Author: Press Room
A deepfake video involving Q+A’s Jack Tame and one of the country’s leading diabetes researchers has been circulating online, swindling unknowing New Zealanders out of their money. The clip, posted online and shared on social media, purported to show the TVNZ presenter and Professor Rinki Murphy discussing a supposed medical breakthrough. “I feel horrified that I would be saying these sorts of things and people would be believing them or spending money on them or just being confused in general,” Murphy told 1News. The video was also convincing those with diabetes to stop taking important medications, prompting a warning from…
Published on 05/06/2025 – 15:11 GMT+2ADVERTISEMENTRussia could “decide to attack us in three to five years,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says, and Europe needs to be prepared.In response, NATO countries are finalising plans to dramatically increase defence spending from 2% of GDP to 5%.Meanwhile, NATO allies are focusing on strengthening their defence through new capability targets, based on the evolving global security concerns and, in particular, the threat from Russia.NATO’s Griffin Lightning military exercise is one of the most extensive tests of the alliance’s capabilities and readiness for war.The training includes a wide range of hardware, including tanks, howitzers,…
Canterbury University researchers are using human tears to develop a world first rapid home test for the detection of Alzheimer’s disease.Experts in engineering, chemistry and biology are working on the project that could be life changing for those in the very early stages of the disease. The aim is to create portable, easy-to-use devices that can be used on-site without needing expensive labs or long processing times. Lead researcher Professor Renwick Dobson, from Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury, said the technology could generate up to $371 million a year for New Zealand companies. The tests were…
ADVERTISEMENTThe European Commission plans to launch a vast operation to clean up PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances), also known as “forever chemicals” in water through the creation of public-private partnerships.These were the conclusions of the European Water Resilience Strategy, adopted on Wednesday in Brussels.In 2022, out of 1,300 monitoring sites in Europe, 59% of rivers, 35% of lakes and 73% of coastal waters exceeded the environmental quality standard for perfluorooctanesulphonic acid (PFOS), a type of PFAS, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA).In Europe, only 37% of surface waters are in good or very good ecological health and 29% have…
Property prices in the regions may be set to grow more quickly than the main centres.Cotality, formerly Corelogic, has released its latest data, which shows property values nationwide dropped 0.1% in May and are now 1.6% lower than a year earlier.Hamilton prices were up 0.1% in the month but Dunedin and Tauranga were down 0.1%. Auckland was down 0.3% and Wellington 0.4%. Christchurch was down 0.8%.Invercargill was up 0.5% in the month, Queenstown 1.2% and Rotorua, New Plymouth and Hastings also reported growth.”I don’t want to make too much of it but I think we’ve seen that little bit of…
If a letter with your name on it is found in a pile of rubbish left on the roadside, be prepared for a visit from your local council.Proposed amendments to the Litter Act would allow councils to ping fly-tippers long after they have fouled roadsides and private land and caused environmental harm.Large piles of dumped rubbish cost councils around Hawke’s Bay thousands of dollars a year to dispose of.Hastings District councillor Wendy Schollum says that as the law stands, even when a name and address are found, councils’ hands are tied.“Even CCTV footage is not enough,” Schollum said.“The dumper has…
By Lauren Walker with AP Published on 05/06/2025 – 12:13 GMT+2ADVERTISEMENTNorth Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has once again affirmed his “unconditional support” for Russia’s war against Ukraine during a meeting with a top Russian official.The authoritarian ruler made the comment during talks with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang on Wednesday, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim reiterated his “unconditional support for the stand of Russia and its foreign policies in all the crucial international political issues including the Ukrainian issue”, KCNA reported.The two countries’ ties have strengthened in recent years, with Pyongyang sending thousands of troops…
The sudden resignation of one of the Prime Minister’s senior press secretaries is raising questions about why Christopher Luxon’s office was not told about the police investigation last year.Michael Forbes left his job as acting deputy chief press secretary on Wednesday and has apologised after accusations he recorded audio of sessions with sex workers, and had intrusive photos of women in public and footage shot through windows at night.Police said they got a complaint from a Wellington brothel last July after images were found on a client’s phone, but decided the case did not meet the threshold for prosecution.Forbes was…
Civil Defence says the Tauranga-Taupō River north of Tūrangi has “likely now peaked” and evacuations of homes are unlikely. Earlier this morning the river had “risen significantly and is in flood with all the rain”, prompting LandSAR teams to door-knock homes in the area to advise people to prepare to evacuate if needed. In a statement shortly before 9.30am, Civil Defence Taupō said the river had not breached its banks and the water level was expected to begin to fall. “There are around 70 properties in the immediate vicinity of the river although there is a high number of holiday…
Inland Revenue (IR) will intensify its tax compliance and collection efforts following a significant funding boost in Budget 2025, with expectations of strong returns on investment.The Government had allocated new additional permanent funding of $35 million a year for Inland Revenue and also continued funding of $26.5 million a year from Budget 2022 that was due to run out in June.“Along with the $29 million per year that was allocated in Budget 24, this is a significant funding boost and is recognition of what we do and the excellent results we’ve had so far this year,” Inland Revenue commissioner Peter…