Author: Press Room

ADVERTISEMENTUS President Donald Trump’s billionaire advisor Elon Musk said on Saturday he hopes in the US and Europe could eventually establish “a very close, stronger partnership” and reach a “zero-tariff zone situation.”Musk was speaking via video link the party congress of Italian far-right party League, which is in a ruling coalition led by Premier Giorgia Meloni. “I hope it is agreed that both Europe and the United States should move, ideally, in my view, to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America,” Musk told Matteo Salvini, the LEGA party leader, via video conference.Musk…

Inland Revenue (IR) released an issues paper on reform of the FBT regime on April 1, the 40th anniversary of the regime’s introduction. The purpose of the FBT regime is to tax non-cash benefits employers provide to employees in substitution for monetary remuneration. It places a value on the likes of an employer-provided motor vehicle or health insurance and imposes tax on that value which the employer pays. The paper focuses on reducing complexity and ensuring the regime is better targeted on benefits received in substitution for monetary remuneration. The intention is a reduction in complexity will result in lower…

Rotorua’s wallaby war is ramping up as the pest continues to ravage native forests, forcing iwi and businesses to take matters into their own hands.Control efforts were increased a few years ago in the Bay of Plenty, but there are calls for more urgent work as some say the region is close to “environmental collapse”.“A lot of this this bush here is on life support … our bush here in Te Arawa needs to be resuscitated,” Charles Te Kowhai from Te Arawa Wallaby Control Kāhui told 1News.“It’s an emergency response.”Te Arawa Wallaby Control Kāhui is an iwi-led initiative battling to…

One person has died after a glider crashed in Hastings this afternoon.Emergency services were alerted to the crash on Valentine Rd at around 12.15pm.”Sadly, despite best efforts by emergency services, the sole occupant died at the scene,” police said.St John said it sent one rapid response unit to the scene.The Civil Aviation Authority had been notified of the incident involving a glider, it said in a statement.”We are working alongside emergency services and have investigators travelling to the scene. In the coming days our focus will be on understanding what happened and why.”

Parliament’s health select committee has been hearing submissions on the Government’s Gene Technology Bill which would change genetic modification laws.Also known as genetic engineering or genetic modification, genetic technologies have been used since the 1970s to better understand how genes influence the development of a wide variety of organisms.Then Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins announced last August that legislation to end New Zealand’s nearly 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab in a move she said would bring “health, productivity and climate gains for New Zealanders”.The purpose of the Gene Technology Bill is to “enable the safe…

ADVERTISEMENTPope Francis made a surprise appearance in Se. Peter’s Aquare on Sunday morning during a special Jubilee Mass for the sick.The pontiff, who was rolled into the square on a wheelchair, was making his first public appearance at the Vatican since being released from hospital two weeks earlier.As he made his way to the altar at the square, he waved at the crowd. “Good Sunday to everyone” said, the pope. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”The pope’s voice sounded louder and stronger than when he spoke outside Gemelli hospital on 23 March, the day of his release. He…

Parts of Taranaki, Waikato and Auckland could be hit by squally thunderstorms tonight as a low moves in from the Tasman Sea.MetService said there is a high risk of squally thunderstorms tonight for Taranaki, Waitomo, western Waikato and about the Manukau Heads.”These thunderstorms may bring localised heavy rain with intensities of 10 to 20 mm per hour and hail of 5 to 15 mm diameter. Strong wind gusts of 90 to 110 km/h are possible and there is a low risk that some of these thunderstorms will be severe with wind gusts above 110 km/h and a chance of small…

Term deposit interest rates have fallen, and one fund manager says it’s encouraging people to look at what other options might be available.The average rate for a one-year term deposit, according to the Reserve Bank, has fallen from almost 6.1% at the peak to about 4.3%.Reserve Bank data showed the number of term deposits fell between November 2024 and February although the amount invested increased marginally.Dean Anderson, founder of Kernel Wealth, said many savers were not seeing value in locking their money away in a term deposit at present.Some were turning to cash funds from fund managers instead, he said,…

Toitū Te Tiriti organiser Eru Kapa-Kingi says his movement is about “heart and mind change” more than legislative change, after being pressed about details of proposals floated by activists, such as a Māori Parliament.The organiser has previously stood as a candidate for Te Pati Māori, which has proposed a Māori Parliament. Activists have floated ideas of other tangata whenua-led institutions. Kapa-Kingi helped lead last year’s unprecedented hīkoi against the Government’s Treaty Principles Bill, which saw tens of thousands march on Parliament. But speaking to Q+A today, he said thinking “outside of a Wellington paradigm” as he was asked how he…

Most people spend money on things they think they probably shouldn’t.Maybe it’s a coffee on the way to work that you could have made at home, or a new pair of shoes you didn’t really need, bought because they were on sale.Here are 10 things that experts say could be a waste of money.Regular tech upgrades: Marketing expert Bodo Lang, from Massey University, said a lot of people wasted money by “upgrading” their phones every year or two. “Typically, the differences between old and new models are minor and, unless the old mobile phone has developed some fault or is…