Author: Press Room

A Philippine national has been sentenced after providing false and misleading information — including the names and credentials of three Filipino civil engineers — on five work visa applications to Immigration New Zealand.Between April 3 and 23, 2024, Julia Pearl Buaquina De Los Santos submitted five work visa applications using fabricated Certificates of Employment, falsely claiming the applicants had relevant work experience in the Philippines, according to INZ.She created RealMe identity accounts for each applicant, making it appear the applications were submitted by the individuals themselves. The names and professional credentials of three Filipino civil engineers were used to create…

ADVERTISEMENTRelief from extreme heat began to reach some areas of Europe during the weekend, bringing cooler temperatures and thunderstorms after days of record-breaking heatwaves.Germany reported a maximum daytime temperature of 24 degrees Celsius on Sunday, while Spain and Italy also saw temperatures averaging around 27C and 30C.Belgium and Luxembourg experienced significant rainfall as temperatures dropped, marking the end of a spell of back-to-back days of scorching heat. The cool-off came as a significant relief to many, as severe heatwaves across the continent caused temperatures to rise above 40°C (104°F) in countries including France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, with domestic…

The commodore of a Whanganui-Manawatu sea fshing club is raising the alarm over a seabed mining project he never believed would happen.”With it being turned down by the Supreme Court and there being a court-ordered environmental hearing, I never, ever thought it would get to this point,” Jamie Newell told Local Democracy Reporting.The Whanganui diver, fisherman and business owner said large areas of one of New Zealand’s most important fisheries could be wiped out by an Australian miner’s desire to mine minerals off the South Taranaki coast.Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) wants to extract up to 50 million tonnes of seabed…

By Lucy Xia of RNZ  Business leaders from Auckland and Northland have spoken about profound impacts on small to medium businesses coping with public health restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic. The comments were made at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the government’s response to Covid-19, with one leader saying they didn’t think vaccine mandates would work in the future. The legal challenges for businesses to implement the mandates, and the enduring financial repercussions that are still felt today, were among some of the issues raised. These are the first public hearings of the inquiry’s second phase, which was called…

Significant damage has been done to a cellular tower in rural Otago, police say.Police were called to the scene at about 10.50am with reports of the damage, located on State Highway 8 at Lindis Pass-Tarra Rd, between Forest Range Station and Goodger RdDetective Phil Hamlin said the tower provided cellular service for residents and travellers in the area.“Cellular service is especially critical in this rural and alpine area.“Rural areas tend to rely on fewer cell towers to cover larger areas, and damage to these towers can cause significant reduction or complete loss of cell service in the area.”Police have appealed…

ADVERTISEMENTMisleading claims are circulating online that US President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Norway if he doesn’t receive the Nobel Peace Prize.Posts on X and other social media platforms like those pictured below suggest that Trump said he brought peace in the Israel-Iran war “by blowing things up”, and that he can do the same in Norway to secure the prestigious award.The claims are sometimes shared with pictures of Trump or even footage of various explosions.Nevertheless, a Google search for any trace of Trump ever making such remarks yields very few results.Searching for terms like “Trump”, “Norway”, “bomb” and…

Tutors and teachers at last-chance education programmes say allowing them to keep struggling secondary students beyond the age of 16 would have a life-changing impact.Alternative education programmes enrol about 2000 teenagers a year who are at risk of disengaging from school, or already have disengaged.At a recent seminar in Wellington, their staff told RNZ they had seen a big increase in enrolments by girls and young teens in recent years.They also warned warn that intermediate-age school children increasingly needed their services too.The programmes provided small-group tutoring, but staff said most students were not ready to learn until they had worked…

A mental health patient was not drug tested on the day he committed his second killing because the staffer believed he was “acting cagey”, his father alleges.The man was subject to a compulsory treatment order at the time, which meant that drug screening occurred on a voluntary basis.But if he failed the test, the clinician would then need to assess whether the patient should be re-called to hospital.RNZ earlier revealed the man – who was made a special patient under the Mental Health Act after his first killing – was recently found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity…

Dunedin businesses say it was their “busiest day of the year” when the All Blacks came to town on Saturday. A sold-out crowd of 28,532 filled the stands at Forsyth Barr Stadium to watch the All Blacks test against France, the team battling to fend off a plucky French side before winning 31-27. There was a hush among the crowd when the All Blacks first performed the haka, beneath a spotlight courtesy of last year’s lighting upgrade to the stadium. All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor led the haka with a new māripi, a traditional Māori weapon or tool that was…

The Government has revealed “common sense” changes to anti-money laundering laws to slash paperwork for small businesses and to make it easier for children to open bank accounts, the Acting Prime Minister says.David Seymour said the changes to anti-money laundering laws would “remove a lot of the insanity so that ordinary people, including parents who want their children to bank, can actually have a bit of relief”.”We want young people to learn about the benefits of saving and investing and planning for the future,” he said to Breakfast this morning.The ACT leader said families were being discouraged from opening accounts…