Tropical storm Tapah hits Hong Kong, schools and businesses closed
Hong Kong shut schools and many businesses closed on Monday (8 September) as severe Tropical Storm Tapah came within 170 km (106 miles) of the area wi...
A New Zealand father who had been on the run with his three children for nearly four years was shot dead by police on Monday after robbing a farm supply store, police said.
Tom Phillips disappeared with his three children, now aged 9, 10, and 12, in late 2021 in a case that has made national headlines over his ability to evade arrest.
A police officer was shot and seriously injured in the attempt to arrest Phillips, New Zealand police acting deputy commissioner Jill Rogers said at a press conference.
Police were alerted to a robbery at the store in a small rural town in the region of Waikato around 2:30 a.m. (1430 GMT Sunday) and laid spikes on the road to stop the suspects - Phillips and one of his children - were expected to take.
Phillips' motorbike hit the spikes and the first officer at the scene was "confronted by gunfire at close range," Rogers said.
"Our officer has been struck in the head. He's immediately fallen to the ground and taken cover."
She said a second police officer then arrived and Phillips was shot, and despite efforts to save him died at the scene.
Rogers added that while Phillips had not been formally identified, police believe it is him.
Police said one of his children is now with authorities, and the other two children were later found at a campsite in dense bush.
"I can confirm that the children are well and uninjured, and they will be taken to a location this evening for medical checks," Rogers said.
Phillips failed to attend a court hearing in 2022 and has been pursued by police ever since. He evaded authorities by allegedly hiding out in dense bush and remote farmland in New Zealand’s central North Island.
The three children's mother, referred to as just Cat, said in a statement to state-owned Radio New Zealand that events this morning had brought up a wave of complex emotions.
"They have been dearly missed every day for nearly four years, and we are looking forward to welcoming them home with love and care," she said.
Phillips' efforts to evade police in the remote area of the Waikato region have remained in local media headlines since their disappearance as New Zealanders have struggled to understand how they have not been captured.
Before disappearing, Phillips had lived in the small farming community of Marokopa, near the west coast, home to less than 100 people. Piopio, where the robbery occurred on Monday, was roughly an hour and a half by road from Marokopa.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A powerful eruption at Japan’s Shinmoedake volcano sent an ash plume more than 3,000 metres high on Sunday morning, prompting safety warnings from authorities.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
The UK is gearing up for Exercise Pegasus 2025, its largest pandemic readiness test since COVID-19. Running from September to November, this full-scale simulation will challenge the country's response to a fast-moving respiratory outbreak.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
Hong Kong shut schools and many businesses closed on Monday (8 September) as severe Tropical Storm Tapah came within 170 km (106 miles) of the area with gale-force winds.
Erin Patterson, the woman at the centre of Australia’s “mushroom murders”, has been sentenced to life in prison for killing three of her estranged husband’s relatives with a meal of beef wellington laced with deadly death cap mushrooms two years ago.
Thousands of supporters of former far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro staged protests across several cities on Sunday, days ahead of the conclusion of his trial for allegedly plotting a coup after losing the 2022 presidential election.
Polish border guards found drone debris in a village near the border with Belarus, a prosecutor said on Monday, the latest in a series of similar incidents in the NATO member country that neighbours Ukraine.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has asked Taliban authorities to lift restrictions on Afghan female aid workers, allowing them to travel without male guardians and help women struggling to access care after a powerful earthquake killed 2,200 people in eastern Afghanistan.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment