Author: Press Room

A Dunedin businessman is serious about competing with New Zealand’s two supermarket giants and is taking his plans to the government. Night ’n Day general manager Matthew Lane said he would be making a submission after the government asked potential entrants to the market what changes needed to be made to clear the way for a third player to take on the duopoly. He believed there needed to be “a much more level playing field” in the supermarket industry. In order to enter the supermarket industry, Night ’n Day would need to “look at purchasing one of the existing banners…

A woman’s lip cells were on the brink of dying off and she was given a smile she “hates” after a nightmare botox and lip filler appointment.The Deputy Heath and Disability Commissioner Dr Vanessa Caldwell ruled a nurse and a doctor at an unnamed North Island beauty clinic did not provide their client with an acceptable standard of care.They did not act fast enough when the injections – known as a lip flip – went terribly wrong.Known as “Ms A,” the woman went to the clinic looking for a small amount of filler – less than the standard 1ml dose…

ADVERTISEMENTEU finance ministers are set to consider a proposal to establish a new intergovernmental institution called the “European Defence Mechanism” (EDM) for defence-related lending and cooperation with non-EU countries such as the UK, Norway or Switzerland. “Given the need to maintain prudent fiscal positions, defence investment cannot proceed without proper coordination,” Polish finance minister Andrzej Domański told counterparts in a letter sent last Friday. The proposed mechanism mirrors a recent British idea for a supranational rearmament fund. It would involve borrowing on capital markets and centralising defence procurement to reduce costs. “As defence spending remains a national prerogative, this intergovernmental model may offer…

Auckland Football Club are working to identify and ban anyone responsible for anti-social incidents during Saturday’s match against Western Sydney.In a statement to RNZ, police said they were continuing their investigation into the incidents that saw one person arrested for assault and another for disorder.”The victim, who is an Australian national, was taken to Middlemore Hospital. He has had to undergo surgery for facial injuries sustained in the assault,” police said.”A 46-year-old man was arrested at the stadium over the incident.”Police said they had not ruled out pressing charges.Social media videos have surfaced of both sets of fans acting aggressively…

ADVERTISEMENTThe European Commission’s funding of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is “opaque” and exposes the executive to “reputational risk”, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has concluded following a lengthy probe. But its report may not be the smoking gun that some critics were hoping for.“We did not find a single case during our audit of an NGO breaching EU values,” the ECA member responsible for the report, Laima Andrikienė, told reporters at a briefing shortly before publication.This came with the caveat, however, that her office had examined a random sample of only 90 contracts, and may have missed something. “We have…

A Samoan national has been sentenced to four years in prison for migrant exploitation and corruption of a public official.The individual, who has interim name suppression, was sentenced in the Auckland District Court today after pleading guilty to five representative charges of aiding and abetting breach of visa conditions, six charges of exploitation of unlawful migrants, and one representative charge of corruption of a public official.They were also ordered to pay $4000 in reparation to the victims. An associate has also been charged and is awaiting sentencing.Between 2014 and 2021, the individual and their associate employed Samoan nationals unlawfully and…

ADVERTISEMENTIsrael has backtracked on its initial account of how 15 Palestinian first responders were killed near Rafah on March 23, after a video retrieved from one of the deceased workers’ phones appeared to contradict its version of events.An Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) official, speaking on condition of anonymity over the weekend, acknowledged that its original claim the emergency vehicles had proceeded “suspiciously” and “without headlights or emergency signals” had been “mistaken.”The footage claiming to show the attack, first shared by the New York Times, shows all vehicles had their headlights and emergency signals on, meaning their emblems were clearly visible.There…

The Government has revealed it will pump billions into the Defence Force as it releases its long-awaited defence capability plan this afternoon. Around $12 billion has been committed over the next four years – including $9 billion of new spending. The announcement means the country’s spending on defence will increase from just over 1% of GDP to more than 2% in the next eight years.Today’s announcement comes as a 1News Verian poll reveals 39% of Kiwis support greater levels of military spending, with 23% opposed and 38% unsure.Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the additional spending was essential.”Global tensions are increasing…

ADVERTISEMENTAround 10,793 victims of human trafficking were registered in the EU in 2023, an increase of 6.9% compared with the previous year, according to the latest Eurostat figures. So far, this is the highest recorded value between 2008 and 2023. In 2023, there were 24 registered victims of trafficking in human beings per one million inhabitants in the EU – a rise from 23 registered victims per one million inhabitants in 2022. The highest rates in the EU were observed in Luxembourg, Greece, the Netherlands, Austria, and Sweden, while the lowest rates were observed in Croatia, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic.”Higher rates could…

Current and former members of a secretive sect operating in New Zealand are being urged to report allegations of child abuse.The FBI in the US is investigating claims of abuse at the sect, which has no official name but has been dubbed the ‘Two By Two’ or ‘The Truth’.Tristan Phipps left the church 20 years ago and is calling for people to come forward. He told 1News he was speaking out in the hope of helping others.Growing up in New Zealand, he said he was never meant to listen to music, watch television, wear jewellery, or dance so he would…