Wellington - New Zealand opera diva Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, 65, suffered the theft of more than 650,000 US dollars by a bank manager who handled her retirement account in California, news reports said Friday.
The manager, Sokvoeun "Cindy" Sou, 27, admitted embezzlement and five fraud charges when she appeared in court Thursday, police detective Greg Ella, of Alameda, in San Francisco Bay, told Radio New Zealand.
He said that Sou was remanded in custody until a bail hearing before being sentenced.
Wellington - Jim Salinger, New Zealand's most prominent climate scientist, has been sacked by the state-owned National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) for talking to the media without permission, he said on Friday.
Wellington - The New Zealand Customs Service said Friday that it had signed a cooperation agreement with multinational manufacturer Procter & Gamble Co (P&G) to step up a drive aimed at stopping fake goods coming into the country. A statement said customs officers had intercepted 5,400 counterfeit P&G products, including toothpaste, shampoo, conditioners, creams, perfumes, anti-bacterial soaps and laundry detergents from entering New Zealand last year.
Wellington - New Zealand opera diva Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, 65, suffered the theft of more than 650,000 US dollars by a bank manager who handled her retirement account in California, news reports said Friday. The manager, Sokvoeun "Cindy" Sou, 27, admitted embezzlement and five fraud charges when she appeared in court Thursday, police detective Greg Ella, of Alameda, in San Francisco Bay, told Radio New Zealand.
