Author: Press Room

The inhabitants of the Swiss village of Brienz have been forced to leave their town, following the threat of rock fall on their homes. ADVERTISEMENTThe 80 residents of the Swiss town of Brienz have had to evacuate their homes for the second time as a massive torrent of rubble and rocks threatens to engulf the Grisons village.This situation is due to the devastating landslides in the area and it could last until spring. Some 1.2 million cubic metres of rubble above the village is moving down the valley and threatens to destroy the whole settlement. .Not only people, but animals,…

At just 11 years old, Lucy Aker is not your average entrepreneur.The Canterbury preteen is using her entrepreneurial spirit to raise money for children battling cancer, all in memory of her best friend, Eva Sallabanks. Last year, she raised more than $1100 for the Child Cancer Foundation.Lucy first met Eva at school five years ago.”Eva was new at school, and she looked nice, so I decided to go and ask her if she wanted to be my friend.”The two quickly became best friends, but that bond was tested when Eva was diagnosed with leukaemia.Determined to help, Lucy, with the support…

The Māori Queen Nga wai hono i te po will be among supporters of the national hīkoi making its way to Parliament tomorrow.The hīkoi is in opposition of the Treaty Principles Bill and Government’s policies affecting Māori.Participants of te hīkoi mō te Tiriti are having a rest day today after arriving in Porirua yesterday night on day seven of the event.Tomorrow they will head towards Waitangi Park before making their way along the Golden Mile to the Beehive.Kiingitangi spokesperson Ngira Simmonds said she had a message of hope for the nation to come together and work through current divisions.”The Māori…

The owners of a woolshed converted into a house without building consent have been given a temporary reprieve from demolition.The requests by Thames Coromandel District Council to rectify the unconsented work dates back to 2016 when a complaint was made about the Puriri property.At the time, the occupants Steve Hart and Martina Petru did not own the 13-acre property but were living on it with their three daughters, now aged 12, 10 and 8. The fourth, now 6, was born there.Hart’s unconsented building work included a wastewater disposal system, a fireplace, a separate two-storey structure on wheels that also has…

A bill to plug gaps for stopping foreign interference has been introduced to Parliament.The New Zealand Special Intelligence Service (NZSIS), in its latest threat assessment, said foreign interference threatens communities, academia, the media, businesses and government.The bill, introduced by Minister of Justice Paul Goldsmith on Thursday, introduces new offences to criminalise covert, deceptive, corruptive or coercive activities on behalf of a foreign power to intentionally or recklessly harm the country.Offences like blackmail, threatening behaviour, and misuse of computer systems already existed. But none of these were designed to address “foreign-state actors, and those who support them, who are undermining core…

Over the past week, groups of runners have been hitting the pavement across the North Island to support the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, rain, hail or shine.On Saturday, many of those runners were out early in the rain across Hawke’s Bay — with each runner covering part of the distance traversed by the wider hīkoi.Toitū te Tiriti spokesperson Eru Kapa-Kingi said because of the hīkoi’s week-long timeframe, the runners had to operate on their own schedule.That usually meant hitting the pavement early every day and meeting up with the rest of the convoy in the evenings, he said.”The runners or…

The Chief Children’s Commissioner says she still has concerns about a wider rollout — but her first visit to the Government’s piloted “military-style” youth offender boot camp yielded several positive first impressions.The boot camps, officially known as young offender military academies, have been piloted at an Oranga Tamariki facility in Palmerston North since the end of July. Ten teens have been involved, aged between 15 and 17 at the time of their offending. More than 500 children experienced some form of harm in care last year, Katie Bradford reports. (Source: 1News)Speaking to Q+A, Claire Achmad said she had visited the…

Auckland-based ACT MP Parmjeet Parmar claims a “blind eye” is being turned to people who refuse to pay fares on public transport — and the practice, she says, is leading to violence and antisocial behaviour. However, Auckland Transport (AT) rejects the accusation of tacitly allowing a “travel-for-free” policy for fare dodgers.Attention is on public transport today as Paywave and other methods of contactless payment are being enabled across the city’s buses, trains and ferries from this morning — a first for any city in New Zealand. From today, bus, train, and ferry users in Auckland are able to use contactless…

A man has been arrested in Taupō this morning after allegedly “interfering” with several boats, swimming away from police across the Waikato River, returning, and then climbing a tree before being rescued by a fire crew.Police said a boat owner at the Taupō marina reported his vessel being untied at around 9am.”It appears several boats were interfered with and, as police made enquiries, they were alerted to a potential suspect being located by Coastguard Lake Taupō volunteers,” a spokesperson said.The man, who police said was “uninterested” in speaking with officers, then dove into the Waikato River, crossing to the Nukuhau…

Tauranga business owners say sales have dropped because of a new road layout and one fears she’ll have to shut her store.Lisa Parker owns Liquorland on Harington St in Tauranga’s city centre. In March, the lower end of the street became one-way because of nearby construction and, the city council said, to increase safety and streamline traffic.There were also changes to other roads in the CBD as part of a two-year trial while construction of the $306 million civic precinct Te Manawataki o Te Papa and other private developments were ongoing.Parker presented a petition, signed by nearly 150 people, at…