Author: Press Room

A man has been charged after an ambulance parked outside Timaru Hospital was taken for a joyride while a patient awaited transfer to Christchurch early on Tuesday morning.Dashcam footage provided to 1News showed the stolen ambulance travelling through thick fog at speeds of up to 82km/h.In a statement to 1News on Wednesday afternoon, police said a man had been arrested and charged in relation to the incident.The owner of the ambulance, Don Gutsell, said he was “ectastic and blown away” by police’s quick response.Gutsell, who ran health and safety training provider ProMed, said the ambulance was left running to warm…

ADVERTISEMENTPolice have arrested a 21-year-old man in connection with a fire at the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s private home in north London.The blaze damaged the house’s entrance but caused no injuries.The man is being held in custody after being arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.The police force said his arrest also relates to two other incidents, and officers are looking into the possibility that they are linked. As well as the fire in the early hours of Monday at Starmer’s private house in Kentish Town, police are investigating…

An Auckland dog owner has been sentenced after a two-year-old was mauled and left with life-threatening injuries. The attack occurred when the child was playing in his front yard and two American Bulldogs roamed onto the child’s Auckland property in March 2024. Unprovoked, they attacked him, leaving him with several serious injuries to his neck and head along with a fractured shoulder blade. He required multiple surgeries and a prolonged hospital stay, Auckland Council said.  “Despite heroic efforts by bystanders and the victim’s mother, who physically lifted her child to safety, the dogs continued to attack.” Auckland Council said CCTV footage captured the…

ADVERTISEMENTIreland’s Taoiseach Micheál Martin told Euronews that he believes the European Union should act against the Hungarian government’s use of vetoes, which he called “outrageous”. Orbán responded to this on social media, calling on Martin not to “ruin the love story between Ireland and Hungary”.“We Hungarians have always regarded Irish patriots as champions of freedom and national independence. For us, Ireland is a symbol of liberty and sovereignty,” Orban wrote on X.He added that, for this reason, it is “always shocking” to see an Irish patriot standing on the side of an “empire instead of national sovereignty”.“Please don’t ruin the…

The first of New Zealand Transport Agency’s speed camera-equipped SUVs hit the streets of Auckland yesterday. NZTA unveiled the rollout of the non-branded camera-equipped vehicles last week, which park on the sides of roads to monitor drivers. The vehicles are not signposted, but would be visible to drivers. A spokesperson for the agency confirmed to 1News that the first vehicle officially went into operation yesterday. The spokesperson wouldn’t give any details about where the vehicle was deployed, as “evidence shows that unsigned mobile safety cameras are twice as effective at reducing crashes than sign-posted cameras”. One of the camera-equipped SUVs.…

ADVERTISEMENTThe Trump administration wants to hear this week how NATO’s European member countries and Canada plan to boost defence spending to 5% of GDP, new US envoy Matthew Whitaker has said.Briefing reporters ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Turkey, US Ambassador Matthew Whitaker insisted that “5% is our number. We’re asking our allies to invest in their defence like they mean it.””Make no mistake, this ministerial is going to be different,” Whitaker said, adding that “5% is not just a number, it is a necessity for our security. The alliance is facing significant threats.”He did elaborate on…

Problems with Southland Hospital’s “too small” emergency department were outlined in information prepared for former health minister Shane Reti in December.The three-page document, released to Local Democracy Reporting under the LGOIMA, discussed the hospital’s struggling emergency department and operating theatres, which have been waiting on upgrades since 2021, when funding was allocated.”Southland Hospital is experiencing significant capacity constraints in ED [emergency department],” the report stated.”The ED is too small to allow for the efficient flow of patients, this leads to extended times for patients to be placed in a clinical space to be assessed.”A lack of specialised treatment spaces in…

ADVERTISEMENTAlthough less than a week has passed since Pope Leo XIV was elected at the conclave of cardinals, gathered to elect the next leader of the Catholic Church, much has already been said about the new pontiff and what is expected from his papacy. While he is widely seen as someone capable of uniting a divided Church, he is expected to continue Pope Francis’ legacy. However, some conservatives hope the new pontiff will embrace a more traditionalist approach.His relationship with the United States will also be one to watch, especially given that some factions within the American Catholic Church align…

Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden has become the first MP to use the word c*** in the House of Representatives when she repeated it after former minister for women Jan Tinetti asked about a controversial opinion column in relation to the Government’s changes to the pay equity process.The column by national affairs editor Andrea Vance, which appeared in the Sunday Star-Times and The Post, accused Finance Minister Nicola Willis of partaking in “girl math” with the move to scale back the pay equity process last week.In the column, she referred to six current ministers “united in a historic act…

ADVERTISEMENTEU ministers and sector players have defended the bloc’s audio-visual sector rules and condemned threats by US President Donald Trump to tariff the film production as counterproductive.Trump has proposeda 100% tariff on American films made outside the country. The aim is to bring production back to Hollywood. But for European countries that have become key filming destinations for major US studios, the move could have wide-reaching consequences. Speaking to Euronews during Tuesday’s Culture Council in Brussels, France’s Culture Minister Rachida Dati warned that Trump’s proposal could ultimately harm the US industry. “The American film industry is profitable for the United States. So…