Author: Press Room

An Aparima College student and his team have made it back to back, winning the Southland regional final of the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) for two consecutive years. Caleb Diprose, 18, and his team, Treet Yourself Contracting, won the award at the scheme final earlier this week. The annual competition showcases the impressive young entrepreneurial talent from across the southern regions, including rural Southland and Queenstown. With 160 students in 51 teams from 10 schools competing in the programme this year, the event highlighted the innovation, resilience and business acumen of the region’s young entrepreneurs. Treet Yourself Contracting accolades also…

Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa (Te Rūnanga Nui) has been recognised by the US Library of Congress with a major literacy award for its work in expanding literacy and promoting reading.The national representative body for Kura Kaupapa Māori is one of 24 organisations, from both the US and overseas, that have been honoured and is the recipient of the inaugural 2024 Kislak Family Foundation Prize that comes with a grant of US$100,000.Hohepa Campbell, chief executive of Te Rūnanga Nui, said he was absolutely amazed when he received the news.“Miharo katoa a Te Rūnanga Nui ki…

His name is Green, but his heart is made of gold.For most of us, an ideal Sunday morning would involve a sleep-in and a cuppa in bed, but that’s not the case for Johnny Green. He’s up at dawn, lugging heavy wooden games into his van, bound for Auckland’s Central Flea market.It’s pretty tough mahi for a man who is 94 years old and shows no signs of slowing down.”I used to be a dance teacher. I used to be a wrestling coach. I’ve been to three Commonwealth Games as a wrestling judge. I was a bricklayer’s labourer for years,…

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola met with Pope Francis on Friday to discuss key issues on the European agenda and emphasised the shared commitment to reconciliation and peace. ADVERTISEMENTThe President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola met with Pope Francis during a private audience on Friday to discuss the main topics on the European agenda. Metsola praised the pontiff for his leadership in promoting reconciliation and peace.She emphasised that “humanity and the quest for peace” are similarly at the heart of the European Parliament’s work, and reiterated the European Union’s commitment to its role as a peace project. On Ukraine,…

Police investigating the murder of Baby Ru have recovered “deliberately concealed” items it calls “highly relevant” to the homicide inquiry during a “targeted search” in semi-rural land north of Wellington.Just days before his second birthday, Ruthless-Empire died in Hutt Hospital in Lower Hutt from severe head injuries on October 22, 2023.Police described the boy’s death as “violent”, and said his injuries could have come from a weapon, or through physical force such as slamming his head on a hard floor or table.Police earlier said evidence — including a CCTV hard drive — had been taken from the home where Baby…

Guterres’ trip to the BRICS summit in Russia’s Kazan drew criticism from Kyiv after the UN chief refused to participate in the Ukrainian president’s Peace Formula summit. ADVERTISEMENTUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the UN secretary general’s visit to the country because of his trip to Russia, AFP news agency reported on Friday, citing a source in Zelenskyy’s office. Antonio Guterres’ trip drew fire from Kyiv because the UN chief refused to participate in Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula summit only to accept the Kremlin’s invitation to Kazan earlier this week to attend BRICS.Following his meeting with Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit,…

Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao told a friend a month before she disappeared that she was being chased by a man she rejected, a court has heard.Tingjun Cao, 53, a Chinese national, is charged with murdering Bao on 19 July 2023, the day she went missing.Bao was last seen heading to show a house to a prospective client on Trevor Street in Hornby, where the Crown alleged she was stabbed to death by Cao.On Friday the trial heard from Bao’s friend Qi QI who said the pair were like “sisters” and described her personality as very outgoing and friendly.When…

Beijing has warned the European Parliament to “act prudently” on the issue of Taiwan, saying “it is a red line that must not be crossed.” ADVERTISEMENTChina has slammed the European Parliament for adopting a symbolic but strongly worded resolution that denounced Beijing for its “attempts to distort history and international rules” to justify its territorial claims over Taiwan.In a text adopted on Thursday with 432 votes in favour and 60 against, lawmakers also urged China to immediately cease its “continued military operations,” “economic coercion” and “hostile disinformation” campaign against the self-ruling democratic island.Beijing reacted with expected fury, warning that “the…

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has turned up the heat on the Health Ministry for failing to tell minister Casey Costello that one of its staffers working on tobacco reform was related to Labour’s Ayesha Verrall.Luxon has also congratulated his deputy, Winston Peters, for uncovering the conflict, while refusing to say whether Peters’ personal attack on the public servant was appropriate.Labour said it was “reprehensible” Peters was attacking a public servant who had “done nothing wrong” and could not defend herself.But Peters said he had “no regrets at all”.On Thursday, Peters told Parliament that one of Costello’s officials was the sister-in-law…

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Belgrade as part of her Balkan tour, where she reaffirmed Europe’s commitment to Serbia’s progress toward EU membership. ADVERTISEMENTEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in Belgrade on Friday to discuss Serbia’s path toward the European Union.“Europe remains strongly committed to the European future of Serbia,” von der Leyen said after meeting with Vučić.”In times of conflicts and wars and turmoil, being a member of the European Union is a promise of peace and prosperity, and it is a promise that we can deliver together,” she…