Author: Press Room

“Just say thank you” is what many Ukrainians have already heard from occupying Russian soldiers. Svitlana Poltavska says this is what Russian soldiers told her as they came to her house amid beatings and searches: “Say thank you we are not touching your children. Yet.” ADVERTISEMENTSvitlana Poltavska is from Troitske, a settlement in the Luhansk region, which sits right on the border with Russia. When Moscow went on its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, her husband, a soldier of the State Border Guard Service, was sent to fight the invading forces and died in the first days of…

A planned meeting between Education Minister Erica Stanford and Associate Education Minister David Seymour to discuss ongoing school lunch problems did not go ahead this morning after the ACT leader’s caucus meeting ran late.The two ministers were due to meet on Tuesday morning and Stanford said it had been called “to go through some of the issues on his school lunch programme to make sure they are being cleared up”.She said she expected school lunches should reach a higher standard.”I think if we are spending taxpayers’ money, we have an obligation to provide a quality service.”However, a spokesperson for Seymour…

Ukraine holds significant reserves of the critical raw materials and rare earths needed to develop cutting-edge technology. ADVERTISEMENTA deal on US access to Ukraine’s coveted minerals and rare earths is still on the cards, both Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week, despite the continued deterioration in the US-Ukraine relationship.The signing of the agreement – for which the framework has already been agreed – was scuppered by the fiery confrontation between Trump and Zelenskyy last Friday. The US has since temporarily paused its military aid to Ukraine.But Kyiv hopes the prospect of privileged US access to Ukraine’s natural resources…

Police are concerned for the welfare of a woman reported missing after failing to catch her flight home to Taupō from Otago over the weekend.Penelope, 65, was last seen in the central Dunedin area on Friday, February 28, wearing a blue floral top and capri pants.She did not board her scheduled flight to Taupō on Saturday, March 1, and has not been seen or heard from since.”Police and Penelope’s family have concerns for her wellbeing and would like her to return home safely,” police said. Anyone with information was asked to contact police.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis will not say why New Zealand’s Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr has resigned after seven years of service. Willis announced today that Deputy Governor Christian Hawkesby would be Acting Governor until March 31. This took effect from midday.  Reserve Bank governors typically serve five-year terms. Orr was first appointed in 2018 and reappointed in March 2023. His second term was due to end in 2028. Willis today said she was not going to “characterise the reasons” for the shock resignation. She said she had been “aware for the past few days that discussions have been occurring”…

Authorities misidentified a deceased dog while investigating the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa, according to a pet care specialist.The couple’s German Shepherd, named Bear, survived along with a second dog named Nikita, but their kelpie mix, Zinna, died, according to Joey Padilla, owner of the Santa Fe Tails pet care facility that is involved in the surviving dogs’ care.The dog that died “was always attached to Betsy at the hip and it was a beautiful relationship”, Padilla said in an email statement today. “Zinna went from being a returned shelter dog to this incredible…

A book from one of the first Antarctic explorers has been repatriated to Scott’s Discovery hut — carried there by some young explorers.The journey was a chance for passionate New Zealanders, including cancer survivor Jake Bailey, to rediscover our past on the southern-most continent of Antarctica.Bailey told 1News: “I don’t know if it’s possible to entirely kind of comprehend what that was going to be like for us, until we were there.”It was a profoundly powerful experience,” he said.Bailey was one of eight young Kiwi and Australian explorers, between the age of 16 and 35, tackling icy seas in Antarctica…

It turns out that hiring a dedicated manager for Nelson’s forests is not so clear-cut.The city council first advertised for a forest systems manager in October 2024 but — five months later — the role is still empty.The role was born from the council’s decision to transition away from commercial forestry to create a well-managed continuous canopy amenity forest.The forest systems manager would take the lead in implementing the council’s new strategic direction and managing its 10,000-hectare forest estate.A LinkedIn advert for applications, which closed on October 11, offered pay of $129–$143,000 per annum and sought someone with experience in…

Finance Minister Nicola Willis will not say why New Zealand’s Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr has resigned after seven years of service. Willis announced today that Deputy Governor Christian Hawkesby would be Acting Governor until March 31. Reserve Bank Governors typically serve five-year terms. Orr was first appointed in 2018, and reappointed in March 2023. His second term was due to end in 2028. Willis said she was not going to “characterise the reasons” for his resignation, saying she had been “aware for the past few days that discussions have been occurring” between the Reserve Bank Board and Orr  about…

A new report paints a picture of the balance of power that gangs have over non-gang members in prisons and one staffer says they “run the jails”, but Corrections says it has control.A young prisoner arrives with a “nice, clean” face. Within weeks of entering a high-security unit, a gang symbol is tattooed on his cheek – likely fashioned using ink made of toothpaste and the soot of burning plastic utensils.This scene, described in a new report on gang influence inside the prison system, illustrates how the groups have transformed prison environments into a hierarchical structure — with their members…