Author: Press Room

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said an explosion on a section of railway line used for deliveries to Ukraine was an “unprecedented act of sabotage”.A Polish security source told The Associated Press that authorities are investigating whether the blast on Sunday on the line linking Warsaw to southeastern Poland is connected to Russia, Belarus or their proxies.Tusk has vowed that Poland will catch the perpetrators, “whoever they are”.While visiting the site Monday, the prime minister said the incident had taken place on a line that is vital for delivering aid to Ukraine. Polish officials said they were sure an explosive…

Authorities are ramping up prevention and detection efforts in the Whanganui River after the invasive freshwater gold clam – already established in Waikato – was confirmed in Taranaki.Horizons Regional Council environmental manager Craig Davey said the Whanganui River Clam Response Group is already working to stop the destructive species from reaching local waterways.“Everything that touches the water, that includes fishing and boating gear and equipment, swimwear, even the dog, needs to be checked, cleaned and dried,” he said.Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui kaihautū/chief executive Nancy Tuaine said immediate action was needed.“We all have a role in keeping the clams out…

The Methodist Church has dissolved the Wesley College Trust Board and will launch an external review into the school’s governance amid ongoing concerns about boarder safety at the South Auckland institution.The church resolved at its conference last week to dismantle the current board structure, with findings from the review to inform how a new board will be reconstituted.The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including weather warnings back in force, a spate of suspicious fires in Dunedin, and the stoush over vegemite in prison. (Source: 1News)During the transition, Methodist Church president Te Aroha Rountree will act as the interim Wesley College…

Warnings and watches have been issued as two slow-moving fronts stall over the South Island, bringing heavy rain and possible strong winds to parts of the country over the next two days.MetService meteorologist Silvia Martino says the collision of two fronts, one from the north and one from the south, has caused them to become “stuck” over Canterbury and Westland.”This front is moving slower and slower up the West Coast, it’s not making a lot of progress, so we’ve got this rain sticking around Westland for the rest of the day,” Martino said.The northern front moving across the upper North…

British celebrities Sir Cliff Richard and Noel Edmonds have reunited in New Zealand, sharing laughs as they joked about their ages. “It’s Monday, November 17 in Wellington, and at last I get to see you again after all these years”, exclaimed Edmonds in a video shared to his Instagram account.”I know, it’s been too long, I mean, a hundred years separating us is unbelievable,” Sir Cliff joked back in the video, Edmonds went on to confirm, “It was 25 years ago that you were on my Christmas Day show… So I wanted to come and say thank you. But I…

The Chase host Bradley Walsh briefly halted the quiz show to deliver a surprise on-air announcement, marking a significant milestone for one of its biggest stars.In a recent episode of The Chase UK, contestants Nykia, Eilidh, Adam and Dave were hoping to outsmart one of the show’s world-best quizzers.Dave opened the game with an impressive £5,000 (NZ$11,600) in the cash builder before facing Mark ‘The Beast; Labbett in the head-to-head. Watch The Chase UK daily at 5pm on TVNZ1 and TVNZ+But before the round could begin, Walsh stopped proceedings.”We’ve got a special announcement to make,” he told viewers, revealing the…

The spur of the moment decision of a Christchurch man to buy a Lotto ticket for the first time in 10 years has left his family $18.3 million richer following Saturday’s record-breaking draw.The winning tickets were sold at New World Kawerau in Bay of Plenty, Pak’nSave Moorhouse in Christchurch and on MyLotto to a player from Auckland. The prizes were made up of $18,333,333 from Powerball First Division and $55,556 from Lotto First Division — totalling $18,388,889 each.The Christchurch winner said he planned to use the windfall to buy his family’s first home, help relatives with mortgages, and “do a…

The search for the body of a fisherman who went missing off the coast of Northland is to be “scaled back”, police said. The man was one of two people aboard a boat reported overdue on Friday night. An air and sea search of the coast off Pataua South was launched to find the 5m runabout, and on Saturday morning, a body and a vessel were found. Police, search and rescue crews, and the Navy spent yesterday searching a “large area” of sea and shoreline to no avail. Today, Detective Sergeant Paul Overton said police would scale back the search…

A finger-sized camera with a resolution that wouldn’t hold a candle to your average smartphone is selling out at official stockists across New Zealand. The Charmera — a nostalgic collaboration with Reto that nods to Kodak’s first single-use cameras of the ’80s — comes in seven colours (plus one “secret edition”) and clips onto belt loops or bags like a fashion accessory. Splendid, which specialises in analogue photography and operates out of Auckland, Wellington, and online, says it has sold out of hundreds of since September. Co-founder Sean Aickin says the craze blindsided them. “The Charmera kind of caught us…

For Kiwi metal heads, nothing else matters tonight other than metal stars Metallica, who will take the stage at Eden Park in Auckland. According to RNZ, the concert – alongside the World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education, the largest academic conference the country has ever held – was expected to sell out almost every hotel room in the city. An expected 55,000 concertgoers were expected to descend on Mt Eden to see the multi-Grammy award winners when the gates open at 4.30pm. The opening acts are Suicidal Tendencies and Evanescence, which start at 5.30pm. While Metallica is made up of…