Author: Press Room

ADVERTISEMENTThe United States announced on Tuesday that it had approved the sale of $1.33 billion (€1.17 billion) worth of air defence missiles to Poland. The package includes 400 AIM-120D medium-range air-to-air missiles.In addition, Warsaw will also receive guidance systems kits, spare parts, shipping containers, as well as access to the US software needed to operate the missiles.The US State Department approved the possible sale and the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said it had provided the necessary notifications to Congress for further approval.“The proposed sale will improve Poland’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing air-to-air defence…

Trevor Dodunski understands the consequences of a head-on crash better than most.In 1987, the car he was travelling in collided with another vehicle that had crossed the centre line on a stretch of State Highway 3 between Waitara and Urenui.”I was driving along the road on a nice day happy as Larry and came around a corner and there was a car in front of me going flat out on my side of the road.”It’s hard to live with I tell you. It turned me into a vegetable, I couldn’t read or write when I came out of hospital.”Everything was…

The Crown says Stephen Stone won’t face re-trial over two 1989 murders.Crown Solicitor Alysha McClintock said at the High Court at Auckland that there “is no longer sufficient evidence to support Mr Stone being tried”.Stephen Stone walks from the High Court in Auckland. (Source: 1News)Stone and co-defendant Gail Maney were convicted for the murder of 21-year-old Auckland man Deane Fuller-Sandys in 1999 and during a retrial in 2000. Stone was also convicted of raping and murdering Leah Stephens, who the Crown said witnessed the Fuller-Sandys killing.Last year Maney was aquitted, alongside Colin Maney and Mark Henrikensen who were also involved…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ New Zealand’s biggest bank says house prices should lift more meaningfully over the second half of this year, but values are likely to only rise 4.5 percent in 2025, not the 6 percent it previously forecast. ANZ’s economists noted house sales rose 3.4 percent in March but the strong flow of new listings meant buyers had significant choice. The total amount of stock on the market lifted 0.6 percent in March on a seasonally adjusted basis and was the highest in 10 years. “Prices will start to lift more meaningfully once the excess inventory has…

The beautiful white sand and rocky outcrops of Coromandel’s Cathedral Cove beach have made the World’s Best 50 Beaches list for 2025. The annual list by The World’s 50 Best Beaches website used insights from more than 1000 judges, Beach Ambassadors and World’s 50 Beaches team exploring beaches all over the world. Coming in at number 45 this year — one place higher than last year’s 46th ranking — was New Zealand’s very own Mautohe Cathedral Cove.The website highlighted the “iconic arch” which gave the beach its name and framed the view of the Pacific Ocean. “The beach is accessible…

A woman has faced court action after she refused to seek veterinary treatment for her puppy for two months after it was struck by a vehicle.She was sentenced at Napier District Court on Tuesday in relation to one charge of reckless ill treatment of an animal, among other charges. The woman’s seven-month old puppy, Girl, slipped loose from her lead, ran out onto the road and was hit by a vehicle in October 2021.Road workers who witnessed the incident took the woman and Girl to a vet clinic.The veterinarian said Girl had “serious internal injuries”, including fractures, a ruptured diaphragm…

Summer was a “mixed bag” this year, according to NIWA.Wellingtonians, who experienced one of the capital’s worst weather starts to the year on record, used more colourful phrases: “A buzz kill”, “crap”, and “pretty trash”.”Digging back into our records, going back to 1980, this is one of the longer runs of below average daily temperatures that we’ve had in the summer months,” meteorologist Clare O’Connor told RNZ at the time.But autumn was expected to be warmer and drier for parts of the country, NIWA said.Even though they were all a bit spring-like to start with, our seasons are changing, scientists…

A man who was ruled insane after committing a high-profile killing more than two decades ago has gone on to kill another person.The case, which is shrouded in secrecy, occurred “against a backdrop of apparent significant failures in the mental health system”, a High Court judge says.RNZ can exclusively reveal the man – who was made a special patient under the Mental Health Act after his first killing – was recently found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity for a second time after killing someone he believed was possessed.To be released into the community after being designated a…

Analysis: With ongoing cost-of-living pressures, the Australian and New Zealand supermarket sectors are attracting renewed political attention on both sides of the Tasman, writes Griffith University’s Richard Meade.The Government has announced that “all options” are on the table to address a lack of competition in the sector, including the possible breakup of existing players. In Australia, allegations of price gouging have become a political issue in the ongoing federal election. But it is not clear that breaking up the supermarkets or other government interventions will improve the sector for shoppers and suppliers.In 2022, I co-authored a government-commissioned analysis looking at…

Tanya Filia (Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Tahu) was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour more than 10 years ago. When she was told it was terminal she turned to rongoā Māori – traditional Māori healing – a decision that she says saved her life. She shared her story with Leigh-Marama McLachlan on Marae.For Tanya Filia, rongoā Māori has had a life changing impact on her and her whānau. In 2013, she was diagnosed with a brain tumour after she experienced the inability to recall some words and suffered from massive headaches. “Long story short, ended up in Whangārei Hospital where I had…