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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington

New Zealand hostel fire: suspect remanded in custody after Wellington court appearance

Fire and police investigators inspect the Loafers Lodge in Wellington, New Zealand after a deadly fire at the hostel.
Fire and police investigators inspect the Loafers Lodge in Wellington, New Zealand after a deadly fire at the hostel. A man has appeared in court charged with two counts of arson. Photograph: George Heard/AP

A 48-year-old man has made his first appearance in a New Zealand courtroom charged with two counts of arson after fire swept through a Wellington boarding house on Monday night, killing at least five people.

The man’s name was suppressed until his next appearance in the Wellington district court in June. He did not enter a plea and was remanded in custody on Friday after his lawyer declined to make a bail application.

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