Latest from Perth Now
Perth Now
43 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Reunited! Hunt for Perth owner of wedding ring is over
A Perth man has been reunited with his missing wedding ring thanks to an anonymous good Samaritan and a dedicated jeweller, after weeks of desperate searching. Justin Howard went out for dinner and drinks with a mate before they ran through Hyde Park, when he realised his wedding ring had slipped off. It was May 30. After four hours of searching, he went home empty handed, then returned and spent the next three days combing the area. 'I came back the next morning, still couldn't find it,' Mr Howard said. 'I came back again with my wife on the Sunday, still couldn't find it.' Refusing to give up, he enlisted the help of a professional metal detectorist and ring finder, but the freshly mowed lawn disrupted the scanning process. Mr Howard's platinum wedding ring was found at Hyde Park and handed to Rohan Jewellers in Mt Lawley. Credit: Supplied 'The ring finding guy was like, 'Look, to be honest, the lawn has been mowed so there's heaps of junk in the grass'. 'He was picking up all kinds of things. 'He was like, 'You know mate, the chances are really, really low'. 'I thought, he's a professional so, God, if he can't find it then I'm screwed. 'I kind of took it on the chin and apologised profusely to the wife. It was shocking.' That was all before Tuesday when jeweller Rohan Milne issued a public appeal looking for the owner of a men's wedding ring that had been kindly returned to his store. 'It's a platinum wedding band and it's one of ours, it's got our name and our ruby on the inside,' he said. 'If you're out there and you don't have your wedding band, we've got it. Come on in.' Mr Milne spent the next day scouring the records of his three stores when he found what looked like a match in his system. 'I actually looked at the weights, because I had the ring here I could weigh it. It was the weight of it that gave it away,' he explained. Rohan Milne restored Mr Howard's wedding band and even tightened it up to prevent it slipping off again. Credit: Rohan Milne On Wednesday night, Mr Howard received one of the best phone calls he could've hoped for. 'Before Rohan could even get further into the conversation, I just said, 'You've got my ring', and we both just cracked up,' Mr Howard said. 'I've honestly been riding the wave since I found out the other day. It was incredible. 'It turned into this absolute fairytale.'
Perth Now
43 minutes ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Big four bank announces fresh blow to savers
NAB has become the latest bank to move on interest rates, cutting the rate of one of its more popular savings accounts. NAB has announced its Reward Savers account has fallen by 0.05 per cent for a new maximum rate of 4.35 per cent, in the second cut in less than a month. It follows a 25 basis points rate reduction on May 23 in line with the Reserve Bank of Australia's official interest rate reductions. Canstar called it a 'small blow' for savers. NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar. Credit: NewsWire Account holders with NAB's Reward Savers will now get a 30 basis point reduction on their money held in the account. Canstar data insights director Sally Tindall described it as a small blow for savers who are already watching their returns slip away. 'It shows that banks don't need a cash rate change to move the goalposts for customers. It's a small move but a disappointing one nevertheless,' she said. According to Canstar, NAB is not the only bank moving on rates, with Australians now having just six banks offering at least one ongoing savings rate above 5 per cent including some young adult accounts and excluding those for children. 'While the average savings rate on our database is an uninspiring 3.07 per cent, there are six banks still offering an ongoing savings rate of 5 per cent or more,' Ms Tindall said. While each of the savings accounts comes with terms and conditions, including deposits and transactions, BOQ Future Super, BCU Bank Boss, P & N Bank Savvy Savers, MOVE Bank Growth Saver and ING Savings Maximiser all still offer rates above 5 per cent. Westpac Life Spend and Save also offers younger Aussies a 5 per cent savings rate, but comes with the major caveat of being for those aged 18 to 29. NAB announces a small cut to popular savings account. NewsWire / Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia Ms Tindall warned if the Reserve Bank cuts the cash rate again in July, which the bond market says has an 83 per cent chance of happening, the days of a 5 per cent savings rate could be behind us. 'If the RBA wields its knife again in July or August, savings rates starting with a 5 won't last beyond winter,' she said. 'Term deposit rates are, unsurprisingly, falling faster than at-call savings rates, as banks continue to bake in further cash rate cuts into the fixed rate term. 'If you're someone who likes the certainty and security a term deposit can bring, time is of the essence as these rates are likely to keep on falling in the weeks ahead.'
