Author: Press Room

Fog restrictions have been lifted after dozens of flights were cancelled or delayed at Auckland Airport this morning. Auckland Airport said a total of 23 domestic flights were cancelled, and nine were delayed due to the fog.Air New Zealand flight 001 from New York was delayed due to the fog, but has now landed. Passengers were asked to check the airport’s website to keep up with the latest flight arrival and departure information.  

A photographer says a bioluminescent display he captured on Friday night at a North Auckland beach was “the best show” of the spectacular natural light show that he’d ever seen.Matthew Davison captured the display at Stanmore Bay after noticing conditions were right for bioluminescence using a tool he built that uses satellite imagery to spot algal blooms. “That gave me the heads up during the day that the entire shore around Stanmore Bay was a brilliant red/pink, which is a sure sign something is on the way.”Spectacular bioluminescence display stuns onlookers – watch on TVNZ+Davison caught the phenomenon between 9…

Thunderstorms capable of producing marble-sized hail and flooding are shadowing Auckland and Northland.A severe thunderstorm watch is in place in the upper North Island as temperatures ramp up across the country.MetService said there was a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms and downpours. The rain could cause flash flooding or slips, particularly near streams, rivers or narrow valleys.Fiordland and Westland in the South also have potential for heavy rainfall. From Sunday night Fiordland will be under a heavy rain watch, with Westland’s heavy rain watch beginning in the early hours of Monday morning.MetService said thunderstorms were also possible.There was a moderate…

A woman was left “shaken” after a prowler tried to enter her Rotorua pensioner flat amid reports of homeless people sleeping around empty council-owned units.The incident happened early last Saturday on Kahikatea St and has sparked security fears.Another resident, whose car has been stolen twice, told Local Democracy Reporting she felt “scared” and “isolated” as the only occupant of a block of four units.More than a quarter of Rotorua’s pensioner housing was vacant.Rotorua Lakes Council provided 152 pensioner housing units across six blocks in Ngongotahā, Fenton Park, Glenholme and Westbrook.Forty-six of these were vacant, with the number doubling since November…

One of the most familiar faces in local television has made a return as the host of The Chase New Zealand. When you take a show as popular as The Chase with a host as beloved as Bradley Walsh and create a Kiwi version, you have a challenge. Who could step up as local host and not be summarily dismissed as a pale shadow of the cheeky UK original?Enter Paul Henry, a bona fide household name in Aotearoa who may reside at the spicier end of the hosting rack, but who’s nonetheless most at home there, with his quick wit…

A road is closed following a serious crash involving cyclists south of Masterton this morning.Police said they were called to Kokotau Rd in Parkvale about 11.30am.Kokotau Rd in Parkvale, Wellington. (Source: Google Street View)Kokotau Rd was expected to remain closed for some time while emergency services work at the scene.The serious crash unit has been advised. Motorists were advised to avoid the area and expect delays.

A man has died after drowning at a central Auckland beach this morning.Emergency services were called to Kohimarama Beach around 11.20am after receiving reports a man had been pulled from the water unconscious. “Despite efforts to deliver CPR, the man sadly died at the scene,” a police spokesperson said. Hato Hone St John said it responded with one ambulance, two rapid response units, and one manager. The death will be referred to the coroner.

Two people have been arrested after fireworks were fired into an Auckland lawnmower shop, injuring at least two people.One of the explosions struck a customer in the neck during the incident on Friday morning and two people were taken to hospital, store staff said.Six staff and seven customers were at Papakura Lawnmowers when the explosions started.Lee Webster was working when he heard a loud bang.”I didn’t know exactly what was going on – I looked up and there was a car that had pulled up just outside the shop. [The firework had] come through the front door and was going…

A person has been found dead following a house fire in Hamilton East this morning.Emergency services were called to the blaze on Wellington St just after 6am, police said.”Sadly, a person was located deceased at the property.”A scene guard remains in place.Police will work alongside Fire and Emergency NZ to help determine the circumstances behind the incident.

A Cirque du Soleil performer has been injured following a “rough landing” during a show in Auckland this afternoon.The man was injured during the final act of Cirque du Soleil Corteo’s 12pm performance at Spark Arena.”An artist who is part of the final act Tournik act had a rough landing in the safety mattress during the completion of a group acrobatic skill,” a Cirque du Soleil Corteo spokesperson told 1News.Set on a double-sided stage, the show – directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca – imagines a festive parade from the perspective of a clown. The show premiered in Auckland on October…