Author: Press Room

Lorde has announced that her newest album, Virgin, will be released on June 27. The New Zealand singer, whose real name is Ella Yelich O’Connor, announced the new record on her website, which also displayed what appears to be the album cover art — an X-ray of a pelvis. It also shows a zip, belt buckle and IUD.”100% written in blood,” the website read. The new album’s announcement came a week after she released her latest single What Was That. The song’s music video was filmed at a mysterious pop-up event in New York City’s Washington Square Park that was…

The woman living in the country’s most valuable state house says it should be sold, as Kāinga Ora plans to put hundreds of homes on the market.The state house is on a leafy street in Auckland’s inner-city suburb of Ponsonby and is worth close to $4 million.Shortly after Anita Jones moved into the four-bedroom state house in 2016, she learned Lorde had bought the house next door – the pop star sold the luxury villa for $4.3m last year.Jones said the neighbourhood has been a good place to bring up her four children, two of whom have since left home.”I…

The Philippines signed a military pact with New Zealand allowing their forces to hold joint exercises as Manila continues to build security alliances as it faces an increasingly aggressive China in the disputed South China Sea.Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr witnessed the ceremony in Manila, where Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr and his New Zealand counterpart, Defence Minister Judith Collins, inked the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement.The treaty sets the legal framework to allow military engagements of both countries, including joint drills in each other’s territory and other cooperative activities. It has been approved by New Zealand officials but still…

Commuters are being warned of disruptions after KiwiRail announced it will retire the Aratere, its rail-enabled Interislander ferry, this year. The move is to enable redevelopment at its bespoke dock in Picton, ahead of two new, larger ferries entering service in 2029. KiwiRail chief customer and growth officer Adele Wilson told RNZ’s Morning Report programme today that there would be trade-offs. “It’s important to be very real about that. At peak times we already sellout across the [Cook] Strait and there will be more sold-out days. “The other thing that New Zealanders need to be aware of is that as…

More than 5000 senior doctors have gone on strike following months of unsuccessful negotiations with Health New Zealand. Health NZ put forward an updated offer last week, but that was rejected by The Association of Senior Medical SpecialistsAccording to Health NZ, the rejected agreement would see senior doctors receive increases to base pay ranging from $8093 to $29,911, depending on experience. Those on steps 4 to 15 would have received a $8000 lump sum payment. However, the union says Health NZ’s offer, a 1.5% cap on total salary increases over the two-year term, amounted to a pay rise of 0.77%…

Students as young as five will soon learn about money management at school as the Government pushes to introduce financial education from Years 1 to 10, the Education Minister has announced. Minister Erica Stanford said financial education will become a “core element” of the social sciences curriculum from next year and be compulsory from 2027.”We believe that this is extraordinarily important in a very complex world when it comes to finances, getting loans, not being scammed, working out discounts, how to go flatting, how to work out a budget,” she said to media.The curriculum will take a staged approach, with…

ADVERTISEMENTPolice in Sweden have arrested a teenager in connection with a shooting in the eastern city of Uppsala on Tuesday, which left three people dead.The person under arrest is under the age of 18, and officers are investigating the possibility of links to gang crime, police said in a statement.The three victims were aged between 15 and 20, police said at a news conference, but Uppsala police chief Erik Åkerlund said their identities have not been confirmed “100%” yet.Police said on Tuesday that they had received calls from members of the public who reported hearing loud bangs reminiscent of gunfire…

A Kiwi-built amateur rocket is believed to have set a record as not just the country’s first but one of the fastest launched into space — all with home brewed beer and gin onboard.Meraki II, a 4-metre long rocket, launched near Arthur’s Pass on April 19, reaching a peak altitude of 121.6km.The two-stage rocket travelled at mind-boggling speeds of up to Mach 5.6, or around 1.9 kilometres a second — fast enough to cover the distance between Cape Reinga and Bluff in just over 12 minutes.Lead engineer Ethan Kosoof had been working on the project for five years and told…

ADVERTISEMENTAustria will not implement its controversial ban on family reunification for migrants until it has been cleared by the courts, Chancellor Christian Stocker told Euronews.Vienna wants to protect its system from overloading, but critics objected that the plan was not compatible with European law.“We have legal opinions that show that we can implement this in accordance with the law. I know that it is controversial. I assume that this will also be reviewed by the courts. We will wait for the courts’ decision and use it as a guide”, Stocker told Euronews’ Sandor Zsiros on the fringes of the EPP…

Average speed safety cameras are set to be installed on a stretch of Auckland road in a bid to curb speeding. The two cameras, which work in tandem to measure drivers’ average speed as they travel between them, will be installed on Pine Valley Road in Auckland’s Dairy Flat. New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) said a speed survey on the stretch last year found that 74% of drivers exceeded the 80km/h limit. “The average speed vehicles were travelling was almost 90 km/h,” NZTA Auckland and Northland director of regional relationships, Steve Mutton, said. Mutton said there had been three crashes…