Author: Press Room
Grow a Garden, a Roblox game where players plant virtual seeds and grow exotic plants, had 20 million people playing it at once last weekend.When Grow a Garden clocked 20 million people playing it at once last weekend, it became one of the most played games of the year.It surpassed previous records of concurrent players set by the hugely popular battle title, Fortnite.The New York Times pointed out that’s more triple the population of New Zealand, the home of Janzen Madsen, who runs Splitting Point Studios, which scouts and acquires rising games on the platform.The company picked up Grow a…
The Deputy Prime Minister is rubbishing claims that social media posts he has made about opponents of the Regulatory Standards Bill are a breach of the Cabinet Manual.In recent days, David Seymour made a series of social media posts singling out prominent opponents of the Bill, and accusing them of suffering from “Regulatory Standards Derangement Syndrome”.Wellington’s mayor, Tory Whanau, accused Seymour of setting a “dangerous precedent” for how dissenting voices were treated, and laid a formal complaint with the Prime Minister over the posts.The Regulatory Standards Bill aimed to ensure regulatory decisions were “based on principles of good law-making and…
Air New Zealand is ramping up capacity on trans-Tasman and Pacific flights for the peak summer travel season in response to demand and aircraft returning to service. The airline said between October and March, it would add 130,000 seats between New Zealand and Australia, and 25,000 seats to the Pacific. It would add 8 percent more premium seats on its short-haul network, and have up to 42 flights every week on wide-body jets to Australia. Its chief commercial officer Jeremy O’Brien said the move was in response to growing demand. “With more aircraft back in service and demand heating up,…
Nineteen complaints were made in one year to Hastings District Council about a home surrounded by hoarded goods before it caught fire over the weekend.But firefighters as recently as eight months ago did not deem the pile a fire hazard, because of a lack of ignition source – meaning there was no enforcement option available to authorities.In the early hours of Saturday morning the “materials”, which included piles of scrap wood, ignited and quickly spread to the Frederick St home, near the Mahora shops.Firefighters were called from Hastings, Napier and Taradale. One person was treated by ambulance staff at the…
General practitioners will get up to 13.89% more funding this year in a new agreement the Government hopes will eventually lead to faster care.Health Minister Simeon Brown said the $175 million increase this year was the biggest – by more than double – since the current funding system began.GPs had been crying out for more funding saying their sector was in crisis and doctors were leaving.They were pleased to get a boost – but noted only some of them would be able to achieve the full 13.89%.GPs received government funding via a capitation system – money per patient in their…
Witnesses have painted a picture of complicated relationships, financial difficulties and alcoholism, as the trial of Julia DeLuney, charged with killing her mother, continues.Helen Gregory, aged 79, died at her Khandallah home in January 2024.The Crown’s case is that DeLuney, who first appeared in front of a judge and jury in the High Court in Wellington on Monday, attacked her mother, then staged the scene to make it look like she had suffered a fall from the attic.The jury was told DeLuney had been a teacher, but had not worked as one for the past 15 years.Instead, she traded cryptocurrency…
Petrol prices had already started to creep up, and increased conflict in the Middle East could add another 10 percent or 15 percent to the cost of filling up, economists say. Mike Newton, from fuel price app Gaspy, said there had been an “upswing” in prices recently, even before the US attack on Iran and Iran proposed blocking the Strait of Hormuz. He said the price of 91 petrol had increased four cents in the past week alone. “A lot of this will be purely speculative as the actual effect on supply is yet to make itself properly felt. “There is talk…
Four men face “serious charges” after a police and Customs investigation into a Wellington-based syndicate led to the seizure of 23kg of methamphetamine and more than 1000 MDMA pills.Dubbed Operation Armani, the joint investigation identified a group smuggling “significant amounts” of drugs into New Zealand over several months.Twenty-three kilograms of methamphetamine, with a street value of more than $8 million, was intercepted at the border, while the MDMA seized was worth around $50,000.Search warrants were executed by police and Customs across the Wellington district.More than 1000 MDMA pills were seized as part of the investigation. (Source: NZ Police)Four men, aged…
The man accused of stabbing two people at an Auckland night market at the weekend has appeared in Manukau District Court.Police were called to the scene on Aylesbury St in Pakuranga about 6.45pm after reports of an assault on Saturday night.The 23-year-old has been charged with injuring the two victims. He handed himself in at the Manukau Police Station on Sunday.Both of the victims had surgery and were in stable condition in hospital.The accused appeared before the court on Monday with one of his hands bandaged.He was granted interim name suppression, remanded in custody, and was expected to re-appear next…
By Euronews Published on 23/06/2025 – 11:00 GMT+2Key diary datesMonday 23 June: EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.Tuesday 24-Wednesday 25 June: NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands.Wednesday 25 June: Gavi vaccine alliance’s high-level pledging summit in Brussels.Thursday 26 June: EU Council Summit in Brussels.ADVERTISEMENT In spotlightOn Wednesday international vaccine alliance Gavi will stage a ‘high-level pledging summit’ co-hosted by the EU and the Gates Foundation, set to feature appearances from the presidents of the Parliament, Commission and Council – Roberta Metsola, Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa – alongside tech royalty Bill Gates.Gates will be in the headlights in Brussels…