Author: Press Room
Fifty years to the day after 18-year-old hitchhiker Mona Blades went missing while travelling from Hamilton to Hastings, police say they are still receiving a “steady stream” of tips and information from the public. On the morning of May 31, 1975, Blades hopped into the back of an orange Datsun station wagon and was never heard from again. The cold case into the suspected murder, one of New Zealand’s most notorious, remains open. Not one piece of physical evidence has ever been found, and her body was never located. But Detective Senior Sergeant Ryan Yardley says, five decades later, police…
ANALYSIS: Today, as Winston Peters hands the Deputy Prime Minister baton to David Seymour, John Campbell questions the two complex political survivors about their motives and goals. Watch John Campbell’s interviews with David Seymour and Winston Peters, both on TVNZ+.Today a small but unprecedented ceremony is occurring at Government House, Auckland which is (aptly) in Epsom. A day that began with Winston Peters as Deputy Prime Minister will end with David Seymour leaving that stately home in possession of the same title. This has never happened before. A mid-term switch between the leaders of the two smaller coalition partners, in…
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said that talks over a free trade agreement between New Zealand and India were ongoing, but he didn’t provide a timeline for when the two nations could eventually sign a deal.Peters, who is on a two-day visit to India, said that the negotiations were “going with real meaning now”, calling them “a breakthrough in our economic relationship”.India and New Zealand began negotiations in March for a trade pact, and had aimed to sign a deal in 60 days. The deal would significantly bolster economic ties between the two countries, but it has faced delays because of…
Cabinet minister Chris Bishop says he should have kept his comments to himself after saying “what a load of crap” during a performance at Thursday night’s Aotearoa Music Awards in Auckland.Video footage shows Bishop seated, with a bottle in his hand during pop singer Stan Walker’s segment.Some people in front of him were on their feet dancing and waving tino rangatiratanga, or self-determination, flags.In a statement to RNZ, Bishop admitted he said something about performative acclaim and said, what a lot of crap. He said it referred to what he called the overtly political branding on display.Leader of the House…
By Euronews with AP Published on 01/06/2025 – 3:06 GMT+2ADVERTISEMENTGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to the US to meet with President Donald Trump next week, the German government announced on Saturday. Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, bilateral relations and trade tensions will reportedly be key items on the agenda of the two leaders’ meeting Merz’s office said the new German leader, who took the helm of Europe’s biggest economy on May 6, will meet with Trump in the White House on Thursday. It will be the first in-person meeting between the two. The meeting between Trump and Merz will be followed by a…
Firefighters have attended multiple weather callouts overnight as strong winds batter the lower South Island, including for fallen trees and roofs lifting off houses.Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) said it had received 10 callouts in Invercargill since 2am on Saturday, and a few in Dunedin since 5am.A strong wind warning was in force for southern Fiordland, Southland, Stewart Island, Clutha and Dunedin until Saturday afternoon, where severe gale southwesterlies could gust up to 130km/h in exposed places.MetService said the strongest winds were expected overnight on Friday and during Saturday morning.Squally thunderstorms were also possible near the coast during Saturday…
Ten people have been arrested after police and spectators were injured following a boy racer event involving around 1000 people in Levin and Palmerston North overnight. Boy racers and spectators – ranging in age from early teens to 50s – swarmed the intersection of Oxford St and Bath St at around 10.30pm yesterday.The event was held just before the one-year anniversary of the 2024 ‘Levin Invasion’, where about 30 police officers were outnumbered by 200 anti-social road users, leaving officers injured.This year, the boy racers did burnouts while hundreds of spectators crowded around the intersection, filming and watching.”Fireworks, physical aggression,…
Tairāwhiti environmentalists have called changes for commercial forestry under proposed Resource Management Act reforms “a slap in the face” and a return to weaker forestry regulations.Local groups are preparing to make submissions on proposed changes to the way forestry is managed after consultation on the Resource Management Act opened on Thursday.The proposals would make it harder for councils to have their own discretion in setting stricter rules to control tree planting.Gisborne District Council said the proposed changes grant both “real opportunities” and “some challenges”.The Eastland Wood Council is still considering its options around submitting.Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti (MTT), the group behind…
One person has died after a two-vehicle crash in Northland early this morning.Emergency services were called to the crash on State Highway near Waiomio, south of Kawakawa around midnight. “Sadly, one person died at the scene,” police said.The serious crash unit conducted a scene examination and the road is now opened.”Our thoughts are with their family at this difficult time.”
David Seymour has taken over from Winston Peters as deputy prime minister.A ceremony marking the ACT leader’s transition took place at noon at Government House in Auckland.Seymour vowed to keep speaking freely, as he takes over the role at the halfway point of the current Government.He said the transition – in most respects – would be “business as usual”, adding, “I’ve actually been the acting prime minister several times and we’re all still here, so don’t worry”.Seymour admitted he felt the position was largely symbolic.”Any position in politics is only an opportunity to be good and do good, and I…