Joelle Dally

Amandeep and Neha Sharma leave the Christchurch justice precinct after appearing in court on fraud charges in September. Peter Meecham / The Press A Christchurch couple accused of scamming more than $2 million from Oranga Tamariki tried to fire-sell their house right after police raids, transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars to Indian bank accounts, then flew to India one-way.

Joelle Dally13:47, Sep 16 2020 Christchurch's new hot pools are so popular they've been been booked out for months. He Puna Taimoana, the hot pools at New Brighton in Christchurch. Christchurch’s seaside hot salt water pools are trialling late-night Fridays. He Puna Taimoana in New Brighton is open every day from 10am-8pm, but from this week people can book from 8pm-10pm on Fridays. “It will be truly atmospheric and a great way to spend a Friday night,” pools manager Merryn Skipper said.

A high-profile criminologist believes he is the victim of a smear campaign by "rabid, ISIS-like" members of Canterbury University's feminist society - a claim they reject. The society says Professor Greg Newbold over-reacted, possibly because he was worried about sales of his latest book. Prof Newbold complained to university management after two "perpetrators" made rude comments about him on Twitter and the club's Facebook page.