Author: Press Room

The European Union wants to become carbon neutral by 2050. But there is no consensus on how to achieve this, especially when it comes to the agricultural sector. Euronews reporter Valerie Gauriat went to Denmark, which wants to introduce a carbon tax on livestock farming from 2030. A world first. ADVERTISEMENTThe agricultural sector generates 11.4 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe, mostly due to livestock farming.They come mainly from the digestion of feed by cattle and sheep, and from the storage of cattle and pig manure.Added to this are emissions produced by the spreading of chemical fertilizers, and the…

A fire in the kitchen of a popular cafe in Wellington’s Oriental Bay overnight has been extinguished.A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson told 1News firefighters received calls about a fire at the Beach Babylon cafe in Oriental Bay shortly after 1am.They said the blaze — believed to have started in the cafe kitchen — was upgraded to a second alarm level a short time later.At the peak of the fire, there were five pump crews, three specialist trucks and an operational support team in attendance.Fire crews were on the scene until around 3.20am, the FENZ spokesperson said.A restrict and…

The union for public servants is taking legal action against the Government to stop its restrictions on working from home, and has filed a claim with the Employment Relations Authority.The Public Service Commission is consulting unions and government agencies on new flexible working guidelines, following the Public Service Minister’s return-to-office directive.In September, Minister Nicola Willis told department bosses she wanted more people back in the office; that working from home was not an entitlement and should be by agreement only.However, the Public Service Association said the directive violated agreed-upon flexible working principles and yesterday filed legal proceedings with the Employment…

A technology issue impacting the check-in system at Auckland Airport’s international terminal this morning has been resolved.A spokesperson earlier warned the issue was “creating delays and congestion”.In a statement at about 6.50am, an Auckland Airport spokesperson said the problem was an external network outage, leading to long queues.”It’s an emerging issue, and our team is working as quickly as possible with external parties to resolve it,” the spokesperson said.Domestic flights were not impacted by the outage.In an update at about 9.40am, the airport spokesperson said “systems have now been restored”.”Auckland Airport and airlines are working to process customers as quickly…

A gas retailer will stop supplying customers next year, amid what Consumer NZ calls a “death spiral” for the industry.Genesis Energy-owned Frank Energy launched in 2021. But it has told customers that it will stop supplying gas from March next year.”NZ’s natural gas supply is clearly in decline at present and with uncertainty around its long term availability and price,” a Genesis spokesperson said.”As the supply of different fuels changes, Frank has chosen to focus on electricity only. Removing gas and LPG from our product range also simplifies our ability to digitise customer service and ordering and reduce cost from…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack, reiterating his plea to Western allies for additional air defence systems. ADVERTISEMENTRescue crews in southern Ukraine worked overnight to save two women trapped beneath rubble for more than seven hours after a Russian missile struck a private medical clinic in Zaporizhzhia late Tuesday.The attack killed six people and injured 22 others, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Services. The women were able to contact rescuers using their mobile phones.Deadly strikes on civilian areas have been a hallmark of the nearly three-year war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack, reiterating the urgent need for more…

A man has been arrested and charged with murder after a person was fatally struck by a car in Auckland last night.Emergency services were called to the scene on Lanham Lane in Massey around 6.50pm on Tuesday, police said.Waitematā CIB Detective Senior Sergeant Tim Williams said a vehicle had struck the victim on the driveway and was driven away from the scene immediately afterwards.”Sadly, despite the best efforts of ambulance staff at the scene, the victim succumbed to his injuries at the scene,” he said.Williams said the vehicle involved in the crash was found and seized from an Avondale address…

Human Rights Watch alleged abuses and illegal pushbacks at the border between Poland and Belarus, asking the Polish government for accountability towards rights of asylum seekers. ADVERTISEMENTViolent illegal pushbacks of asylum seekers are taking place at the border between Poland and Belarus, a report by Human Rights Watch revealed on Tuesday (10 December). The report, based on in-depth interviews conducted in November 2024 with 22 asylum seekers, states that border officers are preventing individuals arriving from Belarus from applying for asylum, even after they have crossed into Polish territory. This includes cases where Polish border officials apprehended migrants several kilometers…

Scientists have revealed the reason the Southern Alps turned a red colour in the summer of 2019 and 2020. Victoria University of Wellington researchers studying the environmental phenomenon found desert dust storms that sent massive amounts of red dust across the Tasman Sea was to blame, and the event was likely to occur more often as the climate warms.”Media reports in 2020 generally assumed the blanket of red on the mountains was caused by ash swept across the sea from Australia’s devastating New Year bushfires,” said the study’s lead author and environmental scientist Holly Winton. “But the red dust that…

A motorcyclist crashed and died shortly after a police pursuit earlier this year – with a watchdog finding the officer failed to comply with police policy during the chase.The crash occurred on State Highway 30 in Whakatāne on March 16.The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) today revealed the motorcyclist was pursued by an officer before the crash but, “on the available evidence, the authority was unable to conclude that the officer’s actions caused the motorcyclist’s fatal crash”.”The motorcyclist crashed a short time after the officer abandoned the pursuit, and died at the scene.”The incidentThe officer recorded the Harley Davidson travelling…