Author: Press Room

The Mayor of Kaikōura had a sleepless night in Wellington as he tried to get home after fires broke out across his district.Craig Mackle returned home at lunchtime on Wednesday to have a shower and change out of his suit and into his work gear, ready to get his hands dirty.”I don’t adapt very well to this ‘stand here, watch this’. I prefer to get in and see it done.”Follow 1News’ live updates on the current weather-related eventsSevere wind and fire conditions led to multiple fires breaking out around the same time across the northern part of the Kaikoura district…

European lawmakers rejected on Tuesday a draft law to monitor and report on “forest health”, which would mandate EU countries to collect data on forestry conditions and enable preparedness against forest fires across the bloc. The ballot revealed that the far-right and centrist MEPs predominantly voted no in the European Parliament, with 370 votes against and 261 in favour of draft legislation to harmonise data collection on forests and close knowledge gaps about the state of woodlands across the EU. Tuesday’s vote has effectively killed EU negotiations, following the Parliament’s environment and agriculture committees’ previous rejection of the draft proposal…

Demand for a boutique Dunedin hotel complex has reached “record” highs with two apartments selling for more than $1.4 million each. NZ Property Solutions director Denise Casey said the real estate agency had sold two “luxury apartments” off-plan that were part of the redevelopment of St Clair’s historic Majestic Mansions building. The two north-facing “glazed garden pavilion” units, each on the upper ground floor, were sold for $1.425m and $1.45m — or about $18,000 per square metre, Ms Casey said. Designed by architects Mason & Wales, the two-bedroom and two-bathroom apartments would feature bespoke kitchens, floor-to-ceiling windows and oak ceilings.…

High Performance Sport NZ has quietly footed the bill for an independent review and player wellbeing support in the Silver Ferns’ camp – even as coach at the centre of the crisis, Dame Noeline Taurua, remains a sitting member of the agency’s own board.While Netball NZ grapples with a deepening crisis over Taurua’s suspension, HPSNZ has played a behind-the-scenes role, offering funding, strategic advice, and resourcing to help steer the troubled high performance programme.But its involvement in the highly public, and increasingly political, dispute raises uncomfortable questions.What began as a quietly handled cultural review has spiralled into one of the…

Cyprus has presented a “very specific” six-point plan on Gaza’s recovery to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, ahead of a gathering of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday. The country’s President, Nikos Christodoulides, for the first time discussed the details with Euronews. The proposal, elaborated on in a Euronews exclusive, is designed to prop up United States President Donald Trump’s broader 20-point peace initiative, unveiled at the end of September. First discussed with world leaders during the “Gaza Peace Summit” in Sharm-el-Sheikh in mid-October, it involves repurposing the so-called ‘Amalthea’ corridor to both “extract rubble”…

Hastings police are investigating an incident in which a young girl was approached by a man as she was walking home in Whakatu.Detective Sergeant Karli Whiu said the incident occurred at around 3.15pm on Tuesday.The man began interacting with her as she made her way home, Whiu said.“We acknowledge the girl who has done the right thing by avoiding the man, making her way home, and telling her caregivers.”Whiu said officers were working to understand what occurred and inquiries were ongoing.”We understand an incident like this can be unsettling to the community however, we ask parents to be alert, not…

People feel less safe walking alone at night in Italy and France than in dozens of other countries, including Iraq, Rwanda, and Bangladesh, according to a new report. In fact, the 2025 edition of The Global Safety Report features only one European nation in the top 10 countries with the highest sense of security: Norway (91%). Denmark and Kosovo, both with 89%, are the second-highest ranking European countries, respectively 11th and 12th worldwide. Italians feel least safe in Europe, France 56th worldwide With 60%, the perception of security among Italians is the lowest in Europe, and the 95th in the…

Holidaymakers are advised to consider delaying travel due to forecast gales, as a red wind warning is issued for South Marlborough, and an orange wind warning for the rest of the region.The red wind warning issued by MetService on Wednesday evening covered Marlborough south of Cape Campbell, including Ward, from 6am to 4pm on Thursday, with gusts of up to 140kph expected in exposed areas.A orange wind warning would cover the rest of the region from 6am to 4pm on Thursday, with gusts of up to 130kph expected in exposed areas.Marlborough Emergency Management said there was a high likelihood that…

Thirty-eight European Parliament lawmakers from four political groups wrote a letter to the European Commission urging an end to funding for all Libyan security forces. The MEPs asked the Commission to condemn what they call the violent actions of the Libyan Coast Guard against humanitarian vessels in the Mediterranean, and to “immediately halt all forms of support — financial, technical, or operational — to the LCG, the (Directorate for Combating Illegal Migration) DCIM and any other Libyan entity.” Following the ousting of dictator Muammar Gaddafi and the end of the civil war in 2020, Libya remains politically divided, with two…

Work on the West Coast’s long-awaited new conservation management strategy is officially on hold – pending new laws controlling what can and can’t be done on public conservation land.More than a thousand people responded to a survey last year on what was important to them on West Coast conservation lands and waters; how those places should be managed and what activities should be allowed where – including commercial ones.DOC, Poutini Ngāi Tahu and the West Coast Tai Poutini Conservation Board had almost reached the point of public consultation on a new draft conservation management strategy (CMS).And at the board meeting…