Author: Press Room

A further recall has been issued for coloured sand products sold at more than 100 stores nationwide after asbestos was detected during laboratory testing. Superdeal NZ on Thursday issued a voluntary recall for 15 of its craft sand products after “some samples have tested positive for asbestos”, Product Safety said today on its website.”The product may cause a risk to health as asbestos has been detected in some samples after laboratory testing.”Additional testing is currently being undertaken to determine the risk of the product in New Zealand.”The affected products – which come in 380g tubs in black, white, red, orange,…

Breakfast presenter Jenny-May Clarkson has been farewelled from TVNZ’s screens with memories, laughter and emotion after nearly 20 years with the broadcaster. Earlier this month, it was announced Clarkson would depart. She spoke of feeling “excited, anxious, scared, but ready” for the next move. At 6am on Friday morning, as the lights came up, an already-emotional Jenny-May and co-host Chris Chang welcomed viewers to her Breakfast swansong. “It’s my last show Chris Chang, just in case you didn’t know,” she joked. Clarkson said she had done “a lot of growing over the last six years”, and thanked viewers for sticking…

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has vowed to repeal the Regulatory Standards Bill if re-elected next year.That prompted the bill’s key proponent, ACT leader David Seymour, to warn Peters could be jumping ship to Labour.Peters told Radio Waatea’s Dale Husband he wanted the Bill gone earlier on Thursday, having voted it through its third reading this time last week.”It was their deal, the ACT Party’s deal with the National Party. We were opposed to this from the word go, but you’ve only got so many cards you can play.ACT leader claims Winston Peters ‘getting ready to go with Labour…

Foodstuffs South Island has been fined $39,000 after selling hummus products that had been recalled over possible salmonella contamination in March 2023.A swathe of tahini and hummus products was recalled two years ago due to possible contamination with tahini from a Turkish manufacturer.Foodstuffs South Island was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court on one charge under the Food Act, following a successful prosecution.The company — which supplied Pak N Save, New World and Four Square stores — sold 39 units of the affected hummus, despite the recall involving nearly 83,000 units of product.New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle…

On the frozen edge of the world, staying in practice as a professional musician takes ingenuity, grit and a plastic instrument for schoolchildren that’s guaranteed not to freeze to your fingers or face.Natalie Paine is a French horn player in New Zealand’s navy who, since October, has been among 21 military members stationed in Antarctica. There, her melodies drift across the frozen Ross Sea from perhaps the most remote practice room on Earth.“It’s beautiful and very inspiring,” Paine told the Associated Press. “I’ll sit there by the window and I will do my routine and play music in my time…

Montenegro will tighten visa rules for Russian citizens to be in line with EU policy, which the Western Balkan country hopes to join by 2028. His country intends to implement appropriate measures “very soon”, Prime Minister Milojko Spajić said on Euronews’ The Europe Conversation following the Commission’s first Enlargement Forum in Brussels. Earlier this month, the EU announced stricter visa rules for Russian citizens to enhance security following hybrid drone attacks attributed to Russia. From now on, Russian nationals will no longer be eligible for multiple-entry visas to the EU. Instead, they can only receive single-entry visas, requiring them to…

Market conditions have delayed plans to build a new supermarket in South Dunedin, Foodstuffs says. Plans to build a New World supermarket, at the corner of Midland and Otaki Sts, were given the go-ahead in April 2022. Foodstuffs South Island was granted resource consent by the Dunedin City Council for a new 3364sqm supermarket building, cafe, 140 car parks and a distribution centre on the 0.8ha site. A Foodstuffs South Island spokesperson said the site was continuing to be used as overflow storage to support its Dunedin Distribution Centre and Trents Wholesale Dunedin operations. “At this stage, there are no…

Breakfast presenter Jenny-May Clarkson said ahead of her final appearance on the show this morning that she was anxious but prepared.She also said she was looking forward to being able to give her kids a kiss and a hug before school once she no longer has to get up in the early hours to present the early morning show.Earlier this month, it was announced Clarkson would be leaving TVNZ after nearly two decades at the broadcaster.Clarkson fielded questions from fans on Instagram this week, sharing her thoughts ahead of the final show. One person simply asked: “How are you feeling?””Excited,…

Criminal investigations have begun into three police staff in relation to “misuse and inappropriate content”.RNZ earlier revealed several police staff were under investigation, including an officer who had been stood down after inappropriate material was found on a police-issued device.It follows an audit of staff internet usage sparked by the resignation of former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming who recently pleaded guilty to possessing objectionable publications, including child sexual exploitation and bestiality over a four-year period.Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Jill Rogers told RNZ on Thursday six out of 20 staff under investigation in relation to “misuse and inappropriate content” had…

Russia is merely playing “lip service” to Donald Trump by drafting a new peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, High Representative Kaja Kallas said on Thursday as she doubled down on calls for Europeans to have a seat at the table. Her warning comes amid a whirlwind of reports about a 28-point blueprint apparently designed behind closed doors by the United States and Russia, without Ukraine’s input. “Our position has not changed. For any peace plan to succeed, it has to be supported by Ukraine, and it has to be supported by Europe,” Kallas said after a meeting…