Author: Press Room

A Civil Defence centre was set up in Auckland overnight after intense thunderstorms and a heavy downpour caused localised flooding. It follows days of heavy rain and strong winds across the North Island due to ex-Cyclone Tam.Yesterday MetService lifted all watches and warnings in place for Auckland, but had previously said thunderstorms and rain could continue into early Saturday morning. MetService meteorologist Alec Holden told 1News that this morning’s thunderstorms and downpours caused localised flooding across the region, particularly from Albany to Mount Roskill which experienced the most rain. “Those were the areas that saw the worst of that thunderstorms,…

Poor planning for emergencies could lead to fines under a proposed legal overhaul.Councils, petrol, power and gas companies, ports and airports, rail and roading providers and even broadcasters would be liable as lifeline utilities, if a long list of possible changes goes through. There were also plans to add IT services such as cloud software providers, waste management and grocery retailers to the list of lifeline organisations.The change was partly a response to the inquiry into Cyclone Gabrielle and Cyclone Hale.Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell told 1News he wanted the Emergency Management Bill to bring “world-class, world-leading legislation”.The…

Since taking up the reins as chairman of Dunedin City Holdings Ltd, Tim Loan has had a lot on his plate.  The failed sale of Aurora Energy, a review of Forsyth Barr Stadium and the return of international flights – he tells Tim Scott about it all.    Tim Loan admits it has been ‘‘quite a busy year’’ since he took office – but that appears to be putting it lightly. The return of international flights was announced after a more than four-year wait, the Taieri Gorge train service reopened and the more than $1 billion projected sale of the Dunedin…

Scott Technology has posted a stable net profit after tax of $4.3 million for the six months ending February 28. In an announcement to the NZX this week, the company said revenue of $122m was down 14% from $141 in the prior comparable period (pcp). Operating ebitda of $12.2m was down 27% from $16.6m, while operating cash flow of $14.5m was up from $7.7m. Net debt reduced 35% to $13.2m while directors declared a dividend of 3c per share unimputed, down from 5c per share in the pcp. The company said the revenue decline was driven by a challenging economic…

ADVERTISEMENTJust days before Easter, severe weather continues to batter Italy. On Thursday, the north-west was hit by strong winds, heavy rain and hail, leading to flooding in several cities and significant damage, particularly to infrastructure.The transport sector has been hit hardest, with serious disruption to traffic and some areas cut off due to road and motorway closures.In the early hours of Friday, the storm began moving towards the north-east and central regions of the country. The worst-affected areas include Piedmont, Lombardy and Veneto.The Civil Protection Department has issued a red alert for Friday 18 April in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna due…

A 12-year-old Samoan boy has died in Auckland after contracting dengue fever.Samoan media confirmed Misiafa Lene died last Sunday, a day after he was flown from Samoa to the Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland.The young boy’s father Louis Lene expressed his heartbreak in a post on Facebook where hundreds of commenters offered support.Dengue fever is spread by mosquitos in tropical climates, and can cause symptoms like sudden high fever, intensely sore joints and muscles, pain behind the eyes and a rash.There is an outbreak of the viral infection ongoing in Samoa, Fiji and Tonga.The Director-General of Health Aiono Dr Alec…

ADVERTISEMENTMillions of European workers earn just a fraction of their country’s average pay.The latest Eurostat data shows nearly 15% of the EU’s workforce is made up of low-wage earners.Low-wage workers are employees who earn two-thirds or less of the median wage in their respective countries.The report shows a noticeable gender gap: 18.2% among women fall into this category, compared to 12.5% of men. Young people are particularly affected: one in four low-wage earners is under 30. The highest shares of low-paid workers were found in Bulgaria (26.8%), Romania (23.9%), Latvia (23.3%) and Greece (21.7%), while, on the flipside, countries like…

ADVERTISEMENTUS Vice President JD Vance has arrived in Rome for meetings at the Vatican and with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, fresh from her visit to the White House a day earlier.Meloni, who has positioned herself as a bridge between the US and Europe, received praise from President Donald Trump for her crackdown on migration during a meeting in the Oval Office on Thursday.Vance, who attended the meetings, is scheduled to meet with Meloni later on Friday and plans to attend Easter weekend events at the Vatican.He was scheduled to meet with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the…

A boycott of American booze is underway in Canterbury’s Governor Bay where the publican of over 20 years is showing his opposition to the Trump’s regime’s tariffs.Otoromiro Hotel owner Jeremy Dyer is selling the liquor until the bottles are empty and won’t be ordering more.“The Jack Daniels is going, the Jim Beam is going, and most certainly the Southern Comfort is nearly gone,” he said.“Supposedly a close ally of us has sort of shafted us. Even though it’s a small measure to ban bourbon from our beverage offerings, I hope the message comes back and bites the administration on the…

ADVERTISEMENTA Russian attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv has killed one person and injured at least 60 others, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine has said.Images released by the office show the aftermath of the attack, with injured people being taken to hospitals. An unnamed 79-year-old man has been identified as the fatality. He was reportedly killed in his apartment. Ukrainian media report that several children are among the wounded.Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said that 20 apartment buildings and 30 private houses were damaged in the strike. Terekhov added that the aerial attack was carried out with “ballistic missiles equipped…