Author: Press Room

Police say a Northland woman died due to foul play and are appealing to the public to help locate items of clothing and for sightings of two vehicles.Joanna Mai Sione-Lauaki, known as Jo, was found dead by a member of the public between Omamari Beach and Aranga Beach on August 2.Her vehicle — a black Mitsubishi Outlander — was located at the Omamari Beach carpark near the public toilets.1News understands that police were called after she texted the word “help” to her husband the night before her body was found.Detective Inspector Alan Symonds said the investigation team has been working…

They were responding to a call from a far-left party leader who criticised as a power grab the president’s appointment of a right wing prime minister. ADVERTISEMENTThousands of protesters took to the streets across France on Saturday, responding to a call from a far-left party leader who criticised the president’s appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier as a power grab.The protests are a direct challenge to President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to bypass a prime minister from the far-left bloc following a deeply dividing legislative election in July. The left, particularly the France Unbowed party, views Barnier’s conservative…

UFC star Israel Adesanya says he was racially abused and challenged by a member of the public to a fight in a heated argument in Central Auckland earlier this week.Footage shared to social media shows the MMA star in an exchange with an unidentified man who he said tried to provoke him into a confrontation.In a statement to 1News, the 35-year-old said he was leaving a café on Karangahape Rd on Wednesday when a car slowed and an occupant began racially abusing him and challenging him to a fight.Adesanya said he was “extremely disappointed” in the incident.”We have been in…

A barge stuck on a Westport beach for almost a week is finally on the move again today. The Westland Mineral Sands barge Manahau ran aground at Carters Beach over the weekend with 11 crew on board. Teams had worked since Sunday on preparations for freeing the Niue-flagged vessel.Salvage operations kicked off this morning, with a helicopter dropping a tow rope to the tug vessel.The rope was then attached to the Manahau — and shortly before midday, the tugging began.The Westland Mineral Sands barge Manahau ran aground over the weekend – and it’s finally on the move again today. (Source:…

A structure housing an underwater observatory in Milford Sound’s Harrison Cove has been partially submerged after a “significant weather event”.Earlier this week, “multiple strong fronts” impacted the region over a two-day period.Southern Discoveries, who runs the observatory, said these conditions caused damage to its main building.The structure of the observatory consists of five interconnected pontoon networks. Initial assessments of its condition show the underwater chamber and kayaking pontoon “are unaffected”, however, the main reception area pontoon has “partially submerged”.”The main docking pontoon and generator pontoon are visibly leaning.””The observatory was closed for scheduled maintenance at the time. No staff, contractors,…

A Southland man has been sentenced to three months community detention and banned from owning dogs for 10 years after he was caught on camera kicking and throwing his dog.Warning: This article includes details that may be upsetting.The offender was seen kicking and throwing his brown and white male bull terrier named Klanga in August 2022.The loud screaming and yelping sounds alerted a member of the public who captured the offender’s actions on security cameras fixed to his business.In the footage, Klanga was picked up by his right leg and thrown to the ground before being kicked in his hip…

A star defence witness in the Philip Polkinghorne trial says there is no evidence to support Pauline Hanna was strangled to death.Warning: This article contains content that could be disturbing to some people.Pathologist Professor Stephen Cordner, from Australia, is continuing to give evidence at the High Court in Auckland.He has a long history of high-level appointments and top recognitions.”What would you say the cause of death is,” he was asked by defence lawyer Ron Mansfield.”The findings support hanging,” Cordner said, adding there’s no finding that can support a killing from manual or ligature strangulation.Cordner was called in by the defence…

Police say a shooting where a man was killed and three others were seriously injured in Auckland’s Grey Lynn last night was an escalation of an “ongoing neighbourhood dispute” between two groups.Armed officers were called to an address on Tuarangi Rd after multiple 111 calls reported a “firearm being discharged” shortly before 7pm.Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said a man was located with critical injuries at the scene.”Despite efforts of those at the scene, he succumbed to his injuries.”Two people presented at Auckland City Hospital with gunshot wounds, and a third man was brought to the Auckland Central Police Station to…

Three men have been arrested in relation to the murder of 55-year-old Sidney ‘Ross’ Bridson late last year. Ross, a father of four, was found dead after a suspicious house fire on Waitaanga Road on October 11, 2023.The home was extensively damaged prior to the arrival of emergency services and his body was later located at the scene. The post mortem examination determined the cause of death was due to a gunshot wound, prompting a homicide investigation.In an update today — nearly a year since the house fire — Detective Senior Sergeant Gerard Bouterey said a 25-year-old man was arrested…

It’s the most widely played sport at secondary school, but netball had humble beginnings. Initially, the sport was known as basketball, and players used actual baskets borrowed from homes and schools.A new Auckland War Memorial Museum exhibition showcases 100 years of netball in New Zealand. As Seven Sharp reporter Mary-Jane Aggett discovered, the retrospective is about more than photos and memorabilia.Our Game: A Century of Netball in Aotearoa New Zealand tells the story of the grit and determination of a few and a community of volunteers who made netball what it is today. The museum partnered with Netball New Zealand…