Author: Press Room

The seizure of 50kg of heroin and 210kg of methamphetamine in the Middle East has brought the combined value of narcotics seized by an international naval task force to almost half a billion dollars since New Zealand took command in January.It is the third drug bust this year for Combined Maritime Task Force 150 — an operational task force aimed at disrupting drug smuggling operations in the Middle East currently being led by the Royal New Zealand Navy’s captain Dave Barr.After observing some “suspicious activity” by a trading dhow around 400 nautical miles southeast of the Oman coast, crew of…

The chairman of Ngāti Hāua Iwi Trust says he feels a sense of peace as the iwi prepares to sign its Deed of Settlement with the Crown on Saturday.”Finally our story can be heard, and the Crown now acknowledges the injustices that were inflicted on Ngāti Hāua,” Graham ‘Tinka’ Bell said.Those injustices include being pushed out of Heretaunga (Hutt Valley), the execution of a tūpuna, Te Whareaitu, and the poisoning of flour which “forced our people to resort to eating things like the mamaku tree to sustain ourselves”.”That kōrero has been passed down to us for generations, so we feel…

The Minister for Oceans and Fisheries has closed the inner Hauraki Gulf to fishing of spiny rock lobster for three years.Shane Jones says the closure, starting from April 1, is to allow the lobster population to restore itself.”Locals have raised serious concerns about the decline of spiny rock lobster in the inner Hauraki Gulf, and this has been backed up by fishery-independent research. I share these concerns and to help the lobster population recover I’ve decided to stop spiny rock lobster fishing in the inner Gulf,” Jones said.The closure extends from the Okakari Point Marine Reserve at Cape Rodney, north…

European defence industry demands more European investment, EU’s defence commissioner tells Radio Schuman ADVERTISEMENTThe EU is exploring new and bold strategies to strengthen its defence sector. Relaxing strict fiscal rules to boost defence spending, accessing what is known as the SAFE instrument to raise capital, and expanding the European Investment Bank’s mandate to support military projects are some of the proposals to member states developed in the EU’s White Paper on Defence.At the EU summit in Brussels last week, the EU leaders discussed the commission’s proposal for the member states to allocate amounts as high as €800 billion in defence…

Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka says he’s “looked over” his “notes” since reporters asked what he thought about the removal of the Treaty clause in RMA reforms, but he didn’t want to get into “semantic gymnastics”.The clause required the principles of the Treaty to be upheld, as is included in the current RMA.RMA Minister Chris Bishop confirmed on Monday Cabinet had agreed not to include the clause in the coalition’s proposed new legislation.Earlier on Tuesday, Potaka told reporters it was the first he’d heard about it when asked.Potaka has since told reporters it was “very confusing before.””I’ve looked over my…

The Whangārei District Council has lost its bid for a legal injunction that would have allowed it to stop adding fluoride to the city’s water supply.The High Court’s decision was critical of the council, which Justice Karen Grau said was trying to protect itself from the consequences of not following the law.Justice Grau said it wasn’t appropriate for the court to “grant orders facilitating unlawful conduct”.She said the council hadn’t helped its own case by applying for the injunction at the last minute, and by accepting funding for fluoridation equipment it said it didn’t want to use.Whangārei District Council was…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ Changes planned for the Resource Management Act (RMA) should reduce house prices and improve supply – provided they are able to be enacted, economists say. The government announced on Monday that it plans to introduce two new pieces of legislation to replace the Act by the end of this year. It will streamline planning systems between councils, lift the number of “permitted activities” and set environmental limits. It said this should reduce administrative and compliance costs by 45%. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Undersecretary Simon Court said replacing the RMA with law based on property rights…

Ekrem Imamoglu, who was set to be Erdogan’s main rival in the 2028 election, was formally arrested and charged with corruption. ADVERTISEMENTTens of thousands of Turkish opposition protesters staged a rally outside Istanbul City Hall on Monday evening in support of the jailed Istanbul mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, a key rival to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.The demonstrators waved flags and placards and chanted slogans while clashes between protesters and the police occurred. Several protestors were detained, and police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. Imamoglu was formally arrested by a court on Sunday and jailed pending trial on corruption…

A major health scare has prompted a Hamilton man to shed more than 100kg.At his heaviest, Neum Muli’aumaseali’i weighed in at 293kg.In January 2024, the 39-year-old was taken to hospital with sepsis in his blood.Neum Muli’aumaseali’i says he hasn’t set himself a weight goal – he’s focussed on the non-scale victories like being about to “move and groove” again, or fitting in a seat on a plane. (Source: Breakfast)”I had been massive my whole life,” he told Breakfast, “but this was a massive wake-up call.”He threw himself into a strict regime of diet, exercise and increased water intake, but said…

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer supports a campaign for TV series ‘Adolescence’ to be shown in schools to combat an alarming rise in toxic masculinity and violence. ADVERTISEMENTThe four-part British drama ‘Adolescence’ debuted last week on Netflix to wide-spread acclaim. It follows the events after a 13-year-old boy murders a girl in his school year. Each episode is a one-take insight into different aspects of the murder’s fall-out: from the initial arrest, to the investigation at a school, a psychological assessment of the boy, and his parents’ response. Hanging over the drama is the question of how a culture…