Author: Press Room

Two fishermen are “lucky to be alive” after a “complex” and “difficult” rescue off the rocks at Auckland’s Te Henga Bethells Beach last night.Surf Life Saving said lifeguards extracted the pair from the rocks at the blowhole at O’Neills Bay after one of them was swept off rocks just before 7.30pm.”Two other fishermen somehow got the injured and unconscious man back onto the rocks and one walked back to the beach to alert surf lifeguards,” a statement said.”With two metre-plus swells making it impossible to get an inflatable rescue boat (IRB) close enough, an incoming tide and fast-reducing light, rescue…

The European Commission will not commit to launching legal action against Poland after Donald Tusk openly threatened to disregard the Migration Pact. ADVERTISEMENTThe European Commission is scrambling to defend the Pact on Migration and Asylum after Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk doubled down on his refusal to implement the legislation, casting doubt over its practical viability.Notably, the Commission refrained from committing to launching legal action against Poland or any other member state that bypasses the five interlinked laws under the Pact.The response stands in stark contrast with previous remarks from high-level officials.Last year, Ylva Johansson, the former European Commissioner for…

US President Donald Trump has signalled an imminent announcement of 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the US, a trade policy which has the potential to impact New Zealand. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One as he flew to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl, Trump also reaffirmed that he would announce “reciprocal tariffs” —“probably Tuesday or Wednesday” — meaning that the US would impose import duties on products in cases where another country has levied duties on US goods.”If they are charging us 130% and we’re charging them nothing, it’s not going to stay…

Brigitte Haas will be the wealthy municipality’s first female head of government after her Fatherhood Union party won an election on Sunday. ADVERTISEMENTLiechtenstein is set for its first female prime minister after Brigitte Haas’ conservative Fatherland Union won a general election in the tiny Alpine principality.Haas’ party received 38.3% of the vote in Sunday’s election for the legislature in Vaduz, a slight gain compared with the last election four years ago when it had 35.9%. That gave the party an unchanged tally of 10 seats in the country’s 25-member parliament.The Fatherland Union has traditionally formed coalitions with the Progressive Citizens’…

Companies from across the globe are zeroing in on striking gold in Otago and large swathes of the region are now staked out by prospectors. Resources Minister Shane Jones said yesterday with the government taking a more permissive approach towards mining, and the price of gold soaring, “people are prepared to chance their arm”. Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) petroleum and minerals national manager John Buick-Constable said the data showed “steady interest” in the possibility of striking gold in Otago. Among those interested, Australian company Euro Gold Ventures applied for three prospecting permits in the region, covering more…

A Taradale man is facing charges after a machete was allegedly swung at police officers in the early hours of this morning.A police inspector said “a moment’s delay could have been fatal” for the one of the officers, saying training played a role but “nothing prepares you for seeing your colleague being threatened with a machete”.The incident began after a vehicle was seen driving with its headlights off at 1.30am on Kennedy Road in Napier.A member of public directed police toward Clive where the vehicle was spotted doing “double the speed limit”, said police inspector Lincoln Sycamore.Police were planning to…

Romania is the latest country to join a supermarket that has gained traction across the Balkans, with far-right ultranationalist Călin Georgescu calling on his supporters to join the initiative. ADVERTISEMENTA supermarket boycott that was started in Croatia last month has now reached Romania.The movement, which quickly caught on across the Balkans, began as a protest against rising grocery prices and a deepening cost of living crisis.In Romania, the far-right ultranationalist presidential candidate Călin Georgescu, who ran as an independent in the cancelled election that took place last year, has taken to social media in support of the boycott, urging his…

The senior official with oversight of the country’s public health services has stepped down amid ongoing restructuring of the wider public health sector.The Ministry of Health has confirmed to RNZ that the Director of Public Health, Dr Nicholas Jones, will finish up in the role on February 28.Deputy-Director General Dr Andrew Old, who heads the Public Health Agency, said Jones started a two-year secondment in August 2022, moving from his substantial role as Clinical Director and Medical Officer of Health for Hawke’s Bay.He agreed to stay another six months in August 2024, and will return to his job in Hawke’s…

This article was originally published in Russian As a series of drones hit Ukrainian cities, a new report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggests Russia is “leveraging” technological innovation and experience gained in the war in Ukraine “directly against NATO states.” ADVERTISEMENTRussia launched a wave of overnight drone attacks on several Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv as well as cities in the Donetsk and Sumy regions. On Sunday evening, the Russian Armed Forces attacked Ukrainian territory with 83 drones, 61 of which were shot down while 22 were “locationally lost, without negative consequences,” according to the…

An Auckland woman has been arrested after allegedly attempting to steal three bags of groceries from a Pukekohe supermarket.Police said officers were conducting a prevention patrol yesterday at about 2.45pm when they were alerted to a woman allegedly taking items from the supermarket.Counties Manukau South area prevention manager inspector Matt Hoyes said officers approached a woman matching the description. A search of nearby bushes revealed three bags filled with items.Inside the bags, officers found 10 tubs of mayonnaise, 13 bottles of shampoo, and 66 blocks of chocolate.(Source: New Zealand Police)”None of the items had been paid for and she was…