Author: Press Room

A 48-year-old man has been arrested after several Wellington parking meters were damaged.Photos sent to 1News showed a number of meters with smashed solar panels.A police spokesperson said: “In relation to this, a 48-year-old man was arrested.”The man faces “numerous charges including several counts of intentional damage, common assault, and possessing a knife in a public place”, the spokesperson added.A Wellington City Council spokesperson said the council was alerted to the damage last weekend.Photos sent to 1News showed a number of meters with damaged solar panels. (Source: Luke Mansell)”The machines are solar powered, but we can monitor the performance of…

A previous international peace conference in June in Switzerland ended with 78 countries expressing support for Ukraine’s ‘territorial integrity’ but without Russia’s participation the path forward was left unclear. ADVERTISEMENTGermany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said in an interview that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agree that Russia should be included in a future peace conference aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.Scholz also called for increased efforts to resolve the conflict.”I believe that now is the moment when we must discuss how we get out of this war situation faster than the current impression is,” Scholz said, speaking to…

Crews tackling a major vegetation fire in Otago are “aiming to hit it hard today” before conditions take a turn for the worse.The fire near Tokarahi, Waitaki has burnt through more than 800 hectares of farmland, tussock and scrub.It broke out at about midday on Friday. Firefighters said yesterday afternoon that it had been contained.Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) incident commander Bobby Lamont said this morning: “We’re aiming to hit it hard today before the warmer temperatures and windier conditions forecast for tomorrow arrive.Crews at a morning briefing near the Otago fire this morning. (Source: FENZ)”Our crews of volunteers…

The EU imposed provisional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles with the European Commission maintaining that Chinese firms unfairly benefit from government subsidies, allowing them to keep their prices artificially low. ADVERTISEMENTSpain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has arrived in Beijing, the first stop of a trip to China which aims to strengthen what he considers a close bilateral political and commercial relationship.”Our aim is to maintain the political momentum of the bilateral relationship, strengthen economic and trade relations and support Spanish culture, education and science in China,” Sánchez said in a post on X.In Beijing, Sánchez will be received by China’s…

Government spending, debt, and tax revenue will all need to increase says Labour’s Chris Hipkins, though his party still hasn’t set a specific policy on how that could happen.Almost a year after his government was voted out of power, Hipkins spoke to Q+A about his party’s newfound openness to reviewing the country’s tax policy and was questioned about how Labour would govern if it returned to office in 2026.The Labour leader said a key question for any future government’s economic policy to consider will be how much the population grows, and how great a proportion of the total population moves…

By Corin Dann and Anusha Bradley of RNZ One of the richest people in the country supports paying more tax, but says the super wealthy worry the government will “squander” the money raised. Bruce Plested, the billionaire co-founder of Mainfreight, said he supported the idea of a wealth tax to help address concerns about inequities in society. “I believe I do,” he told RNZ. Plested is among the wealthiest people in the country, according to the 2024 NBR rich list, with an estimated fortune of $1.3 billion. His multinational logistics and transport company Mainfreight is one of the country’s biggest…

New Zealand’s ongoing housing crisis is fuelling high rates of rheumatic fever among Māori and Pacific peoples, says epidemiologist Dr Jason Gurney.Gurney has intensively studied the disease’s causes and has woven his family history with his research in The Twisted Chain, a new book out Wednesday. His father contracted the disease at age 14, leading to severe health complications later in life.Speaking to Q+A, the researcher, director of the Cancer and Chronic Conditions Research Group at Otago University, highlighted the long-term impacts of the disease.”By far, the biggest killer of rheumatic fever is rheumatic heart disease, which happens later in…

The Paris Paralympic Games set records with 169 participating delegations and 165 media outlets covering the event. Nearly 2.4 million tickets were sold. ADVERTISEMENTAs the Paralympic Games come to an end, Paris is hoping to leave its mark on how disability is viewed and taken into consideration.Paris Paralympic Games set multiple records including attendance of 169 delegations which is the highest number of participation compared to previous years.Another record was the media outlets that covered the event. In total 165 television channels followed the Paralympic Games and the spectators in Paris also welcomed the games with enthusiasm. Around 2.4 million…

A barge that was grounded on a Westport beach for close to a week has berthed in Nelson after being successfully refloated and towed 315km around the top of the South Island.The Westland Mineral Sands barge Manahau ran aground at Carters Beach last Saturday with 11 crew members on board.Teams freed the vessel on Friday and towed it up the West Coast, rounding Farewell Spit before the offshore towing vessel MMA Vision brought it into Tasman Bay with the support of the tug Kurutai.The Kuritai then towed the barge into Port Nelson supported by harbour tugs while the MMA Vision…

Around 4,400 athletes from 184 nations participated in the 17th edition of the Paralympics, with several records broken and many memorable moments. ADVERTISEMENTThe 2024 Paris Paralympics wrapped up an unforgettable summer of sports with an exciting two weeks of competitions and records broken till the very last day of the Games.Italian athlete proposes to girlfriend after raceItaly’s Alessandro Ossola asked her girlfriend, Arianna Mandradoni, to marry him after competing in the men’s 100 m T63 in front of 40,000 people at the Stade France. “You’re crazy!”, she first exclaimed, but then said the much-awaited “Yes!”.”Sometimes she believed in me more…