Author: Press Room

A “Run It Straight” event planned for Williams Park in Māngere has been canned after organisers failed to secure a permit and a local board raised safety concerns.The event is a social media-driven trend where participants compete in full-contact collisions without protective gear, raising serious health concerns over concussion and injury risks.Tauanu’u Nick Bakulich, chair of the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board, told Local Democracy Reporting that the board opposed the event on public health and safety grounds and confirmed no official application had been made to Auckland Council.”An event was scheduled at Williams Park Māngere [on Wednesday]. The Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board…

ADVERTISEMENTOman’s foreign minister has said the fifth round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran to discuss Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme take place on Friday in Rome.So far, neither Tehran nor Washington has confirmed the meeting or announced whether they will attend.Abbas Araghchi made the announcement in a post on the social media platform X after insisting that Tehran will never stop enriching uranium, further underlining the Islamic Republic’s red line in negotiations with the US.The comments by Araghchi come after several rounds of negotiations, including at an expert level over the details of a possible deal.However,…

Health chiefs have increased security at Christchurch Hospital’s birthing unit after a student midwife was attacked on the way to their car after leaving work.The staff member was targeted after their shift at the Antigua Street unit in the central city, although the assault did not happen on hospital grounds.College of Midwives chief executive Alison Eddy said Health New Zealand was doing all it could to ensure the safety of staff.”I understand that the facility does have security staff available to escort staff back to their cars, there’s absolutely that provision in place,” she said.”I think sometimes people might have…

By Peggy Corlin & Romane Armangau Published on 21/05/2025 – 18:27 GMT+2ADVERTISEMENTBusiness representatives gave a jaundiced welcome to a new single market strategy designed to strengthen internal trade presented on Wednesday by EU Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné, following years of promises on the issue by the European Commission.“Every Commission term seems to feature a flagship communication on the single market, going back to the Monti Report in 2010, but unfortunately these have not always led to tangible improvements for businesses,” Ben Butters, the CEO of Eurochambres, which represents businesses across Europe, told Euronews.  Then Competition Commissioner Mario Monti’s 2010 report sketched a strategy…

A man who lost $2000 when he got one number wrong in a bank transfer has been told to drop his complaint.He complained to Financial Services Complaints Ltd (FSCL) after the money was lost.The man realised he had entered the recipient account number incorrectly when the money did not turn up. FSCL said he had entered 05 instead of 55 as the suffix, and did not pick up on the mistake before the transfer was processed.He contacted his bank, but was told it could not help because he had authorised the transfer.The money transfer service said it was not its…

ADVERTISEMENTFor almost three months, thousands of Ukrainian soldiers held out against Russian attacks in the bunkers and tunnels of the Azovstal steel plant, becoming a symbol of resistance against Russian aggression. Before Russia launched its full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, around half a million people lived in Mariupol, the biggest Ukrainian city on the Sea of Azov and the main port serving the industries and agriculture of eastern Ukraine. Russia had already tried to occupy Mariupol when it invaded Ukraine for the first time in 2014. The city was under Russian control for two months before Ukrainian forces took it back. Ten…

Kāinga Ora has confirmed it will cut 620 roles, of which 194 are vacant, as part of its restructuring.The roles are predominately from its back-office and corporate functions, with frontline tenancy management roles not impacted.Kāinga Ora had initially proposed cutting 673 roles, but said it made some changes to the proposal after consulting with staff.It said the changes would enable the organisation to focus on providing and managing state-owned social housing more cost effectively.”We need an organisational model and workforce that reflects our new, narrower focus on managing and providing social housing. We also need to align our back-to-basics focus,…

ADVERTISEMENTThe EU foreign policy chief has called on Israel to investigate after IDF troops fired what the Israeli military said were “warning shots” near a delegation of foreign diplomats in the West Bank on Wednesday.”I’ve heard about the incident in Jenin today where Israel Defence Forces shot warning shots but still shots at a group of diplomats approaching the refugee camp within a visit organised by the Palestinian Authority,” Kaja Kallas said.”Any threats on diplomats’ lives are unacceptable. So as Israel is also a signatory to the Vienna Convention, I mean the obligation to guarantee the security of all foreign…

A person has died following a single-vehicle crash near Northland’s Matakohe this afternoon.Police say they were alerted to the crash on State Highway 12 west of Gallie Rd around 1.30pm.”Police extend condolences to the family of the victim.”A full road closure was put in place while the serious crash unit carried out a scene examination.Motorists have been thanked for their cooperation.An investigation is now underway into the circumstances of the crash.

ADVERTISEMENTMalta, Belgium, Iceland, Denmark and Spain are the top five countries in this year’s LGBTQ+ rights ranking, according to this year’s ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Map. Malta has been at the top of the ranking for the last decade, with a score of 88,83%. With 85 points, Belgium jumped to second place after adopting policies tackling hatred based on sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics.    Despite Belgium jumping to second place in the index over Iceland, the latest figures from Belgium’s Centre for Equal Opportunities Unia and the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men reported “worrying” cases of violence and discrimination against…