At least 19 people are dead and 50 more are injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted children leaving a packed pop concert at Manchester Arena last night.

Witnesses told of nuts and bolts tearing into young concert-goers when the blast was detonated in the foyer area between the arena and the next-door Victoria station just after the Ariana Grande gig ended.

Horrifying footage showed petrified children leaping over chairs and barriers as they desperately tried to escape the 21,000-seat venue, which led to a stampede.

 Armed officers surrounded the venue and bloodied casualties were seen being stretchered out of the concert that resembled a “war zone”.

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One of the owners of the Waipukurau bar targeted by thieves twice on the same day says the two crimes show an urgent need for more police in the district.

Thousands in cash was stolen from the Farrier’s Arms on Northumberland St in an early-morning break-in last Tuesday. A few hours later, a man then allegedly attempted to steal money from the bar’s till.

Farrier’s Arms co-owner Joy Cooper was so angered by the crimes she said she would be contacting both Tukituki MP Craig Foss and Wairarapa MP Alastair Scott to demand more police officers for CHB.

In the early-morning break-in just after 5am last Tuesday, a man wearing a cap and hood, with a bandana covering his face, smashed a window at nearby Cervus Equipment to gain entry to the bar. He then kicked a “monstrous” hole in the door of the pub’s office, found the key to a safe and then stole thousands of dollars.

“They must have known the place well, as they knew to go to the office and they managed to find the key for the safe,” said Joy.

A distinctive black and white plastic dog – used as a tip jar – was also stolen in the robbery. Joy said the tips were intended to be given as a gift to a pregnant staff member. “It’s just so disheartening,” she said.

Just hours later that same day, a man who had been playing the pokie machines in the pub’s gaming room then allegedly attempted to steal money from the bar’s till.

Ms Cooper, who was in the bar’s dining area at the time around 12.45pm, saw the man behind the bar and then chased him out. The man was arrested soon after when he was pulled over by police near Otane just after 1pm.

 

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An unprecedented “ransomware” cyberattack that has already hit tens of thousands of victims in 150 countries could wreak even more havoc Monday as people return to their desks and power up their computers at the start of the work week.

Officials and experts on Sunday urged organisations and companies to update their operating systems immediately to ensure they aren’t vulnerable to a second, more powerful version of the malicious software. The cyberattack paralysed computers that run Britain’s hospital network, Germany’s national railway and scores of other companies and government agencies worldwide.

The attack, already believed to be the biggest online extortion scheme ever recorded, is an “escalating threat” after hitting 200,000 victims across the world since Friday, according to the head of Europol, Europe’s policing agency.

“The numbers are still going up,” he said. “We’ve seen that the slowdown of the infection rate over Friday night, after a temporary fix around it, has now been overcome by a second variation the criminals have released.”

 

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A new system will automatically trace the location of a caller when they dial 111 from their mobile phone – with the Government acknowledging associated privacy concerns.

More than 80 per cent of 111 calls are made from mobile phones and last year police had to ask a network provider for location information more than 1800 times – a process that could be too slow in emergency situations.

“All location data will only be held for 60 minutes and will then be deleted.”

Simon Bridges

The ability for emergency services to more accurately trace callers was recommended by Coroner Ian Smith after the death of Jason Roach, who died in December 2010 after calling police who could not locate him.

The new caller location system was detailed this morning in Wellington by Police Minister Paula Bennett, Communications Minister Simon Bridges and Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne.

 

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The latest victims of an armed robbery say they are living in a state of fear.

A friend of the victims, who is also a city retailer, has called for tougher penalties and says ”shopkeepers need to keep weapons behind their counters” after the sixth armed robbery in Tauranga in just over one month.

Yesterday at 2pm two men, one wielding a hammer, entered the Carlisle Street Convenience Store and made off with cash and cigarettes.

“Shopkeepers need to keep weapons behind their counters. There needs to be more power to shopkeepers. ” -Retailer

Owner Aman Deep said an employee was confronted by the men, who wore scarves over their faces and hoodies drawn over their heads.

”He was really scared and just moved to one side and let them do what they wanted to do.

They took lots of smokes and all of the money out of the till.”

It was the third time the store had been robbed in three years although, on the second occasion, a staff member chased off the culprits ”with a big stick and they didn’t get anything”, she said.

Ms Deep said the store’s owners had increased security and alarms but ”we are seriously scared all of the time and worried”.

 

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Palmerston North police are asking people to be on the alert for discounted cigarettes after the Rangiora Mini Mart was robbed for cash and smokes this evening.

Detective Sergeant Dave Wishnowsky said a group of people entered the store on Rangiora Ave around 6.10pm.

Their faces were covered and one was armed with what looked like a bat, he said.

The number of people, how old they were and whether they were male or female is not known.

“The group assaulted the staff member and left the store with an unknown amount of cash and cigarettes,” Wishnowsky said. “It is not thought the staff member was assaulted with the weapon.”

The staff member was being assessed at Palmerston North Hospital but did not appear to have serious injuries.

Fairfax is reporting the store is the Rangiora Mini Mart which was also robbed in December 2016 by three people armed with a hammer and machete.

 

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Retail New Zealand is calling on the Government to set up a police taskforce to combat retail crime and introduce spot-fines for petty offences.

Retail crime costs the country about $1 billion a year in losses.

“Retail crime is a serious problem for retailers, consumers and the economy as a whole,” said Retail NZ’s general manager for public affairs Greg Harford.

“Retailers are already working to prevent and deter crime, but retail crime is growing, becoming more menacing and more violent. Criminal gangs are increasingly active in retail crime, and urgent steps are needed.”

The organisation called for a “three-point action plan”, which included a national Retail Crime Taskforce within the police, a social-change programme, and an infringement notice penalty regime for petty offences.

Harford said the infringements for less serious crime wouldn’t tie up resources.

“Theft as part of an organised crime group needs to be treated extremely seriously and robust prison terms should apply to those committing crimes for a gang or syndicate.

 

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Three men have been arrested following a violent robbery at an Auckland liquor store, while community leaders met to discuss solutions to an apparent rise in violence against shopkeepers.

The three accused, aged 16, 17 and 20, were arrested after police carried out several search warrants in South Auckland yesterday morning, Detective Sergeant Rob Cleary, of Counties Manukau Police, said.

CCTV footage of last Wednesday night’s Otahuhu liquor shop robbery shows the shopkeeper desperately attempting to fend off three offenders.

The shopkeeper was beaten and suffered minor injuries during the robbery.

Cleary said the alleged 17-year-old offender is facing two charges of aggravated robbery, while the other two alleged offenders have each been charged with one count of aggravated robbery.

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