Author: Press Room

The Government has announced it will stop doctors prescribing puberty blockers to new patients with gender dysphoria in what’s termed a “precautionary approach”.Health Minister Simeon Brown said Cabinet had agreed to introduce new rules under the Medicines Act, aligning New Zealand’s approach with the UK’s restrictions on the medications, also known as gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues.”Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues play an important role in treating a range of medical conditions,” Brown said in a statement.”We are ensuring they remain available for patients who need them for conditions such as early-onset puberty, endometriosis, or prostate cancer, where there is strong clinical evidence of…

A senior UN official has told Euronews that Afghanistan does not have the capacity to absorb returning refugees into its local communities – this as EU member states look for ways to return According to a report by the UN Development Agency (UNDP), roughly 4.5 million Afghans abroad are returning to their own country. But the country’s severe conditions, including a widespread lack of access to international assistance, are making it challenging to reintegrate Afghans returning from abroad. Among the problems the country faces are deep poverty, harsh climate conditions, the damage caused by recent earthquakes, and the Taliban’s severe…

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including weather warnings back in force, a spate of suspicious fires in Dunedin, and the stoush over Vegemite in prison. A range of weather warnings and watches are in force for parts of the country today. Three suspicious fires in Dunedin kept firefighters busy overnight. Some schools remain closed over asbestos contaminated toys. The US has moved an aircraft carrier into the Caribbean, amid growing tension with Venezuela. An Australian prisoner has launched legal action over a ban on Vegemite in jails.

Kaitāia is reeling from the violent death of a man described as “an absolute legend” in business circles and as a generous, “relentlessly optimistic” advocate for his hometown by his friends.Monty Knight, who turned 80 earlier this year, died at his home just outside Kaitāia on Sunday afternoon.Police said they found him critically injured after responding to reports of an assault, and arrested a 57-year-old woman a short time later.She had since been charged with murder.Among those shocked by his death is Colin Kitchen, a Kaitāia community stalwart, former fire chief and newly elected regional councillor.The entrances to Monty Knight’s…

Friends of a Manawatū mother mourning the loss of her three children say it “feels like the whole of Aotearoa is with her” after a devastating house fire at the weekend.The blaze broke out at a home in Sanson, northwest of Palmerston North, on Saturday at around 2.30pm.Four people died in the fire — three children aged 7, 5, and 1, and their father.They have been named by friends of their mother as August, Hugo, and Goldie. Police said investigators were working to determine the circumstances of the deaths with a scene examination underway.Manawatū area commander Inspector Ross Grantham said…

Published on 19/11/2025 – 8:00 GMT+1 EU member states will have just three days in peacetime and six hours in emergencies to allow other European military troops and equipment to cross their borders under a new “military Schengen” proposal from the European Commission designed to significantly improve military mobility across the bloc. “Today, in order to move military equipment and troops from, let’s say west to east, unfortunately it takes months,” said Apostolos Tzitzikostas, European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism. “What we want to do is to make it happen within days.” “You cannot defend a continent if you…

A developer has been fined $48,750 for unlawful earthworks at two North Shore properties, after “turning a blind eye” to the damage it was causing.COD Crown Projects Limited had pleaded guilty in the Environment Court to two charges under the Resource Management Act, relating to unauthorised earthworks and sediment discharges at sites in Browns Bay and Northcross.It resulted in significant sediment discharge and breaches of the Auckland Unitary Plan.The case is one of about 20 Auckland Council prosecutions this year for breaches to the RMA and Building Act. A number of cases are still in various stages of court, awaiting…

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said an explosion on a section of railway line used for deliveries to Ukraine was an “unprecedented act of sabotage”.A Polish security source told The Associated Press that authorities are investigating whether the blast on Sunday on the line linking Warsaw to southeastern Poland is connected to Russia, Belarus or their proxies.Tusk has vowed that Poland will catch the perpetrators, “whoever they are”.While visiting the site Monday, the prime minister said the incident had taken place on a line that is vital for delivering aid to Ukraine. Polish officials said they were sure an explosive…

Authorities are ramping up prevention and detection efforts in the Whanganui River after the invasive freshwater gold clam – already established in Waikato – was confirmed in Taranaki.Horizons Regional Council environmental manager Craig Davey said the Whanganui River Clam Response Group is already working to stop the destructive species from reaching local waterways.“Everything that touches the water, that includes fishing and boating gear and equipment, swimwear, even the dog, needs to be checked, cleaned and dried,” he said.Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui kaihautū/chief executive Nancy Tuaine said immediate action was needed.“We all have a role in keeping the clams out…

The Methodist Church has dissolved the Wesley College Trust Board and will launch an external review into the school’s governance amid ongoing concerns about boarder safety at the South Auckland institution.The church resolved at its conference last week to dismantle the current board structure, with findings from the review to inform how a new board will be reconstituted.The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including weather warnings back in force, a spate of suspicious fires in Dunedin, and the stoush over vegemite in prison. (Source: 1News)During the transition, Methodist Church president Te Aroha Rountree will act as the interim Wesley College…