Author: Press Room

Sir Rod Stewart has claimed playing Glastonbury’s legends slot will cost him a whopping US$300,000 (NZ$509,166).The Maggie May hitmaker “immediately” accepted Emily and Michael Eavis’ offer to play the coveted teatime spot reserved for music royalty at the world-famous festival in Somerset, south west England, next summer but claims there is a hefty price to pay for the honour.Appearing on talkSPORT Breakfast, he was asked how quickly he agreed to the gig, responding: “Immediately. It’s a great honour.”He then added: “It’s going to cost me a fortune to do it – US$300,0000 (NZ$509,166).”The 79-year-old rocker explained that he would have…

Police are set to have in increased presence in Tauranga today to monitor a gang-connected funeral.Police said in a statement the funeral was for a prominent Mongrel Mob member, and gang members and associates were expected to travel to the Western Bay of Plenty to pay their respects.”While it is important to provide a space for family and friends to pay their respects, we want to remind those planning to attend the funeral to make smart decisions and not publicly display gang insignia.Publicly displaying gang insignia has been prohibited under The Gangs Act 2024, which came into effect one week…

The German incumbent won a relatively narrow victory in her bid for a second mandate as European Commission President – and her support has all but vanished from countries such as France. ADVERTISEMENTGermany’s Ursula von der Leyen has won a second term in office, after a Wednesday vote at the European Parliament. Her team of 27 Commissioners are now set to start work as of Sunday, 1 December — running Brussels’ most powerful institution, and proposing and implementing EU laws for the next five years. Here’s three things to know about her win today.  1. It was a narrow victoryWith 370 votes…

A long-awaited report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into New Zealand’s Covid-19 pandemic response is being delivered to the Government today.While it’s still unclear when the report will be made available to the public, the chairman of Phase One of the inquiry, Professor Tony Blakely, has spoken about some of its broader themes and findings.First, some numbersThe first phase of the Royal Commission has been two years of work across 400 meetings held with 1600 people. Professor Tony Blakely, chairman of Phase One of the Royal Commission of Inquiry, spoke to Breakfast about what it has looked at. (Source:…

Police are continuing to monitor the funeral of a prominent Mongrel Mob member in Western Bay of Plenty today. Police will have an increased presence in the region to monitor the funeral, Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said, with officers “ready to respond to unlawful activity if it arises”.A procession was due to travel across Tauranga late this morning. Police checkpoints will be in place, a spokesperson said.And the police Eagle helicopter will be on hand, a spokesperson said earlier.”We want to provide space for family and friends to grieve the loss of a loved one, however…

The Chinese cargo ship Yi Peng 3 became a suspect after two Baltic Sea fibre optic cables were damaged. ADVERTISEMENTSweden urged the Chinese cargo ship Yi Peng 3 to return to Swedish waters on Tuesday to facilitate the investigation that opened following the recent damage of two underwater communication cables linking four NATO nations, several media report. Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson emphasized that he is “not making any accusations” but wants to “seek clarity on what has happened.”The 225-meter-long bulk carrier, which is currently in International waters between Sweden and Denmark, had become a key suspect after it was…

Women are contributing less each year to their KiwiSaver account than men, leading to poorer retirement outcomes. And while there are many reasons for the gap, there are also ways to close it, says Laura O’Reilly, Wealth Adviser Lead at Fisher Funds.The causes of the gapResearch from Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission earlier this year showed there was a 36% gap between the amount men and women are putting into their KiwiSaver account each year, with some key factors at play, says O’Reilly.This includes women working less – with a 67% labour force participation rate compared to around 76%…

Opinion: We know enough about brain development to suggest a more punitive approach to young offending isn’t the answer, writes Kris Gledhill.The coalition Government’s majority will no doubt ensure its proposed solutions to youth offending will pass into law. But evidence and past experience suggest these reforms are unlikely to succeed.The Sentencing (Reform) Amendment Bill will introduce a rule that an offender’s age can be a mitigating factor only once after they turn 18. (Judges will have some leeway to avoid a manifestly unjust outcome, and to take account of remorse – but again, only once.)The Oranga Tamariki (Responding to…

With swollen ranks of newly emboldened far-right climate sceptics in the European Parliament, the main centre-right group in the European Parliament has also signalled its doubts over the viability of EU climate goals ADVERTISEMENTThe environment policy lead for the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) said he is “not convinced” that the EU will be able to achieve a 90% emissions cut by 2040, during a debate on the recent UN climate summit in Azerbaijan.German lawmaker Peter Liese was speaking in Strasbourg on Tuesday as the European Parliament discussed the COP29 agreement hammered out over a fortnight of fractious talks in…

A southern mayor fears lives could be at risk amid a funding shortfall for his region’s roads.On October 11, Southland Mayor Rob Scott penned a letter to Transport Minister Simeon Brown explaining the issues his council faced trying to maintain its 5000km network — the second largest in the country.A copy of the letter was included in an agenda for this week’s council meeting alongside data about shortfalls.Scott said the average Southland resident was responsible for the cost of 151 metres of road compared to four metres for every Aucklander.”Noting the size of our roading network … with only 21,000…