Author: Press Room

The volcanic alert level at Whakaari/White Island has been raised to level three after a possible eruption this afternoon.Earth Sciences New Zealand said a small-low energy eruption possibly occurred at around 12.30pm.The aviation colour code had also been increased to orange as a result.MetService said it had not detected volcanic ash in the observed plumes using satellite imagery.”The event seems to have lasted for a few minute and is now over,” Earth Sciences New Zealand reported.The increased volcanic alert level would remain for at least 48 hours, and would be reassessed by Earth Science New Zealand’s volcano monitoring group and…

Two Auckland women have been sentenced following the “undeserved and horrific” death of their dog due to starvation and hypothermia. In July 2024, SPCA inspectors visited the pair’s property following concerns about the welfare of dogs on site.During the inspection, a white mixed-breed dog named Princess was found tethered to a fence, with only a table for shelter and an empty water bowl, the SPCA said. One of the women told inspectors that Princess hadn’t been eating properly for the past few weeks. Inspectors provided advice on how to improve her condition before returning the following day with a kennel…

Foreign Minister Winston Peters has sanctioned 65 so-called “shadow fleet” vessels involved in shipping Russian oil.The move was announced in a statement released on Thursday coinciding with Peters meeting with the Nordic 5 Foreign Ministers in Stockholm.He said oil was a key source of revenue helping Russia fund its war in Ukraine, and the shadow fleet was part of a broader network undermining global efforts to curtail its trade.It comes a day after Reuters news agency reported a New Zealand company offered insurance to tankers helping the trade of billions of dollars of Iranian and Russian oil, skirting Western sanctions.This…

New law simplifying rules for building granny flats could bring extra costs for ratepayers, an economist says.The Government announced last week that people can build structures of up to 70 square metres in their backyards without a building consent.Economist Brad Olsen from Infometrics said, in general, people could have an increase in rates on sections with new granny flats.”Effectively, you would have another unit that would be using resources,“ he said.“The question would be how that plays out in the change in value of the property, and how councils across New Zealand deal with it.“If you build a granny flat…

The Associate Agriculture Minister has defended his decision to consult only the pork industry and give them a decade to transition to new pig welfare reforms, during a grilling from opposition MPs.Andrew Hoggard appeared before the Primary Production Select Committee on Thursday, which was hearing a limited number of oral submissions on the Animal Welfare Amendment (Regulations for Management of Pigs) Bill after the process was fast-tracked.The Government’s bill reverses a planned ban on farrowing crates – which stop a sow from turning around in order to avoid crushing her piglets – and instead keeps them in use until 2035…

Europe should forge a deeper strategic partnership with Turkey in response to emerging global challenges, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday on his first official visit to Ankara, which has played a crucial mediating role in the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Merz was speaking alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, just days after Turkey and the United Kingdom finalised a multi-billion-euro deal for the sale of 20 Eurofighter Typhoon jets. Germany, part of the consortium that manufactures the advanced fighter aircraft, recently lifted its longstanding objection to their export to Turkey. Merz’s visit also comes amid reports of…

Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand has granted consent, under the Overseas Investment Act, for Delmec Unlimited — part of the Dawn Meats Group — to take a 65% stake in Alliance Group. Earlier this month, the co-operative’s farmer shareholders voted in favour of the $270 million transaction. Once the final regulatory and legal steps required have been completed, the new joint venture will become operational. The OIA decision said the acquisition of the shares would give Dawn Meats an indirect freehold interest in about 1285.471ha of land and a leasehold interest in about 387ha. The land mainly comprised…

Auckland chef Henry Onesemo took his Samoan flag to Milan for the Best Chef Awards, proud to represent his roots on the world stage.”I even took my little Samoan flag and I busted it out every chance I could,” he says. “It was very humbling… meeting the Mount Rushmores of cooking… it was such an amazing experience.”His restaurant TALA, which he co-owns with his wife Debby Onesemo, was awarded a “knife” at The Best Chef Awards in Milan, making Onesemo the only Samoan chef to receive that honour.”It reinforces that Sāmoan food has a place on the world stage,” he…

A “poor economic climate” has resulted in the closure of a nearly 40-year-old Dunedin motorcycle business. MCR Motorcycle Replacements, which supplied new Yamaha and Royal Enfield models, has had a presence in Dunedin since the mid-1980s. The current owner, who declined to give his name, confirmed the business officially closed last Friday. He had operated it for the past two and a-half years and it closed “due to a poor economic climate”, he said. The motorcycle retailer started out in North Rd, was later based in Hillside Rd and Maclaggan St, before settling at the Crawford St premises — next…

Netflix’s new thriller, A House of Dynamite, shows how the US might respond were a nuclear strike imminent. Mark Lacy asks, how far are we from this terrifying situation becoming a reality?As a teenager in the 1980s, I was shown a BBC drama in school called Threads that depicted the impact of a nuclear strike on a city in northern England. Threads is a brutal vision of a terrifying reality that I imagine haunted many people in the years before the end of the cold war.For younger generations who have so far experienced a world with pandemic lockdowns, wars in…