Author: Press Room

The man charged with arson and murder over the fatal Loafers Lodge fire is seen collecting cushions from around the hostel and putting them in a cupboard, where he later sets them alight. His movements before and after the deadly blaze, captured on CCTV, have been shown to the jury at the High Court in Wellington, as the second week of his trial gets underway.The 50-year-old, who has name suppression, has pleaded not guilty to seven charges and is pursuing the defence of insanity.He’s accused of lighting two fires in the building where he lived that night. The first –…

Prices are officially stabilising, but you probably won’t be noticing that at the supermarket. Frances Cook makes some suggestions of other ways to cut costs.Inflation is technically in the “under control” range, yet many New Zealanders are still feeling a squeeze in core areas. What’s happening? It’s a trick of the numbers that explains why you’re not imagining things. Many of the core categories you can’t avoid paying for are still soaring in price. Insurance, rates, food staples like butter and mince, are all going up. But “discretionary spending” categories are far calmer, bringing the average number down. In a…

The Government will provide up to $30 million in loans for struggling regional airlines as it intervenes with a “one-off” move to prevent more air routes from being cut.The money will come from the coalition’s Regional Infrastructure Fund and was expected to be a “one-off” measure to “stabilise the sector” in the short-to-medium term. Regional Development Minister Shane Jones said regions faced further cuts to flights, including the total withdrawal of services, without aid from the government.Carriers including Air Chathams and Sounds Air had been calling for a loan scheme for months amid a period of skyrocketing operating costs. “Without…

1News weather expert Daniel Corbett says Spring, which officially starts today, is arriving with a bang. He explains what we can expect in the coming days and weeks.Spring set to be ‘rollercoaster’ – watch Dan’s outlook on TVNZ+Buckle in again. It looks like the wild ride of weather from the Winter will continue right through the Spring.The recent spell of drier weather in August has given us a breather from the active rainmakers of June and July. Moving forward into Spring keep that merino layer and raincoat handy. Even though we might have a few fine and milder days there…

The number of new property listings jumped in August compared to the same time last year, Realestate.co.nz data suggests, with more than 8700 homes hitting the market.Figures showed the 8769 new listings last month was a 9% increase on the 8048 new listings recorded in August 2024.Bay of Plenty led the charge with 732 new listings, a 46.7% increase from August 2024’s 499 properties. Meanwhile, Gisborne recorded the second-highest growth at 40.9%, with 62 new properties listed compared to 44 last year.Realestate.co.nz chief executive Sarah Wood used the uplift to suggest vendor confidence was returning after stagnant sales over the…

ADVERTISEMENT The nationalist Revival party tried to prevent European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen from entering a weapons plant in Bulgaria’s city of Sopot on Sunday, attacking a vehicle that those gathered believed she was in. Revival’s leader Kostadin Kostadinov, who has previously called for Bulgaria’s withdrawal from NATO, organised demonstrations with another nationalist party, Velichie, at the Vazov Machine Engineering Plants in Sopot in opposition to Bulgaria’s European path and demanded protection of national sovereignty. Kostadinov was filmed blocking a black vehicle, claiming that the Bulgarian police — who were attempting to get the demonstrators to allow the…

Firefighters were kept busy overnight, attending more than 100 weather-related call-outs as the North Island was battered by strong wind gusts and heavy rain.The wild weather downed trees and powerlines throughout Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty.Fire and Emergency shift manager Josh Pennefather said between 5pm and 5am there were 114 call-outs in Auckland, 29 in Waikato, three in Northland and nine in Bay of Plenty.There had been no injuries reported.Most were for loose roofing iron, uplifted trampolines or toppled powerlines and trees, and he urged people to keep clear of downed lines and report them immediately to their electricity…

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including a cash boost for regional airlines, sellers re-enter the housing market, and Donald Trump’s social media fury. Regional airlines will get access to up to $30 million in government loans, to prevent any more routes being cut. The number of houses for sale has jumped around 9% year on year, as sellers appear to have more faith in the state of the market. Auckland Airport’s clearing a backlog of passengers after wild weather disrupted flights – and there could be more bumpy weather to come during spring. Donald Trump’s unleashed social media fury…

A leaked document reveals Health NZ is planning to employ more graduate nurses on part-time hours and cut the amount of on-the-job training they receive.Health NZ says it is about creating more “flexible” job options – but the country’s biggest nurses’ union accuses it of cost-cutting and “gaming the numbers”, and warns more graduates will go overseas.The “Reset and Review” paper obtained by RNZ lays out Health NZ’s plan to boost graduate employment by creating more part-time jobs, and encouraging other employers to take them on.It is reducing the minimum hours from four days a week to three, or 0.6…

The driver of an SUV involved in a near-miss with a child at a Christchurch intersection has come forward to police and been dealt with through “enforcement action”.The incident, captured on video and shared by police last week, showed the grey SUV turning right through a red arrow while a green pedestrian signal was active. As the vehicle crossed the intersection, a child began to run across the road but stopped just in time after being called back by a parent — narrowly avoiding what police described as a potentially “catastrophic event”.Police thanked the public for their “huge response and…