Perth Now
43 minutes ago
- General
- Perth Now
A day of celebration for Perth Zoo's tallest ladies
It will be a girls-only party at Perth Zoo on Saturday as the long-legged ladies strut their stuff on the ninth annual World Giraffe Day. Kitoto, daughter Zahara and Aunty Ellie make up Perth Zoo's giraffe girl gang. The tallest — nine-year-old Ellie — is the daughter of the world's tallest living giraffe, Forest, who lives at Australia Zoo in Queensland. The smaller Kitoto, 15, is the matriarch of the herd, according to Perth Zoo giraffe keeper Rowan Weaver. Perth Zoo is celebrating International Giraffe Day on Saturday. Pictured are mother and daughter Giraffes Kitoto and Zahara (3) at the zoo. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper / The West Australian 'The three girls all have their own individual quirks,' Mr Weaver said. 'Kitoto has been a wonderful mother, having had three calves over the years, including Zahara. 'Ellie is very energetic and always quite curious to investigate what us keepers are doing.' Mr Weaver said three-year-old Zahara was the 'precious' diva of the herd. Giraffe populations in the wild have experienced a 40 per cent decline over the past 30 years and Mr Weaver said Saturday's celebrations raised awareness for the plight of giraffe in the wild. Perth Zoo is celebrating International Giraffe Day on Saturday. PIctured is Zahara (3) and her mum Kitoto and aunt Ellie at the zoo Justin Benson-Cooper Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper / The West Australian 'Our volunteer docents will run a special giraffe close encounter experience, where visitors can book in and get the chance to stand eye-to-eye with these incredible animals. 'Up-close, you really get a sense of how special, gentle and charismatic they can be, and it's these moments we hope form lifelong memories that encourage people to become passionate about saving wildlife.'
Perth Now
43 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Police give update on hunt for man who threw coffee on baby
Queensland Police have given a major update as their hunt for a Chinese national accused of throwing a scalding hot coffee over a baby intensifies. A nationwide manhunt turned into a global one in August 2024 after a man poured hot coffee on a baby in Brisbane's Hanlon Park, leaving him with 'life-changing injuries'. The baby, called Luka, was rushed to hospital and underwent a number of surgical procedures. He survived, but is expected to carry lifelong scarring as a result. Police released a photograph of the man who allegedly committed the crime, saying he was a Chinese national. But the man fled the country a short time later. Speaking on 4BC radio, Queensland Police Service Acting Commissioner Shane Chelepy said that 10 months later, the investigation was 'absolutely' ongoing. 'This was a horrible incident that happened almost a year ago, it struck our investigators pretty hard,' he said. 'I give credit to those investigators, they're still working very hard on this, this isn't something we've parked in the corner, this is a very serious offence, and they're working hard on it. 'What I can say is we're still working with our international partners to progress this matter, and to get a resolution here.' Mr Chelepy said he did not want to compromise the investigation by giving away too much information, and would not be drawn on whether detectives had travelled to China. 'There are a range of investigative strategies underway, and we're going to keep these strategies at play,' he said. 'I don't want to compromise (the) investigative strategy.' Police have released CCTV footage of the man they want to speak to after coffee was thrown on a baby. Credit: AAP The man's name has not been released and no other details about his identity have been revealed to the public. Luka's parents wrote on a GoFundMe page last year about the devastating toll the attack had had on their family. 'It's a long road to recovery when it comes to scar management, but the worst of it is over, and the outcome is far better than we ever imagined from those first few days,' his mum wrote. 'We now only have to attend outpatients once a week, a big improvement from the twice-a-week general anaesthetic surgeries.' His mother had previously written about how she hoped 'one day justice will be served'. 'This horrific event should have never happened,' she said.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Science
- Perth Now
Young Humpback gets lost in Bunbury and finds unlikely ally
A young Humpback Whale travelling along the WA coastline on its northward migration from Antarctica got a bit lost and ended up in Koombana Bay but was guided back to safety by a friendly pod of dolphins. Dolphin Discovery Centre volunteers spotted an animal in the bay that was too large to be a dolphin and quickly identified a whale near the Outer Harbour. 'After observing the animal from the air and vessel it appeared to be in good health and was not entangled which was quite a relief to see' the Dolphin Discovery Centre wrote in a Facebook post. What happened next was an extraordinary example of cohesion and connection between different species of marine wildlife. 'The dolphins took over and while playing and interacting with each other they slowly guided their large cousin out of the bay towards the deeper waters of Geographe Bay' The Dolphin Discovery Centre revealed. The drone footage captured by the environmental charity shows the young humpback playing on the surface of the water with four dolphins, before a wide shot reveals the whale being guided to deeper water by the dolphins. The drone footage reveals the whale being guided to deeper water by the dolphins. Credit: Dolphin Disovery Centre / Facebook It can be a worrying sign if whales take shelter on their northward migration. 'Sometimes it happens that an animal gets spooked by a predator, is poorly or injured or might have a fishing gear entanglement. These animals then often seek for shelter in calmer and more shallow parts to rest up' The Dolphin Discovery Centre shared on Facebook. The video was flooded with comments from people who were amazed by the footage. 'The Amazing Creation of the Animal World. The unseen, unsensed connection they have to support, guide, protect and provide' one person wrote. 'Isn't nature amazing?! What a great story and fantastic footage' another commented.
