Author: Press Room

A Christchurch mother is calling for sightings of her 12-year-old son who hasn’t been seen since Monday afternoon. Natasha Churcher said her son Bailey had been playing in the backyard of their Aorangi Road home in Bryndwyr when she noticed he was missing around 2.30 pm.She added she is very worried as Bailey has ADHD, and although he has gone off wandering before, it has never been for this long.Police have confirmed they’re aware of the disappearance and have been making checks around the area.Churcher asked anyone who has seen Bailey to get in touch with her or contact police.…

Russia launched a large-scale missile attack targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Wednesday morning, Ukraine’s Air Force reported. ADVERTISEMENTRussia launched a massive aerial attack against Ukraine on Wednesday, forcing the country to introduce preventive power cuts, the Ukrainian energy minister said.“The enemy continues to terrorize Ukrainians,” Herman Halushchenko wrote on Facebook, urging residents to stay in shelters during the ongoing threat and follow official updates.The state energy company Ukrenergo reported emergency power outages in the Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kirovohrad regions.Constant strain on energy infrastructureRussian forces launched missile strikes targeting energy infrastructure in the western Lviv region early Wednesday,…

Two fishermen needed to be rescued yesterday evening after a trawler sank off Moturekareka Island, near Kawau Bay in the Hauraki Gulf. In a post to Facebook, Kawau Volunteer Coastguard said it received an urgent call at around 8.49pm reporting the trawler had taken on water. “They were returning home and felt they were taking on water,” the post read. “They turned towards the nearest land and started to investigate, but before they could do any more, the boat had sunk.”A Maritime NZ spokesperson told 1News that the trawler’s crew had their lifejackets on and were ready to get into…

Citizens in traditional US ally countries such as the United Kingdom, South Korea, and EU member states express greater doubts about the future of a Trump administration compared to the rest of the world, according to a new global survey. ADVERTISEMENTUS allies in Europe are the most pessimistic about the future global order under Donald Trump’s leadership, a survey conducted for the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and Oxford University’s Europe report reveals today. In the EU and UK, the majority of people view a second Trump administration as detrimental to American citizens, their own countries, and the resolution of…

A decision to disband Auckland Council’s lead urban regeneration agency could mean some communities miss out on valuable investments, a councillor says.At a governing body meeting on December 12, councillors voted in favour of structural changes to council-controlled organisations (CCOs).This included disbanding Eke Panuku and transferring its responsibilities to council by July.Manurewa-Papakura councillor Angela Dalton said she heavily opposed the decision.She was away on personal leave when the governing body met.”Eke Panuku filled a valuable hole left from legacy councils who were responsible for placemaking in their respective council areas,” she said.”Without Eke Panuku, suburbs who have benefited from regeneration…

Misinformation is often spread regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine to sway public opinion about support for Kyiv and put pressure on western governments. ADVERTISEMENTAn image doing the rounds on social media allegedly shows a list of US politicians, including President Joe Biden, who have received bribes in return for support for Ukraine.Text accompanying the list claims that a Ukrainian official released the names, as well as the amounts that each person has supposedly received.Biden has allegedly received $92 million (€89.6 million), for example, while former speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi has taken home $86 million, and former…

Police are investigating what is believed to be arson after a fire near Raglan Airfield “spread rapidly” due to dry conditions.Emergency services were notified of the fire just after 5pm yesterday.Police said the fire’s rapid spread threatened nearby campgrounds and infrastructure.”Fortunately, the fire was extinguished a short time later, with no damage to any property.”Police would like to speak to anyone who was in the Marine Parade area around 5pm yesterday, or anyone who had CCTV footage around the area during that time.Information could be provided by calling 105 or anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is recovering from a severe case of pneumonia but will not attend the weekly meeting of Commissioners. ADVERTISEMENTThe president of the European Commission is on the mend and expected to resume in-person appointments soon, amid criticism over lack of communication about her condition over the past week.Ursula von der Leyen will not chair this week’s College of Commissioners on Wednesday and has asked executive vice president Teresa Ribera to step in, a Commission spokesperson confirmed on Monday, adding that “the president is recovering well”.Currently recuperating at her residence in Hannover, Germany, Von der…

Police across New Zealand have observed a minute of silence in honour of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming who was killed in Nelson in the early hours of New Year’s Day.The 62-year-old was one of two officers struck by a vehicle in Nelson’s Buxton Square at around 2am on January 1. She died later that day of her injuries, making her the first New Zealand policewoman to be killed in the line of duty.The minute’s silence at 1pm today marked 24 hours before Fleming will be farewelled at a funeral service in Nelson with full police honours.A floral tribute outside Nelson…

The 32 NATO allies will likely decide to increase the defence spending benchmark from the current 2% of GDP during a summit in The Hague in June. ADVERTISEMENTNATO member states will have to find ways to increase joint purchases and use existing infrastructure, or face an increase in defence spending of up to 3.7% of their GDP. The transatlantic military alliance’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, told the European Parliament on Monday.”If you do joint buying and use the NSPA (NATO Support and Procurement Agency) and everything else within NATO and the EU, then you can deduct joint buying, you can…