Author: Press Room

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ Falling interest rates are driving savers to look for other ways to get a better return on their money – but there is a warning that they should understand the risks they are taking. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is expected to cut the official cash rate today, which is good news for home loan borrowers but not so good for savers. Households have $80.5 billion in savings accounts and $144b in term deposits. But from interest rate peaks, one-year term deposits have fallen from offering more than 6% to 3.5%. Two-year rates have fallen from…

A judge says the employer of a chef found guilty of sexually harassing young female workers needs a “wake-up call” as the offender continues to be employed at the restaurant.Sumeer Thapa was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday to four months’ home detention after a jury found him guilty of seven counts of indecently assaulting four women aged between 15 and 18 between 2021 and 2024.The women worked as servers at Lazeez Mediterranean Grill and assisted with food preparation. For many of them, it was their first job.”They would come along to work excited by this new step…

Police are calling for the public’s help locating a man described as “dangerous” who is wanted on an active arrest warrant.Paul Rimene is 176cm tall with a large build and extensive tattoos.Police said he had numerous gang associates in Wellington and Wairarapa.According to Stuff in 2012 he was jailed on meth charges. Police said Rimene was considered dangerous and should not be approached.Any sightings should be reported to police on 111.

Removing barriers for installing solar panels is an incentive which should lead to more Dunedin people making the switch to clean energy, an electrician says. Changes made by the government to the Building Act, which came into effect last month, mean a building consent is no longer required to install many rooftop solar panels on existing homes and commercial buildings. The exemptions apply to roof-mounted installations under 40sq m in total area per roof, unless in very high-wind zones (more than 158kmh). For arrays more than 40sq m or in very high-wind zones, a chartered professional engineer must provide or…

Inoperable pistols gifted by FBI Director Kash Patel to senior New Zealand security officials, who had to relinquish them for destruction because they were illegal to possess, were revolvers inspired by toy Nerf guns and popular among amateur 3D-printed weapons hobbyists, documents obtained by The Associated Press show.The AP first reported that Patel gifted plastic 3D-printed replica revolvers as part of display stands given to New Zealand’s police and spy chiefs, along with two cabinet ministers in July. Police documents released this week identified the model as the Maverick PG22, a working revolver modelled on the brightly coloured toy gun…

France and the United Kingdom have urged the members of the “Coalition of the Willing” to provide Ukraine with robust security guarantees to safeguard a future peace deal, including by putting boots on the ground as part of a multinational force. The “Coalition of the Willing,” which brings together most European countries, Turkey, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, met virtually on Tuesday to discuss the diplomatic push launched by the United States to strike a peace deal. The original 28-point plan, secretly drafted by US and Russian officials, categorically ruled out any NATO presence on Ukrainian soil after the…

A track record of operating in Christchurch for nearly 90 years has ended for Idiens Sheetmetal & Roofing after it was forced to shut its doors owing creditors $1.13 million. The cladding, roofing and flashing business was put into liquidation at the High Court in Christchurch after an application by Inland Revenue Te Tari Taake. A total shortfall owed to creditors includes nearly $647,000 to IRD and 25 unsecured creditors totalling nearly $480,000. Idiens’ eight employees were paid in full after being let go, including a four-week notice period. PwC insolvency practitioners Wendy Somerville and Malcolm Hollis said in their…

The country’s biggest reggae music festival is the latest gig to be cancelled, with organisers blaming tough economic conditions.In a social media post on Tuesday night, Tauranga’s One Love Festival announced the event would not go ahead in 2026 after organisers “carefully reviewed several challenging situations”.”With the cost-of-living crisis ongoing — and more than 80% of our audience travelling for two days — we know the strain this puts on household budgets. We hoped for a strong economic recovery heading into 2026, but that hasn’t happened,” the post read.”Because of these factors, along with unforeseen developments behind the scenes, our…

More than a dozen flights to and from Tauranga have been cancelled on Tuesday due to volcanic ash from Whakaari/White Island.GeoNet had the volcano at Alert Level 3, denoting a minor volcanic eruption, and images showed a plume of steam and ash reaching over a kilometre high.Air New Zealand’s chief safety officer Nathan McGraw said 16 flights were been cancelled.Customers will be rebooked onto the next available service, he said.Earth Sciences NZ volcanologist Michael Rosenberg said the steam and ash was normal activity and didn’t suggest a larger eruption.”This is very typical of what we’ve seen intermittently over the past…

Published on 25/11/2025 – 17:42 GMT+1 Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will travel to Moscow on Friday to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to media reports. The information came from Hungarian government sources who were involved in the preparations of the trip, according to investigative central European outlet VSquare. The Hungarian government has not confirmed the visit at this time, with Budapest saying it would inform the public about Orbán’s programme in due time. The agenda for the meeting is not yet known. But Orbán has maintained ties to Putin since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and…