Author: Press Room

Five people who police allege were “integral parts” of the Comancheros’ drug supply network have been arrested and charged following search warrants this week.Operation Leith was a sub operation of Operation Avon, which saw every patched member of the Christchurch chapter of the gang arrested in August along with the seizure of “millions of dollars worth” of illicit drugs.In search warrants over the last three days, four men and a woman, aged between 35 and 63, were arrested.Police said they are not members of the Comancheros but were “integral parts” of its drug supply network.They face charges of methamphetamine supply…

The Government’s Treaty Principles Bill has passed its first reading in Parliament, with ACT leader David Seymour’s legislation facing heated opposition.MPs who opposed the Bill described it as being “divisive”, a “wrecking ball” to Crown-Māori relations, and “amounting to a dictatorship of the majority”. Labour MP Willie Jackson was booted from the debating chamber after he called Seymour a “liar”, and later a haka led by Te Pāti Māori saw proceedings suspended before the vote could be finished. Once MPs returned to an empty public gallery, the Bill passed its first reading and will go to select committee. Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke,…

The tech billionaire had waded in on the latest court ruling setback to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s flagship immigration scheme with Albania. ADVERTISEMENTItaly’s President Sergio Mattarella has told Elon Musk to stop interfering in the country’s politics, after the tech billionaire criticised an Italian court for blocking the transfer of migrants to detention centres in Albania built through a controversial immigration deal.Musk, who has been picked to jointly lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” by US President-elect Donald Trump in his incoming administration, wrote on Tuesday on X that “these judges need to go”. He was referring to…

A Rangiora sports club is frustrated with the increasing maintenance and insurance costs of its 113-year-old pavilion, which can’t be demolished due to its historic importance.The Rangiora Bowling Club approached the Waimakariri District Council last year for help, but was yet to find a satisfactory solution for the pavilion.It is registered with Heritage New Zealand and listed in the Waimakariri District Plan, leaving the club with few options.The club’s ex-president Norman Hewett said the pavilion on Good Street, north of the town centre, is unsafe and no longer fit for purpose.Mr Hewett said the council has been supportive and Heritage…

The city’s mayor said that videos of police using violence against pro-Palestinian protesters “looked serious”. ADVERTISEMENTDutch authorities said they were looking into reports of police violence against pro-Palestinian protesters in Amsterdam, after a rally on Wednesday evening was forcibly broken up by officers. The city’s Mayor Femke Halsema said that images and videos of police using violence against protesters circulating on social media “look serious”.In one video, which has not been independently verified by Euronews, police are shown beating protesters with batons and shouting at them as they broke up a demonstration banned by authorities in the city’s Dam Square.Amsterdam…

Southland wants to turbocharge the aquaculture industry to give the region’s economy a boost.Regional Development Minister Shane Jones announced a $2.2 million Government loan to expand operations at a growing facility in Bluff’s Ocean Beach.The company grows pāua in 280 purpose-built tanks, mainly focused on cocktail-size abalone, in the seaside town’s former meat works.The building also houses other aquaculture-related businesses — one specialises in seaweed for cows to reduce methane from their burps, while another is whitebait.The consistent temperature of the southern sea water makes Bluff a prime location for these different seafood businesses.Ocean Beach managing director Blair Wolfgram told…

The bill is set to enter into force at the end of 2025, but has now to be renegotiated with member states. A right wing majority pushed for amendments to weaken the provisions, in a contested vote. ADVERTISEMENTThe European Parliament voted on Thursday to postpone and amend provisions of its ‘deforestation law’, an EU regulation that imposes due diligence obligations on all traders importing specified raw materials into Europe.Under the proposed law, beef products, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and wood, and their derivative products must not come from deforested land, and importers must guarantee full traceability.The legislation was proposed by…

The Inland Revenue department has doubled the size of its team responsible for chasing down overseas-based student loan debt and is taking more legal action in both New Zealand and Australia.Overdue student loan debt has grown to a record $2.37 billion dollars – with $2.2b of that owed by overseas borrowers – most of whom are based in Australia.Only 29% of all overseas student-loan borrowers met their repayment obligations in the past 12 months.Inland Revenue was allocated $116m in this year’s Budget to bolster compliance and enforcement, with some of that ring-fenced specifically for overdue student loan debt. The rest…

Military vehicles and tech made by France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are being used in Sudan’s civil war, Amnesty International says. ADVERTISEMENTArmoured vehicles made by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and equipped with French military technology are being used in Sudan’s civil war by paramilitary forces, in a likely violation of a UN arms embargo, Amnesty International said on Thursday.The rights group said in a report that it had identified the UAE-made armoured personnel carriers in various parts of Sudan — including the Darfur region — where they were used by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in…

Blood stains found at a Christchurch house matched the profiles of real estate agent Yanfei Bao and the man accused of her murder, the High Court has heard.Chinese national Tingjun Cao is standing trial for killing Bao at the Hornby property in July last year.ESR forensic scientist Wendy Janes told the court the blood was not visible to the human eye but luminol testing revealed stains on walls, curtains, doors and carpet that matched their DNA profiles.Luminol is a chemical compound that emits a blue fluorescent light when it reacts with blood. Bao had arranged to meet a buyer at…