Author: Press Room

Cardinal John Dew is about to go into conclave to vote for a new pope, becoming the third New Zealander to do so. Dew, the former Archbishop of Wellington, is among the 133 cardinals gathered in the Vatican to elect a successor to Pope Francis, who died last month. From tomorrow, Dew and his fellow Cardinals will be locked away from the world as they participate in daily votes in the Sistine Chapel until white smoke billows from the rooftop signalling a new pope is selected. Read more about how the conclave works hereBlack smoke billows from the chimney on…

ADVERTISEMENTRomania’s interim president has appointed a caretaker prime minister, a day after Marcel Ciolacu stepped down following the failure of his coalition’s candidate to make the runoff in a rerun of the presidential election.Ilie Bolojan signed a decree to appoint Interior Minister Catalin Predoiu of the liberal NLP party to helm the government until a new one can be formed.The interim post can be held for a maximum of 45 days, granting Predoiu limited executive powers.The shake-up comes after the coalition’s candidate, Crin Antonescu, came third in Sunday’s first round presidential vote, behind nationalist George Simion and pro-Western Bucharest Mayor Nicusor…

The government is making it harder to make a claim for pay equity that will cut costs, saying the current system is too loose.There have been massive pay equity claims in recent years for nurses and resthome workers.Workplace Minister Brooke van Velden announced the moves to raise the threshold for proving work has been historically undervalued to support a claim, on Tuesday saying changes back in 2020 had created problems.”Claims have been able to progress without strong evidence of undervaluation and there have been very broad claims where it is difficult to tell whether differences in pay are due to…

Cabinet minister Erica Stanford says her practice of forwarding Government correspondence to a personal Gmail account, including a pre-Budget announcement, was “untidy” behaviour, but the issue is now “sorted”.She spoke after 1News revealed yesterday that she sent pre-Budget announcements to her personal email last year and used her Gmail for ministerial business over the course of her time as a minister.The emails showed Stanford putting her MP business signature on emails from her Gmail while communicating with her staff, school principals and various organisations.The senior minister, who holds the education and immigration portfolios, said today she was “not a perfect…

A Southland man whose dog was found starved to death has been sentenced to community work. The man’s sentencing came after Mike, a tan Staffordshire Bull Terrier, was found dead in his kennel by Invercargill City Council Animal Control officers in June 2023. SPCA inspectors executed a search warrant and found evidence which suggested Mike had been tethered to the same spot “for an extended period” with a rusty chain. He was prosecuted for failing to seek veterinary care for the severely malnourished dog. The ground Mike was restricted to was described as “worn down”. “His body was in extremely…

The Department of Conservation has apologised to Nelson City Council and members of the public after non-toxic pellets left behind following a drone trial sparked concern among residents who believed them to be poisonous.The incident unfolded following a drone-based experiment conducted last week at the Wakapuaka sandflats located northeast of Nelson.DOC terrestrial biodiversity director Hilary Aikman said the trial was part of an ongoing study to test the effectiveness of aerial detection methods.”They used non-toxic pellets for this research, dyed blue to make them easier to see,” she said.”Once the pellets were laid out, a drone was used to photograph…

ADVERTISEMENTAll four of Moscow’s major airports were reportedly closed for hours after Ukraine launched a second consecutive night of drone attacks against the Russian capital, authorities said. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Tuesday that Russian air defences intercepted 19 drones flying toward the city from different directions. The Russian official said some debris had landed on highways leading into the city, but that no casualties were reported. The attack comes ahead of planned celebrations in Moscow to commemorate the end of World War II. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the Victory Day event.”Our position is very simple for all…

The Commerce Commission has filed criminal charges against Woolworths NZ for alleged inaccurate pricing and misleading specials that may have breached the Fair Trading Act. The commission filed the charges against Woolworths in the Auckland District Court. It indicated in December last year that it would be filing separate criminal charges against Woolworths and two Pak’nSave supermarkets. At that time, the commission said there were ongoing issues with pricing in the supermarket sector and the operators may have breached the Fair Trading Act. In a December statement, deputy chair Anne Callinan said operators should know what the expectations were. “Supermarkets…

The New Zealand film industry is anxiously awaiting more details of Donald Trump’s plan to slap 100% tariffs on movies made outside the United States.The US President said Hollywood was dying a “very fast death” due to the incentives that other countries are using to attract American filmmakers.A day after the announcement, the president told reporters he would meet with industry officials first to make sure they liked the idea, Reuters reported. The White House said it had not made any final decisions on the tariffs.Minister Nicola Willis told RNZ some big American films have been made in New Zealand…

Vandals in four-wheel drives have mown down 38 pōhutukawa trees on Napier’s Marine Parade.The damage was done overnight on Saturday after the vandals first removed new vehicle barriers in front of the trees, Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise said. She said the council was concerned at the behaviour and said an early estimate to replace the damage came to $20,000.”These trees were planted for our community by the Rotary Club as a gift over the past five years,” Wise said.”There are lots of community groups who work alongside us to make sure Napier has places and spaces that are beautiful and…