Author: Press Room

ADVERTISEMENTUkraine and Russia began their meeting in Turkey on Friday in the first attempt at a ceasefire negotiation and a format that also includes representatives of US and Turkey. Attending the NATO foreign ministers meeting in Antalya, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington does not have high expectations for the Friday meeting outcome. “Frankly, at this point, I think it’s abundantly clear that the only way we’re going to have a breakthrough here is between President (Donald) Trump and President (Vladimir) Putin,” Rubio said.But until that point is reached, this is how the Friday agenda looks: Rubio has…

Re: News asked recent school leavers and a high school teacher what they think about the proposed changes to sex education, which could mean students no longer learn about gender identity in their health classes. Watch the full video on TVNZ+ In 2020, Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) guidelines were introduced for teachers. They were an optional resource and included detailed information about gender identity and sexual orientation. One school leaver Re: News spoke to said some of the topics included in those guidelines “could definitely be seen as inappropriate, especially at a young age”. Another said the topics should…

ADVERTISEMENTAmbassadors from India and Pakistan to the EU have told Euronews how the bloc can support their two countries to overcome the current tensions between them, although the emphasis differs in both cases.At the end of April 26 civilians – mainly Hindu tourists – were killed in a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, in India’s Jammu and Kashmir province, in the deadliest attack on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks. India accused Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism and suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, expelled Pakistani diplomats and closed borders. Pakistan rejected the claims and retaliated by suspending the Simla Agreement, restricting trade, and closing airspace.Both…

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has unveiled a new $190m Social Investment Fund designed to transform the way the social services are delivered to vulnerable New Zealanders.It forms the centrepiece of a $275m commitment over four years to the government’s social investment approach, with more details expected in next week’s Budget.Speaking in South Auckland on Thursday morning, Willis said the funding would target deeply entrenched issues by investing in services that deliver “measurable improvements” in people’s lives.The fund would be governed by the new Social Investment Agency and was expected to invest in at least 20 initiatives in its first year.The…

Cars decked out in sirens are parking up in parts of West Auckland and blasting out short clips of songs in the early hours, a councillor says.Waitākere ward councillor Shane Henderson wants tougher powers for the police and is contacting the Transport Minister to see if new legislation will include penalties.A Local Democracy reporter who met some of the adherents for a story wrote that participants were mainly young Pacific people who have become fans of a style of music known as siren jams or beats.The genre consists primarily of remixes of high-pitched reggae music played over horn speakers or…

ADVERTISEMENTOne week into his papacy, Pope Leo XIV has already found himself in the middle of multiple false narratives, much like Pope Francis before him.A social media post, for example, claims that an attached video shows the new pontiff deliberately snubbing and turning away from the LGBTQ rainbow flag as he greets onlookers at the Vatican.However, the flag in the video isn’t the LGBTQ flag — it’s the Italian peace flag, first used in 1961, which predates the LGBTQ flag.We can see that the lettering on the flag, while back to front, says “Pace”, the Italian word for “Peace”, and…

Butter, milk, and cheese led the rise in food prices in the year to April 2025, new data shows. Stats NZ figures released today reveal food prices rose 3.7% annually last month, with increases across all food categories.”Price increases were widespread, with all five food groups recording an increase.” It follows prices rising by 3.5% in the 12 months to March, by the same measure.Prices and deflators spokesperson Nicola Growden said dairy products led the increases in the latest data, with the average price for 500 grams of butter hitting $7.42.”That’s nearly $3 more expensive than this time last year,”…

It’s a four-letter word that starts with a C and is at the centre of a political and linguistic storm this week.But why is it still so offensive to so many?Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden dropped the C-bomb during question time yesterday, in protest over the same slur being used against her and other female ministers in a column on pay equity by Andrea Vance, national affairs editor for the Sunday Star Times and The Post. It was believed to be the first time the word had been used in the house and has sparked a wider discussion about…

Fears of Māori being left out of the future development of the internet were front and centre at the inaugural national Māori Internet hui, Kauwaka te Ipurangi.The two-day event at Te Papa in Wellington, hosted by Te Komiti Whakauru Māori, a subcommittee of InternetNZ-Ipurangi Aotearoa, invited Māori to explore how the internet is managed, the policies and processes that shape its use, and to engage in its future.Whitiaua Ropitini, principal advisor at InternetNZ, said the conference was an opportunity for Māori to see how it was imperative to be involved.“Kei te whanake haere te ipurangi, kei te whanake haere ngā…

A takahē and a tuatara have been filmed seemingly engaging in a bush-floor stoush on Auckland’s Tiritiri Matangi Island. The video – captured by quick-thinking Department of Conservation ranger Nick Fisentzidis – showed a takahē appearing to attack a tuatara. “I saw them having a bit of a nip at each other; the takahē definitely had a go at the tail of the tuatara, and they had a bit of a scrap,” he said. “I followed them down the hill, and the tuatara got a couple of bites in, so the takahē backed off and snuck back away up the…