Author: Press Room
Donald Trump’s threat to use military force to annex Greenland has been met with a timid response by the European Commission. ADVERTISEMENTThe European Commission has fallen short of rebuking Donald Trump for threatening the territorial integrity of Denmark, a member of the European Union, after the American president-elect refused to rule out the possibility of employing military force to take control of Greenland, an autonomous territory that belongs to the Kingdom of Denmark.Instead, the Commission tiptoed over the dispute by invoking general principles of action and avoiding any words of condemnation, in a similar vein to what it has done…
A digger has damaged the main fibre cable between Whangārei and Dargaville, leaving thousands of homes and businesses in the Kaipara District without internet since 8am.A Northpower spokesperson said the Spark-owned cable supplied broadband to all customers in Dargaville, Ruawai, Paparoa and Maungaturoto.More than 2070 customers were affected, with many businesses forced to close or switch to cash-only transactions.Northpower said the damage was caused by a digger pulling up the main fibre cable.Dargaville resident Rose Dixon said there were huge queues at the town’s supermarket because Eftpos was down and customers without sufficient cash had to fill in credit notes…
Work to unblock a sewage pipe in Gisborne has stalled due to heavy rain.Contractors have been working to clear pipes in the suburb of Mangapapa after garden waste was dumped into a manhole, forcing the council to open an overflow valve into the Taruheru River.A ban on swimming and fishing in the town’s rivers and beaches was in place over the past two days, and was expected to last for a further three days.A spokesperson from Gisborne District Council said their crew had located the blockage, but had to abandon work due to the conditions.The sewer was now in flood…
A Hawke’s Bay crayfisher who had a near-deadly encounter with a stingray has been reunited with the medical crew who saved his life. Meeting today with the helicopter team who helped him, Eli Carroll recounted the harrowing moment yesterday while he was checking his crayfish pots at Aohanga in the Tararua District.Attending Hawke’s Bay Rescue Helicopter medic Heath Gillot said it was a lucky and very close escape after the 11cm barb pierced both of the fisherman’s legs in knee-deep murky water.”The stingray got him in both his legs, left and right on the inner thigh, missing his femoral artery…
A serious two-vehicle crash that has reportedly injured five people has closed part of State Highway 1 in South Waikato this morning.In a statement, police said emergency services were alerted to the crash at Pairere, about 5.30am. “Five people are reported to have serious injuries,” a police spokesperson said. State Highway 1 is blocked between Horahora Road and Paparamu Road and traffic management is being arranged.Fire and Emergency told 1News it received a call about a vehicle collision, and arrived to find three people trapped in one vehicle. Crews from Putaruru and Tirau were working to extract them from the…
Emmanuel Macron said the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is not working and that several countries are breaking away from it, but in Geneva European Trade Commissioner Maroš Sefcovic renewed the EU’s commitment to multilateral world trade rules. ADVERTISEMENTEuropean Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič underscored EU commitment to World Trade Organization rules during a visit to the body in Geneva on Tuesday, brushing aside scepticism about adherence to the body’s rules expressed earlier this week by French President Emmanuel Macron.“We are committed to the proper functioning and revitalisation of the World Trade Organisation,” he said before meeting director-general of the WTO Ngozi…
A migrant worker has died after falling from a height while using a scissor lift at work in late December.Jun Jiang, 37, had been put on life support by doctors after surgery following a fall at Auckland company SD Aluminium on December 28.His life support was switched off at 5pm on Tuesday, with Jiang passing away at Auckland City Hospital three hours later.Jiang came to New Zealand from Jiangsu, China, on an accredited employer work visa in late 2022.His wife, Jia Fan, later joined her husband on a partner visa with their 8-year-old daughter.On December 28, Fan received a telephone…
A council has removed tree branches allowing a rope swing to be hung over at a popular summer cool-off waterfall in Hawke’s Bay because swinging into the pool below has been deemed too risky.Miriam Wilkinson and her family visit Maraetotara Falls three to four times a week during summer.“The kids love it. It’s a beautiful spot and they love swinging from the rope into the water below,” Wilkinson said.However, the family was astounded to discover a couple of weeks before Christmas that some branches of the large tree hanging over the water, along with a rope swing used to dive…
The centre-right Austrian People’s Party is currently negotiating with the far-right Freedom Party to establish a coalition government in Austria. ADVERTISEMENTWhat implications would Herbert Kickl’s rise to Austria’s chancellorship, as the leader of the Eurosceptic, anti-immigration, and pro-Russian Freedom Party, have for Brussels and the European Union?Today Radio Schuman answers this question with centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) MEP Reinhold Lopatka.After the resignation of Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and the collapse of centrist coalition talks, President Alexander Van der Bellen has tasked Herbert Kickl, leader of the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), with forming a new government. The FPÖ, which won…
Charges are being considered for a motorist who allegedly drove through a cordoned-off crash scene in Waikato this morning on State Highway 1.Police said the crash occurred at about 5.30am at Piarere between Horahora and Paparamu roads.Five people were injured, including two critically and three seriously. The highway was then closed by the Serious Crash Unit for a scene examination.At 9.30am, as police were still working at the scene, a car transporter and trailer wwas allegedly driven around workers at two cordons and then through the crash scene.Police said an officer was “forced to jump out of the way” as…