Author: Press Room

State Highway 6 on the West Coast could reopen in the coming days after crews worked hard over the weekend to remove loose rocks at the Epitaph Slip, NZTA says.The road between Haast and Lake Moeraki closed a little over a week ago when record-breaking rain pummelled the region, leading to the declaration of a state of emergency.Slips, rockfall and cracking, which NZTA said showed movement under the highway, have kept the section closed since then.Further wet weather late last week made conditions on site “treacherous” but good weather over the weekend has helped crews, said Central South Island system…

Nearly 1,000 days after Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Washington is said to have authorised the use of US-provided ATACMS missiles for strikes deep into Russia. How far is Ukraine allowed to strike, and what are Kyiv’s targets? ADVERTISEMENTNearly 1,000 days since Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Washington is said to have authorised the use of US-provided ATACMS for the strikes deep into Russia. What difference could this make, and what targets could Kyiv strike? It took the US around one month to come up with a response to the deployment of North Korean forces to the battlefield…

An Auckland man has been fined $7500 after being found guilty of cruelty to pigs which he illegally processed and sold.Anitema Tuungafasi Pulu, 54, was sentenced in Pukekohe District Court on three charges under the Animal Welfare Act and the Animal Products Act following a successful prosecution by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).Between September 2022 and May 2023, MPI covert investigators went to Pulu’s Pukekohe property six times.He was found to be killing pigs inhumanely, a statement from MPI said.In November 2022, he was served a notice of direction under the Animal Products Act which prohibited him from killing…

The meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers comes a day after Russia launched another massive attack of drones and missiles against Ukraine. ADVERTISEMENTForeign affairs ministers of the European Union have gathered in Brussels to discuss the rapid succession of developments in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including US President Joe Biden’s decision to lift restrictions on long-range missiles, the deployment of an estimated 10,000 North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region and growing suspicions that Moscow has set up shop in China to assemble lethal drones.The Monday meeting comes a few days after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a controversial phone…

Opinion: New Zealand is not the only country in the world grappling with the impacts of colonialism, writes Dominic O’Sullivan for The Conversation.With the ACT Party’s Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill having its first reading in Parliament last week, the debate and protests have been – understandably – focused on the local historical and political landscape.But New Zealand isn’t alone in struggling with ideas about the truth of colonialism and its impacts, and how these should influence policy debates and legislation.Similar debates are playing out in British Columbia in Canada and Queensland in Australia. In both cases, the…

This week’s key events presented by Euronews’ EU senior health and agriculture correspondent Gerardo Fortuna. Key diary datesMonday 18 November: Ukrainian Minister for Agrarian Policy and Food, Vitalii Koval, to join EU ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting in Brussels. Tuesday 19 November: European Court of Justice to hear case brought by European Commission and 15 member states challenging Hungary’s Child Protection Law, widely criticised as being anti-LGBT.Tuesday 19 November: Foreign Affairs Council on defence will discuss EU military support to Ukraine, joined by NATO Secretary-General, Mark Rutte.In spotlightADVERTISEMENTEU agricultural ministers meet in Brussels today to discuss the market situation for…

A Napier retail worker got the “shock of her life” when she returned from maternity leave to find her parking costs had doubled.Hope Hatten, who works for Postie Plus in Napier’s CBD, said the daily $16 parking charge was now unaffordable for her – and she’s not the only one. Napier City Council doubled the hourly parking fee in the CBD earlier this year from $1 an hour to $2. Retail workers and business owners say it’s having serious impacts on locals who need it every day and some want the council to offer discounts for regular CBD workers.But Napier…

Kyiv’s Maidan or Independence Square has been the heart of Ukraine’s revolutions, and for many, it is the only place where their loved ones can truly be honoured. ADVERTISEMENTAs the war in Ukraine enters its 1,000th day, a sea of blue and yellow flags continues to grow in honour of the fallen at Independence Square in the country’s capital.According to Western estimates, around 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died in battle since Russia’s full-scale invasion in early 2022.Many were volunteers who left their civilian lives behind to answer the call to defend their country.Their loved ones hope that their sacrifices won’t…

Three youths aged 13 and 14 were taken into custody after a security guard was allegedly stabbed at a supermarket in Auckland’s New Lynn last night.Police were called following a report of three young people taking items from a supermarket on Totara Ave around 6.30pm.Waitematā CIB Detective Senior Sergeant Megan Goldie said a female security guard confronted one of the alleged offenders, “who then assaulted her with what was believed to be a knife”.”The injury has penetrated the security guard’s vest and into her torso,” Goldie said. “She was transported to hospital and thankfully hasn’t suffered any serious injuries, however…

Keir Starmer’s comments come after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a call with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Friday, the first publicly announced conversation between Putin and the head of a Western nation in almost two years. ADVERTISEMENTBritish Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday that he has no plan to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he reaffirmed his support for Ukraine at this week’s G20 summit.Starmer said he wouldn’t speak to Putin as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did on Friday — the first publicly announced conversation between Putin and a major head of a Western power in almost…