Author: Press Room

1News Europe Correspondent Kate Nicol-Williams travelled to Ukraine with the New Zealand Government delegation and filed this report on her return to Poland.Defence Minister Judith Collins has just completed a top-secret visit to Ukraine’s capital Kyiv to meet with the at-war Government.The visit included laying flowers to pay tribute to those who have been killed in the war, meeting with Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, her defence counterpart Denys Shmyhal, and taking part in a country-to-country meeting.Inside Defence Minister’s top-secret visit to war-torn Kyiv – watch on TVNZ+Collins said: “I think it’s very important for us to give that support…

ADVERTISEMENT 79% of respondents across Europe say that culture is important to them personally, an increase of 2% compared to the previous survey in 2007. That’s what the most recent Eurobarometer survey shows. The highest scores are found in Luxembourg with 92%, Cyprus with 89%, and Italy, also 89%. The lowest are Germany at 66%, Austria at 62%, and Romania, at 61%. But culture isn’t just personal.  For more than 8 out of 10 Europeans, culture and the arts are important for the welfare and economic development of the place they live.  Again, Luxembourg – 93%, Portugal – 92%, and…

A grenade was found by police among a substantial amount of ammunition, drugs and cash in a raid at Onerahi in Northland this morning.Detective Senior Sergeant Shane Pilmer, Whangārei CIB, says officers found a significant amount of methamphetamine, cash and ammunition, as well as the grenade. Police did not disclose whether the grenade was live.Two people were facing charges after officers executed the search at a Ross St property.A bundle of money police found at an Onerahi property. (Source: NZ Police)“These arrests continue on from good police work earlier in the week,” Pilmer said, in a statement. “We have zero…

Michelle Dockery has debuted her baby bump at the world premiere of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale in London today.The 43-year-old British actress – who played Lady Mary Crawley in the period drama series over five seasons and three films – was glowing as she graced the red carpet in Leicester Square with her husband, Jasper Waller-Bridge.Her appearance was described as “an entrance worthy of Lady Mary” by one fashion critic.Jasper Waller-Bridge and Michelle Dockery. (Source: Getty)Dockery married the 37-year-old film producer, the brother of actress and screenwriter Phoebe Waller-Bridge, in 2023. The child will be the couple’s first. Downton…

A teenage dirt bike rider who taunted police on their social media pages while “causing havoc” in Whangārei has ended up in youth custody, police say.Prior to being caught, the 14-year-old allegedly posted “catch me if ya can” to police social media pages.Northland road policing manager John Fagan said the youth ended up in custody and had his bike taken off his hands.”This is one of several results as police crackdown on unsafe and illegal dirt bike riding activity across Northland’s communities.”Police share the frustrations expressed by many in the community with dangerous activity on public roads and public spaces,”…

ADVERTISEMENT More than €4 million of EU funds wrongly spent by the European Parliament’s far-right group Identity and Democracy (ID) during the previous term should be repaid by the Patriots for Europe (PfE) group, according to an opinion drafted by the Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) and set to be voted on Thursday. The ID group, which included France’s Rassemblement National and Italy’s The League, wrongly spent at least € 4 333 635.78 of EU funds between 2019 and 2024, according to Parliament’s financial services (DG FINS). The suspected irregularities were first flagged in February and led the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO)…

Air New Zealand and Air Chathams have confirmed potential partnership talks a day after the Government announced a “one-off” lifeline to rescue New Zealand’s struggling regional aviation network.Cabinet said it had approved funding for digital upgrades to allow for small regional carriers to integrate booking systems with the platforms of larger airlines.Known as “interlining”, the upgrades could allow passengers to book a single itinerary and flights on different airlines, including the major carriers.”Book a flight from, say, Whakatāne to Los Angeles through the Air New Zealand website and receive one ticket on an interlined journey,” Air Chathams CEO Duane Emeny…

A high-powered laser will be scanning the skies above Invercargill as part of a major international weather study aimed at improving forecasting and climate modelling in the Southern Hemisphere.Launching tomorrow, the goSouth-2 project is a joint venture between German and New Zealand institutions.Based near Invercargill Airport, Germany’s Meteorological Institute of the University of Leipzig has been brought together with the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), alongside New Zealand’s MetService, the University of Canterbury and The Air Quality Collective.The project uses ground-based laser and radar systems to study how clouds form and evolve in response to tiny airborne particles known…

A major insurance company has hit pause on new home insurance policies in parts of Canterbury. AA Insurance has reached the maximum value of properties it can insure for seismic risk, meaning it cannot offer new home insurance to properties located in two postcodes – 7608 in Lincoln and 7615 in Rolleston. AA head of underwriting Dee Naidu said it had put a cap on the amount of risk it could take on to ensure it can serve its existing customers. “Limiting new policies in high-risk areas is never something we do lightly. It’s a necessary step to honour our…

The final batch of speed limit reductions has been approved in Tasman, signalling the end of a tumultuous process that goes back to 2022.The district has 1168 local roads that collectively stretch across 1681km, from Golden Bay to Richmond.No roads had speed limit increases, and state highways in the region were unaffected.Once all the speed limit changes were implemented, 149 roads would have reductions that affect 262km of road.That equated to almost 12.8% of Tasman’s roads, or about 15.6% of the entire network.All but two of the district’s 37 schools would have speed limits – including variable speed limits –…