Author: Press Room

A worker was taken to hospital after allegedly being assaulted by three youths at a Rotorua youth justice facility last night.Police said they was called to the facility at 10.45pm yesterday following a report of an assault.The youths had also damaged a window at the facility, police added.”They were taken into police custody without incident at 11.05pm. Fortunately, the staff member was not seriously injured. However, they were transported to hospital to be checked over.”The three youths will be appearing in the Rotorua Youth Court today, charged with assault with intent to injure.”

More than five months after a first “meth lolly” was found, police have confirmed the operation is winding down — with 27 out of 61 never recovered.Lollies containing a “potentially lethal dose” of methamphetamine were unknowingly distributed in food parcels from the Auckland City Mission after they were donated by a member of the public in August 2024.Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin from the Auckland City CIB, said police had largely wound down the investigation, with no arrests made.He said, based on the information available, police believed the lollies were shipped to an address in New Zealand and intended to be…

If you have ever wanted to own an entire village, now is your chance. Again.The Lake Waitaki Village on Otematata-Kurow Road, Kurow, is made up of a 585 square metre lodge, five studio suites, a café and bar with carpark, and eight three-bedroom homes.It was built in the 1930s to house people working on the Waitaki Dam, which was now automated, and was once home to thousands of people. The wooden huts that housed many of them have since gone.Two of the homes have been refurbished in recent times.The property was listed for sale almost 10 years ago but did…

David Seymour’s hapū, Ngāti Rēhia, has formally requested he not attend Waitangi commemorations in Northland, due to his ongoing support of the Treaty Principles Bill.In a letter sent to the ACT Party Leader on Tuesday, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rēhia chairperson William Skipper (Kipa) Munro, said the bill has been highly contentious, divisive and seen by many as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi itself.The letter said Waitangi was a special time of year for the iwi of Te Tai Tokerau and that the mana of Te Tiriti and rights of te iwi Māori were being threatened due to…

New Zealanders “need to get past squeamishness about privatisation”, says ACT leader David Seymour as he criticised what he called a growing “majority for mediocrity”. The ACT leader, who will become deputy prime minister later this year, gave what he billed as his “State of the Nation” address this afternoon to party supporters in Auckland. In his speech, Seymour floated the potential to allow Kiwis to opt out of the public health system in exchange for $6000 annual payments to use for private insurance instead, and said the “government should do as little in housing as possible” when it came…

MetService has put weather warnings in place for the West Coast and Tasman, with motorists in the regions urged to use caution. A heavy rain warning is in place for Westland from midday Saturday until 6pm on Sunday affecting SH6 between Hokitika and Haast. “A low from the Tasman Sea crosses the country on Sunday,” MetService said on X, while issuing a heavy rain watch for Tasman west of Motueka from 9pm Saturday until 6pm Sunday. “This will affect State Highway 60 Tākaka Hill and Golden Bay.”A cold front crossing the island would also bring a drop of temperatures with…

Police are appealing for information following a fatal crash which took place in Whakatāne yesterday.At around 4pm, police responded to the crash involving a car and pedestrian at the intersection of State Highway 30 and Thornton Road.The pedestrian was then taken to Waikato Hospital in critical condition, but died this morning.”A scene examination was conducted and inquiries into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing,” police said.”Police would like to hear from anyone who witnessed or has dashcam footage of the crash or any information that may assist in our investigation.”Information could be reported to police via 105.

More than 20% of EU citizens live in areas where traffic noise levels harm health. The European Court of Auditors claims lawmakers and local authorities are failing to take the issue as seriously as air pollution. ADVERTISEMENTOver one out of five Europeans are exposed to harmful long-term noise from road, rail and air transport.  Living in an area affected by transport noise is associated with an increased risk of developing a wide range of health issues, including cardiovascular, metabolic and mental health diseases.  According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), early life exposure to transport noise impacts children’s reading ability…

Border officials intercepted about 4900kg of illegal substances last year, according to the Customs Service.Smugglers employed various concealment tactics throughout the year, authorities alleged, from hiding more than 500kg of methamphetamine in steel beams arriving by sea cargo to disguising 10kg as wrapped gifts in an air traveller’s carry-on duffle bag.A traveller’s carry-on duffle bag hid 10-kilograms of gift-wrapped methamphetamine at Auckland Airport. (Source: Customs Service)One seizure netted 4.4kg of the drug allegedly disguised as candles, including the weight of wax, while another found 1.4kg concealed in resin stones.Key drug seizures at the border — which included meth, cocaine and…

The former NATO secretary general and the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine outlined to Euronews ways to reach a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. ADVERTISEMENTEnding Russia’s all-out war in Ukraine this year is possible, according to former NATO Secretary-General Jen Stoltenberg. However, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andrii Yermak, cautioned that this would only happen on terms acceptable to the Ukrainian people.The pair spoke during the World Economic Forum in Davos for a special edition of Euronews’ Europe Conversation.With Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost entering its fourth year, attention…