Author: Press Room

Police say officers are ready to enforce new gang laws that will come into effect from midnight. The Gangs Act 2024, passed into law earlier this year, gives police new powers to disrupt and target gang activity from November 21.The legislation prohibits the display of gang insignia in public and provides police the power to issue dispersal notices on gang members who are believed to be unreasonably disrupting the activities of the public.It also provides for the making of non-consorting orders, which prohibits association and communication between specified gang offenders for three years.”With the establishment of district gang units, police…

The policy will come into effect next May and aims to expand the country’s aging workforce. ADVERTISEMENTSpain says it will grant residency and work permits to around 300,000 undocumented migrants each year for the next three years.Elma Saiz, Spain’s Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, announced the new policy during an interview with Spain’s national broadcaster on Wednesday.”The regulation opens doors that were previously closed by means of three keys: formation, employment and family. Three keys that lead to inclusion, but with high standards in terms of legal requirements and in terms of human rights”, she explained.The policy is…

After 21 years of captivating audiences, Wicked, the long-awaited film adaptation of the smash-hit Broadway musical, is finally defying gravity and leaping to the silver screen. 1News’ Aziz Al Sa’afin sat down with the film’s stars to discover the magic behind the cinematic spectacle.Directed by Jon M. Chu, the film delves into the backstory of Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West from the 1939 movie classic The Wizard of Oz, based on author L. Frank Baum’s children’s tale.Broadway star Cynthia Erivo portrays alienated, pea-green-skinned Elphaba, who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. Pop superstar Ariana…

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has explained why he didn’t meet yesterday’s Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti at Parliament. There were extraordinary scenes yesterday when a crowd estimated by police to be as many as 42,000 marched through Wellington to Parliament, many of them voicing opposition to the Government’s Treaty Principles Bill.  It comes after Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke started a haka, challenging David Seymour on the day the Treaty Principles Bill was introduced to Parliament.  (Source: 1News)The Bill’s architect David Seymour, alongside ACT MPs, made a brief appearance on Parliament’s forecourt during the hīkoi, however the Prime Minister did…

Farmers have staged protests throughout the week across France, saying the EU-Mercosur trade deal threatens their livelihoods. ADVERTISEMENTFrench farmers blocked a highway near the French-Spanish border in a third day of protests across the country against the EU-Mercosur trade agreement.The blockade was set up on Tuesday at the Boulou toll gate. Its aim is to block heavy goods vehicle traffic from Spain to France “over the long term”. French authorities have, in collaboration with their Spanish counterparts, set up detours “to limit disruption”.The farmers’ largest trade union, Coordination Rurale, is leading the protests. The French Minister of Agriculture, however, condemned…

The jobs of 230 workers at Tokoroa’s Kinleith Mill could go amid a plan to shut down paper production. The mill’s owners Oji Fibre Solutions have proposed permanently shutting the paper machine at Kinleith, impacting around half the mill’s 450-strong workforce.Workers were called into a meeting at 8am this morning. It comes just months after Oji’s plans to close its mill in Auckland’s Penrose were announced. Operations in Penrose are set to end shortly before Christmas.Oji Fibre Solutions chief executive Jon Ryder said paper production has “suffered significant losses for several years and we see no prospect of the situation…

Kiwis’ power bills will go up next year by approximately $10 a month, with further increases to come as the electricity sector upgrades ageing infrastructure and deals with rising costs. The Commerce Commission, which regulates grid operator Transpower and the lines companies, today released a final decision laying out how much extra revenue the companies can gather and what for. Commissioner Vhari McWha said the high cost of living for Kiwis was a consideration but investment is needed. “Deferring investment would mean even higher future prices and a network that does not meet consumers’ needs. Consumers rightly expect a safe…

EU countries have penned a joint letter denouncing as “problematic” a new attempt to improve relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission, warning it goes against its founding treaties. ADVERTISEMENTThe European Parliament’s long-awaited dream to gain the right to propose new laws has been met with a scathing rebuke from the 27 member states, who in a joint letter denounced the move for what they perceive to be power overreach.”The Treaties exhaustively define the respective powers conferred on the institutions which may not be modified or supplemented by the institutions themselves, either unilaterally or by agreement between them,”…

Police and the Air Force are currently searching for a boat believed to be carrying 700kg of methamphetamine off Northland’s east coast and have “serious concern” for its occupants. It comes after 10 people were charged with conspiracy to import a class A drug and participating in a criminal organised group earlier this week.The search and charges were part of what police have dubbed “Operation Fantail”, an investigation targeting a transnational organised crime group believed to be facilitating the importation of 700kg of methamphetamine by sea. Earlier this week, 10 people from Northland and Auckland were charged and have since…

A Whangārei councillor is pushing for his council to halt its fluoridation plans as the deadline looms for adding it to the local drinking water supply.Kauri’s Gavin Benney has lodged a formal notice of motion for Whangārei District Council’s (WDC) meeting next week calling for the council to stop its fluoridation plans.The council is required to add fluoride to its water by March 2025 under a directive from former director-general of health Sir Ashley Bloomfield to 14 councils in 2022.Benney’s push comes in spite of WDC already having installed about $4 million of new fluoridation infrastructure into its five drinking…