Author: Press Room

Kmart has been forced to recall yet more coloured sand products.Testing has found asbestos in licensed sensory activity sets branded with iconic kids’ shows Paw Patrol, Frozen and Bluey.The store has sold approximately 684 units in New Zealand.”The product may cause a risk to health as asbestos has been detected in some samples after laboratory testing,” the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment’s (MBIE) Product Safety site said.Three brands of Kmart activity sand have been recalled. (Source: Kmart)Three brands of Kmart activity sand have been recalled. (Source: Kmart)MBIE warned people not to touch the sand and to follow Health NZ…

Residents have been urged to prepare for evacuation as helicopters battle a large vegetation fire in the vicinity of Tongariro National Park – just a month after a massive blaze scorched 3000 hectares in the area.Emergency services were alerted to the fire just after 1.10pm on Monday.Fire and Emergency NZ said the fire, which was initially reported as multiple blazes, merged into a large fire around 110 hectares in size.In an update just before 8pm, fire officials said an aggressive air attack and ground operations against the fire would continue until dusk.Fire and Emergency director of operations, Brendan Nally said…

A New Zealand navy ship sailing in East Asia was shadowed by seven Chinese warships, the Defence Force has confirmed.HMNZS Aotearoa was sent to the East China and Yellow Seas last month, to carry out surveillance and deterrence activities in an effort to bolster United Nations Security Council sanctions against North Korea.Bridge watchkeepers aboard HMNZS Aotearoa keep a constant 24 hour watch during patrols. Photo: Supplied / NZDF The vessel was accompanied by a P-8A Poseidon, as part of Operation Whio, with the intention of curbing North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.RNZ previously reported the vessel travelled through the…

A person has been critically injured following a reported assault in the Auckland suburb of Glen Innes last night. Police said it responded to an assault on Fenchurch Street reported at 8pm.St John confirmed it sent two ambulances, one critical care unit and one operations manager. Emergency services at the scene of a reported assault in Auckland’s Glen Innes. (Source: 1News)”We are treating one patient in critical condition,” it said. A police spokesperson said inquiries were ongoing.Police cordoned off part of a road where a bus was stopped near Kupe Rd, Orakei. (Source: 1News)1News footage from the cordoned scene outside…

Unequal positions of power are still the largest obstacle to achieving gender equality in the European Union, despite the significant strides made in this area over the past decade, according to the EIGE’s Gender Equality Index 2025. Across the EU, the scores for the power category, which measures the equality of men and women in decision-making positions across the political, economic and social spheres, range from a high of 80.3 points in Sweden to 12.9 points in Hungary. The Gender Equality Index gives the EU and the member states a score from 0 to 100. A score of 100 would…

Biosecurity New Zealand urges Aucklanders to be on the lookout for yellow-legged hornets or nests, as numbers of the pest keep climbing.Thirty-three queen hornets have so far been found in the Glenfield and Birkdale areas of the North Shore — two more since Friday — 21 with developed nests or signs of nests.Biosecurity NZ north commissioner Mike Inglis said the hornets had not spread yet from Glenfield and Birkdale.Officials have put up signs within one kilometre of where the hornets were initially found, including in the suburb of Milford, alerting people to the invasive insect.Inglis said that was just to…

Published on 08/12/2025 – 16:43 GMT+1 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday that he was “sceptical” over certain aspects of the US-backed peace plan for Ukraine, following a meeting in London with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Keir Starmer, and Emmanuel Macron. The gathering in London followed the conclusion over the weekend of the latest round of talks between Ukrainian and US negotiators on a plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. “I’m sceptical about some of the details which we are seeing in the documents coming from the US side but we have to talk about that, that is why we…

Two high-profile appointments to Dunedin-based startup Givenwell are casualties of a restructure after just several months in their positions. Former professional rugby player Craig Hudson, once the face of Xero in New Zealand, joined Givenwell as chief customer officer three months ago to help scale its impact in workplace wellbeing. His part-time appointment was followed soon after by that of his wife Bronwyn Hudson — a registered clinical nutritionist, health coach and PhD researcher — as director of education and impact. In a recent Linkedin post, Mr Hudson said he and his wife were “caught up in a recent restructure”…

New Zealand’s economy is showing clear signs of recovery after a turbulent year marked by recession, according to ASB’s latest economic forecast.ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley said the outlook for 2026 was looking positive, driven by lower interest rates, resilient exports, and renewed consumer confidence.”We’re seeing clear signs that the recovery is gathering pace,” he said. “Consumer spending is up, especially on big-ticket items like cars and electronics, and rural incomes are holding strong despite global uncertainty. With interest rates at their lowest in years, more New Zealanders are set to benefit as mortgages refix at better rates.”New Zealand’s export…

Analysis: At the last election, Te Pāti Māori won six of the seven Māori electorates. Other stories dominated the 2023 election, of course – the change of government and the negotiations that shaped the incoming National-Act-New Zealand First coalition. But winning six of seven seats was a triumph. A party born, in 2004, out of Labour MP Tariana Turia’s protest against her own government’s Foreshore and Seabed Bill, a party that had largely survived the tides that might have been expected to swamp it once that galvanising purpose had gone, and a party that had renewed itself in opposition to…