Author: Press Room

From the death of a war veteran to the uprising of a new generation of fighters, Te Karere digital reporter/producer Ethan Oneroa takes a look back at what has been an emotional, passion-filled week for Māori.Earlier this week we farewelled the last Māori Battalion soldier, B Company veteran Tā Robert “Bom” Gillies.His death severed Māoridom’s connection to World War II, and our grandparents; where Māori soldiers heeded the call to leave behind their families in order to shed their blood for God, for King and for country.And to say they fought hard was an understatement. Of the estimated 3600 Māori…

Severe weather has meant multiple Queenstown flights were unable to land, potentially leaving many keen runners unable to race in the annual marathon on Saturday.Due to crosswind conditions, at least four flights had to abort their landings and return to their original airports — three from Auckland, and one from Wellington.”We know the weather disruptions are frustrating, and appreciate the patience and understanding of our customers as our airport and customer teams rebook them to alternate flights. This includes additional recovery flights when weather permits to get our customers to their destination as quickly as possible,” Air New Zealand said.Air…

A visitor from the United Kingdom has extended his stay in New Zealand after being jailed for his part in a fake police officer scam to swindle money from Aucklanders.In the Auckland District Court this week, Jack Dylan Hennessy was handed three years and three months imprisonment for his involvement in the scheme that came to the attention of the real thing earlier this year.The scam involved cold-calling people and asking them to assist a “covert police operation”. Victims were conned into withdrawing thousands in cash, ready to be collected in-person by a fake officer.Hennessy was arrested after a foot…

Sir Rod Stewart says he “may” have to give up his “five beautiful sports cars” because of Britain’s pothole-plagued roads.The 79-year-old music legend has been vocal about the state of the nation’s roads, even getting his shovel out and fixing them himself, and he’s gutted that he is having to seriously consider selling the beloved motors.Alongside a snap of him standing in front of his Ferrari and Porsche collection, he wrote on Instagram: “I am extremely fortunate and eternally grateful to be the owner of these five beautiful hybrid sports cars, which, in my opinion, are true works of art.”Unfortunately,…

The Government’s proposal to charge people to enter Aotearoa’s most popular natural attractions has received mixed reviews.The Department of Conservation (DOC) is asking the public who should pay to enjoy our national parks and conservation areas and how that money should be used.Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton welcomed the idea — if the money funded desperately needed infrastructure.The mayor said central plateau tourism hotspots such as Mount Ruapehu were not coping with the number of tourists they had.”National parks can’t continue on with the damage caused by visitors over the years and without the infrastructure needed to support up to 200,000…

Rotorua Airport and Air New Zealand are working to improve services amid business community gripes of “poor schedule times, frequent cancellations, and prohibitive costs”.Their frustrations were voiced in a biannual survey that also found Rotorua businesses were feeling positive about the year ahead — despite facing challenges.The sixth Rotorua Business Pulse Report was released this week and 99 business owners, chief executives and general managers took part.Results of the survey, run by RotoruaNZ in partnership with the Rotorua Business Chamber, were shared at an event on Thursday, including a speech by former National Government minister, Steven Joyce.About 52% of respondents…

‘Azerbaijan cannot impose any kind of solution’ COP29’s host tells Euronews, adding that the only way forward at the climate summit is through consensus. ADVERTISEMENTThe foreign policy advisor to Azerbaijan’s president has told Euronews that Azerbaijan is only one of 198 participants and all of them “have their own responsibilities and their own objectives.””Azerbaijan cannot impose any kind of solution or any kind of decision to the other countries,” Hikmet Hajiyev said on Saturday, on the sidelines of the summit in the capital Baku.Many critics have suggested that Azerbaijan, as an oil and gas rich state, was always going to…

Was the famous 1984 Christmas hit a ham-fisted opportunity for celebrity posturing and insensitive lyrics, or an altruistic cultural phenomenon that saved millions of lives? And has it changed the nature of charity forever? It depends who you ask. By academic Colin Alexander with a response by Sir Bob Geldof. In November 1984, BBC journalist Michael Buerk presented a series of dispatches from the small town of Korem in northern Ethiopia. He described the scenes he encountered as a famine of “biblical proportions” and that aid workers in the region had told him it was “the closest thing to hell…

Former prime minister Dame Jenny Shipley has warned the ACT Party is “inviting civil war” with its attempt to define the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in law.The party’s controversial Treaty Principles Bill passed its first reading in Parliament on Thursday — voted for by coalition members ACT, New Zealand First and National.The latter has said its MPs will vote against it at the second reading, after only backing it through the first as part of the coalition agreement with ACT.Voting on the bill was interrupted when Te Pāti Māori’s Hauraki Waikato MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke tore up a copy…

Christoper Luxon has met with Chinas President Xi Jinping for the first time while in Peru for the APEC summit. During their scheduled 30-minute meeting, President Xi commended Luxon’s efforts at building a relationship with China and the growth between the two nations since he took office. “I commend your efforts,” said Xi to Luxon, saying Luxon has attached importance to New Zealand and China co-operation. “Over the past decade, China and New Zealand relations have maintained a momentum of sound and steady growth which has greatly improved the wellbeing of our two peoples and should be greatly cherished.NZ Prime…