Author: Press Room

A Wellington parrot and its signature phrase has beaten the Prime Minister and sporting stars to win the Quote of the Year competition.The annual contest is run by Massey University and had 10 finalists, with the winner announced at midday today.Pepper the cockatoo took top spot after hitting the headlines when she was stolen from a wildlife park in the Hutt Valley last month.The bird was handed to police in Porirua nearly a week after she was taken. Police were able to confirm Pepper’s identity after she squawked her signature phrase, “Hello Darling”, at the police station.Quote of the Year…

A fatal house fire in Auckland’s Ranui earlier this week is not suspicious, police say.Emergency services were called to the fire on Swanson Rd at around 4.41am on Wednesday, where a man was found dead inside. He was 55-year-old Andrew Mark Orr of Rānui, Auckland.”Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends at this difficult time,” a police spokesperson said. “Initial investigations indicate the fire was not suspicious.” A scene examination has been completed and an investigation into the cause remained ongoing.The death would be referred to the coroner.

Zelensky sharply criticised Putin during a Brussels summit but struck a more measured tone towards incoming US President Donald Trump, calling him a ‘strong man’ and emphasising the need for detailed discussions about Ukraine. ADVERTISEMENTRadio Schuman goes behind the scenes at last night’s European Council meeting in Brussels today with Euronews journalist Shona Murray, to analyse Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s interventions on the sidelines following his discussions with EU leaders.During the summit, European leaders reaffirmed their commitment to increasing support for Ukraine, stressing there is no time to speculate on what actions the upcoming US president Donald Trump may take…

Auckland’s Laneway Festival has apologised after its application to host 16- and 17-year-olds was rejected, meaning those aged under 18 will have their ticket refunded. The festival released its 2025 dates and venues earlier this year, with the Auckland leg confirmed to return to Western Springs on February 6, headlined by British pop star Charli XCX.In a post to Instagram today, Laneway shared the “unfortunate news” that tickets already purchased by under-18s would be refunded after the Auckland District Licensing Committee last week rejected its application for 16- and 17-year-olds to be able to attend. “We worked closely with Police,…

Authorities in Poland admitted that it was legally “unprecedented” for another European country to grant asylum to a fugitive wanted under a European Arrest Warrant. ADVERTISEMENTThe Hungarian government on Thursday granted political asylum to former Polish justice minister and current PiS lawmaker Marcin Romanowski, who is wanted in Poland for alleged corruption during his time as minister in the previous PiS government. Authorities in Poland have been looking for Romanowski since last week, after a Polish court approved a request for the lawmaker to be put in pre-trial detention. After a fruitless search, prosecutors issued a European Arrest Warrant for Romanowski…

Julian Lennon has had to have emergency skin cancer surgery.The 61-year-old singer – who is the son of late Beatles legend John Lennon and his first wife Cynthia – took to social media to reveal to his fans that he had been diagnosed with melanoma just before heading on a press tour and had to “urgently” head back from it to undergo an operation.He wrote on Instagram: “Well, here’s how this goes…”Before I flew to New York from Los Angeles, for ‘Good Morning America’, Sirius XM, iHeart Radio and My Fotografiska Q+A Book Signing Event, I went to see, as…

The roundabout exit to nowhere. What was going to go there and why didn’t it? Local Democracy reporter Linda Hall takes a look.There’s a roundabout in Hastings at the intersection of two busy arterial roads – Pakowhai and Evenden – which has an odd dead-end exit.Over a fence, there are two blocks of land side by side, 1411 and 1403 Pakowhai Rd, a 3-hectare site that, if it could ever be developed upon, would be highly sought after by commercial tenants.Title information indicates that the land is owned by Australian garden and homeware giant Bunnings.It purchased the land in 2010…

The attack came just hours after Vladimir Putin’s annual end-of-year speech, in which the Russian president dismissed the idea of a temporary truce in Ukraine, claiming it would only benefit the Ukrainians. ADVERTISEMENTA series of powerful explosions rocked Kyiv on Friday morning, causing widespread damage across multiple districts in Ukraine’s capital as air defences intercepted the incoming missiles, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.The strikes left debris in the Holosiivskyi, Solomianskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, and Dniprovskyi districts, causing fires on rooftops and damaging vehicles. The Holosiivskyi district was the hardest hit, with missile debris damaging office buildings, gas pipelines, and civilian vehicles, local…

A number of Kiwis have been successfully evacuated from Vanuatu after a devastating earthquake shook the Pacific Island nation earlier this week.The death toll was still unclear, though at least 14 people were killed according to an earlier statement from the Vanuatu government.The 7.3 magnitude quake struck on Tuesday, and more than 200 people were injured.People about to depart Vanuatu on a RNZAF Boeing 757 (Source: NZDF)The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) said late last night that a flight carrying 93 passengers, almost all Kiwis and their families, had left Port Vila at about 7.45pm New Zealand time.”A small number…

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s expressive face has often led to her being romantically paired with other prominent global figures online, and her recent appearance with Elon Musk has prompted the emergence of “Muskloni” fans. ADVERTISEMENTA video circulating online appears to show Tesla CEO Elon Musk sharing a passionate embrace with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.The clip has been widely shared across social media platforms like X and Instagram, often with captions suggesting the pair’s affection for one another. One caption, for instance, reads “è amore,” meaning “it’s love” in Italian, which is often considered one of the most romantic…