Author: Press Room

ADVERTISEMENTSeveral thousands of Turkish Cypriots gathered in the northern half of the ethnically divided capital of Nicosia to protest against what they say is an attempt by Turkey to erode their secular roots and strengthen the hold of policial Islam over their society.The protesters held up trade union banners and held placards reading “It won’t pass” and “Cyprus will stay secular” before gathering to attend a concert.The protest is the latest in a series of demonstrations that leftist trade unions have organised to express their opposition to what they say is an attempt by Ankara to slowly change the staunchly…

ADVERTISEMENTGermany’s foreign ministry pushed back in an extraordinary exchange with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio after he criticised Germany’s intelligence decision to label the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as “right-wing extremist”.The dispute grew on Friday, involving Germany’s foreign office, Rubio, US Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk. It comes just before the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat and as Germany prepares to elect Friedrich Merz as chancellor after a coalition deal was reached last week.The US government has strongly condemned the decision by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency to categorise the AfD as “right-wing extremist”.The “right…

Four people have been injured following a two-vehicle crash south of Dannevirke this evening.Police said they were called to State Highway 2 at the intersection of Wi Duncan Rd around 7.10pm.One person sustained serious injuries following the crash, while three others have moderate injuries.The road is currently blocked.Motorists have been asked to take alternate routes.

After a nearly six-year saga, the Emergency Management Minister’s “cautiously optimistic” scientists will get back on Whakaari / White Island soon to fix broken technology.They have previously been denied entry by the island’s owners, the Buttle family, to repair the gear after the 2019 eruption killed 22 people.The monitoring equipment was drastically damaged and eventually stopped working.Te Herenga Waka Victoria University researcher Dr Finn Illsley-Kemp told 1News: “We’re relying on seismometers that are on the mainland and they’re just too far away to record the signals.”With the current limitations, when the island has erupted in bad weather or darkness, it…

At just 17 years old, Taylor Keepa was like every other teenager, full of plans for the future beyond the walls of Rototuna Senior High School. But undergoing a heart transplantation was never one of them. Taylor was in his final year of school in 2023, working a real estate internship and a part-time job at McDonald’s when he began experiencing symptoms like shortness of breath and fatigue. “I would have to take a break on my walk to school and even just doing nothing, I would struggle to breathe,” he told 1News. What followed was a frustrating series of…

As a progressive mayor Tory Whanau has had to deal with the “old guard” resistant to change, the outgoing Wellington mayor says.Whanau announced this week she will not stand again for the Wellington mayoralty.Her decision came shortly after former Labour leader Andrew Little confirmed he would be contesting, with Whanau saying she didn’t want a Greens versus Labour narrative to swamp the election. Instead, she plans to run for the council’s Māori Ward.Whanau has previously said she would consider quitting the mayoralty after facing scrutiny for her political and personal challenges including the appointment of a Crown observer for the…

Cleanup is underway in the Banks Peninsula town of Little River, as angry locals are left to wonder if some of the flooding could have been avoided.Little River was cut off until this afternoon after State Highway 75 was inundated with water. Now, aggrieved residents are questing if its impact could have been lessened if the council had lowered the level of Lake Forsyth before the storm hit. “It’s a disaster, really, and it could have been avoided,” Little River Service Station worker Andy Davis said.“Farmers did approach the council about opening the lake and that was back early or…

People are being warned not to collect or consume shellfish gathered in the Western Firth of Thames region due to the presence of paralytic shellfish toxins.New Zealand Food Safety said routine tests on shellfish from Waimangu Point have shown levels of the toxins over the safe limit.The warning extends from the mouth of the Waitakaruru River up to Pakatoa Island and across to the mid-point of the Firth.”Affected shellfish include bivalve shellfish such as mussels, oysters, tuatua, pipi, toheroa, cockles and scallops, as well as pūpū (cat’s eyes) and Cook’s turban,” New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said.”It’s…

A group of meat processing companies, directors and managers have been fined $1.6 million for deliberately and illegally altering exported tallow for profit, following an investigation and prosecution by New Zealand Food Safety.Tuakau Proteins Limited, Taranaki By-Products Limited, Wallace Proteins Limited, Stephen Dahlenburg, Paul Drake, Glenn Smith, Glenninburg Holdings Limited, SBT Group Limited, GrainCorp Commodity Management (NZ) Limited and GrainCorp Liquid Terminals NZ Limited, were all sentenced on various charges under the Animal Products Act.Tallow is rendered from animal fat into a range of products, and in this case, was exported for use in biofuels.The defendants worked together to mix…

A Lake Tarawera residents’ group says lowering sewerage scheme costs for homeowners at the lake is non-negotiable and unaffordability is “not a trivial matter”.A member suggested homeowners not sign off on allowing connection works on their properties until they have funding certainty.Rotorua Lakes Council is considering three funding options for the Tarawera Sewerage Scheme in its Annual Plan consultationThe scheme connects lake properties to Rotorua’s reticulated sewerage, replacing septic tanks blamed for declining lake water quality.The most recent cost estimate is $32.2 million, up from $29 million late last year. The council has said protests and court action added expense.Under…