Author: Press Room

Troy Butler and Sam Valentine are looking to go out on top. The pair have put their popular central Dunedin cafe, bar and live music venue, Maggies, on the market as they both look to new futures. Mr Butler began the lower Stuart St cafe, then called Morning Magpie, 11 years ago. Now, after working in hospitality for more than 17 years and with Maggies in “the best shape it has ever been in”, he was ready to put his energy into something new — most likely some study, he said. The feeling of being ready to move on has…

The opening of the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) has been delayed again with the central Auckland venue now slated to open next February.The project has been under construction for about a decade, with early works beginning in 2015 and a fire crippling progress in 2019.But SkyCity said today that delays by contractors meant the company didn’t expect to commence “commissioning and operational readiness activities” until the second half of 2025, following the delivery of the completed venue.The company’s chief executive Jason Walbridge said the delay offered “certainty”.Previously it was promoted that the convention centre would open this year.”The…

In the last 10 years, Romania had the highest minimum wage growth in the EU. Only five member states do not have a national minimum wage. ADVERTISEMENTRomania, Lithuania, Bulgaria, and Poland have registered the highest average annual minimum wage growth rate in the EU between January 2015 and January 2025.They represent an increase between 14% and 10%, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.By contrast, the lowest average annual growth rates among EU countries were recorded in France at +2.1% and Malta at +2.9%. In the EU, 22 out of the 27 member states have a set national minimum wage. However, monthly…

Te Whatu Ora Health NZ chief executive Margie Apa has stepped down four months before her term officially ends, saying “a different leadership approach is required” for the Government’s reset of the health system.Health Minister Simeon Brown made the announcement earlier this morning. A search process for a chief executive of the health mega-agency had already begun, but Apa’s current term wasn’t expected to finish until the middle of the year. Dr Dale Bramley has been appointed acting chief executive of Health NZ in the interim, effective immediately. Health Commissioner Lester Levy said the decision was “mutually agreed on”. Apa…

MetService has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for parts of the North Island today. Heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected for Waikato, Waitomo, Taumaraunui, and Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Taupō, Taranaki and Taihape, with the watch in place from 2pm until 8pm. “From southern Waikato and Bay of Plenty, across to Taupō, Taumarunui, northern Taihape and the far east of Taranaki, some of these thunderstorms may be slow moving and severe, producing localised downpours of 25 to 40 mm/h. “Note, localised downpours could also occur without thunderstorms.”MetService said driving could become hazardous.

Eleven people — including the perpetrator — were killed in what Sweden’s PM described as the worst mass shooting in the country’s history. ADVERTISEMENTSweden’s government has announced its intention to pursue a gun control reform law after an attack in the city of Örebro killed 11 people, including the attacker, this week. The plan would include limiting access to powerful semi-automatic weapons, such as AR-15 rifles, and strengthening suitability testing of individuals who want to obtain a gun license. A framework will also be developed to more effectively report people who may be medically unfit to possess firearms.Swedish news outlets…

A proposal to restore a speed limit on State Highway 1, south of Woodend, back to 100kmh has received a mixed response.The Government is consulting on several speed limits after introducing new rules to reverse blanket speed limit reductions.The speed limit on the 3.17km stretch of SH1 between Cam River, near Kaiapoi, and Woodend was lowered to 80kph in December 2020, with safety concerns cited at the time.Waimakariri Deputy Mayor Neville Atkinson and councillor Philip Redmond, the council’s roading portfolio holder, questioned the timing of the speed review, with work about to get under way on the Woodend Bypass.”There’s an…

A smell described as like rotting fish or a dead animal has been haunting Ōpōtiki over the past two months and Bay of Plenty Regional Council is investigating.The regional council says it has identified one source of odour complaints but is not revealing what it is until it has completed its investigations.Compliance team leader Trudy Richards said the regional council had received seven odour complaints to its Pollution Hotline for the Ōpōtiki area since December 18.However, community Facebook administrator Maude Maxwell says she has heard from closer to 60-to-80 people complaining about the smell, through Facebook comments, private messages or…

Authorities in the Belgian capital are trying to combat drug-related violence. ADVERTISEMENTA shooting incident in Brussels — the fourth in the Belgian capital this week — killed one person, authorities told local media, with the spike in violence linked to rival drug gangs.The latest outbreak of violence in the city happened in the early hours of Friday in the Peterbos neighbourhood in Anderlecht, the Brussels prosecutor’s office told the media.The victim was a man who has yet to be identified, police spokesperson Sarah Frederickx said. “It is probably linked to rival drug gangs,” said a spokeswoman for the Brussels prosecutor’s…

Police are preparing to request the extradition of two Vietnamese officials accused of sexually assaulting a pair of young female servers at a Wellington restaurant last year.One of the women told the Associated Press they were assaulted in a private karaoke room at the Vietnamese restaurant where they worked in March 2024.She accused the two officials of pulling the two servers into their laps and groping them. The women were also allegedly forced to drink alcohol, and the then 19-year-old believed she was also drugged.The woman sustained an injury following the incident, which was reported to police the following day.Police…