes on this market and these ultra-long haul flights to Auckland were part of new expansion plans.
Right now, Qantas operates the longest non-stop flight in the world but with the introduction of Qatar Airways flights,it will take a back seat - the Doha - Auckland flight would beat that route by almost 1000 kilometres. Qantas has been operating a Sydney - Dallas flight since September 2014 - it covers a distance of 13,800 kilometres in around 17 hours.
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Red-eared turtles used to be once upon a time be considered as cute pets - but, they have a lifespan of 50-years and can grow to size of a dinner plate and are believed to be one of the world's 100 most-invasive species. When they grew big, the owners used to release them in the waters. As a result, Auckland waters are now infested with these pests. Auckland is now on the brink of an "explosion" in red-eared slider turtles.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 13 December 2015.

New Zealand had imposed ban on the import of red-eared sliders in 1965, but it is legal to own and breed the reptiles. Hence, families used to buy the cute 4cm pet for children and have realized that they were stuck with a fully grown turtle and got rid of them. Red-eared sliders, which take their name from a distinctive red stripe behind each eye.
Auckland is now faced with a serious infestation of the species that had been introduced from the southern United States. The council has taken up a major pest management review and it includes re-look on existing laws and whether they need a change.
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This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 27 August 2015.

Community leaders in Auckland had held a meeting where they called for an investigation into how the witch doctors have been able to live and work in New Zealand. The local Indian media also came in for criticism for advertising their services.
Apparently, these so-called witch doctors, healers and astrologers in South Auckland have charged thousands of dollars in return for promised financial fortunes and love-life successes that do not materialize. They exploit the religious sentiments of people and mint their millions because their claims are hollow – but, some people live on hope and believe that these can become true. And, the so-called witch doctors live on them like parasites.
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This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 6 May 2015.

The sightings of a spate of bright lights and strange moving objects in Auckland's night sky have really got the residents of the New Zealand capital thinking whether there really is alien life out there. It seems in the latest incident, a local spotted a 'blazing' object which streaked across the night sky, leaving a lingering fog in the area. Incidentally, last year there were more than a dozen unexplained sightings.
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Auckland girl sweet talks thief to return stolen mobile phone

#auckland #christchurch #dunedin #ToyotaCorolla #sweettalk A girl of Auckland has managed to sweet talk a thief to have a change of heart and return the stolen mobile phones. The girls were students of University of Otago and the thief had stolen their handbags from a carpark in Christchurch carpark this month. But, they sweet talked the thief to return the stolen phones.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 26 March 2015.

They had gone to Christchurch to attend the 21st birthday party of a friend and had left their possessions in a locked car while they went to visit the New Brighton Pier on their way back to Dunedin on Sunday, March 15. When they returned to their Toyota Corolla car they discovered that someone had picked the lock.
However, while most of their luggage was still there, their four handbags were missing – inside those handbags were their wallets, passports, IDs, bank cards and the mobile phone of one of the girls.
Therefore one of the other girls rang up the missing phone and sweet talked the thief to return the stolen items at Spencer Beach Holiday Park – this was about 16-Km north of where it was taken from.
The thief agreed and warned – next time, take the handbag along with you.

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#HawaiianAirlines #AirNewZealand #FijiAirways #Auckland #Honolulu Hawaiian Airlines at present operates three return fights every week to Auckland but, it now plans to increase the frequency and nurses hopes to step up the number of flights to New Zealand as reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 23 February 2015.
Hawaiian Airlines is based in Honolulu and has been flying to Auckland for just on two years. In the opinion of its president and chief executive Mark Dunkerley, while there are no plans announced right now but in the long term perspective, and if the traffic continues to grow, the possibilities of increasing frequency is certainly on the cards.
The airline has undergone rapid growth around the Pacific Rim in the past five years and was reported to be making "good money" on the Auckland route. In view of its presence the passenger traffic between Auckland and Honolulu has nearly doubled. As a result, Air New Zealand had to rejig its schedule, and add more seasonal capacity apart from dropping its fares.
Fiji Airways is also another option to fly to Hawaii via Fiji.
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Chinese have purchased two Auckland islands to set up a six-star luxury resort

#auckland #luxuryresort #manukauharbour The Chinese business is always on the lookout to extend their opportunities and it has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 30 January 2015 that they have bought two Auckland islands linked to the mainland in a $41.5 million deal.
The resort being planned would be a $130.6 million six-star luxury resort and native reserve.
The islands are Pararekau Island and Kopuahingahinga or Lee Island with a total area of 27ha – both are alongside each other and connected and are standing in the Manukau Harbour across from Wattle Downs.
It is understood from the report that Lee Island Investments (NZ) would set up a six star luxury resort on the land. The resort would include suites, restaurants, entertainment and business facilities on Pararekau Island. On the other hand, Kopuahingahinga Island will become a native reserve.
It may be noted that other countries are also buying up land in the region to set up businesses. Some of these are –
Sweden's Southern Pastures Limited Partnership
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Another UFO myth busted - USAF confirms after 60 years that Auckland UFO was just a cloud

#ProjectBlueBook #UFO #flyingsaucer #auckland Yes, another UFO myth is busted. The USAF has recently released a document ‘Project Blue Book files’ which is all about investigations into UFO observations during the period 1947 to 1969. This book is available online.
In it, the USAF have confirmed that a suspected UFO photographed in the skies above Auckland more than 60 years ago was actually just a cloud.
The reported image reveals a circular disc shape in the sky seen in the sky above Auckland in mid-1951 – this is as per a UFO website. The title of the image was “Winter 1951'. The photographer thought it to be a flying saucer but the USAF has concluded that it was in fact a lenticular cloud.
The lens-shaped formations, that gave it the similarity to a flying saucer, were, in fact, the result of moist air that has condensed at a high altitude.
The book ‘Project Blue Book’ also mentions a UFO sighting in Texas in 1951 – it was the famous image of was of the Lubbock Lights. These were probably plover birds. These birds had white breasts that reflected light from cities below. The book is the result of over 12,000 suspected UFO encounters and, interestingly, more than 700 cases remain unsolved – or 5.5 per cent of the files.