Author: Press Room

MetService is forecasting a “broad range of weather” including thunderstorms, heavy rain and sunny spells this week as summer officially kicks off. The forecaster said the North Island was in for “a warm and humid start, while the south will see cooler temperatures throughout”. Meteorologist Devlin Lynden said the week would begin with “comparatively settled conditions” including cloud and showers for western areas, with sunny spells elsewhere. “The likes of Gisborne and Hastings are making the most of their sunny start to the summer season, with temperatures expected to top out at 29C and 31C degrees respectively today,” he said.…

A Swiss national wiped away tears as he pleaded guilty to a careless driving charge following a fatal crash in Canterbury.A woman died following a two-vehicle crash on State Highway 73 near Sheffield on November 19.Patrick Keusch was arrested and charged with careless driving causing death, police confirmed the following day.On Monday, the 32-year-old appeared in the Christchurch District Court in front of community magistrate Sarah Steele.Defence lawyer Grant Fletcher entered a guilty plea on behalf of his client, who appeared teary-eyed on the stand.”Clearly this case is a terrible tragedy,” he said.Keusch’s bail conditions meant he was unable to…

An investigation has been launched after an Emirates A380-861 was found to have damage to two of its tyres and wheels after landing at Auckland Airport yesterday.The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) announced it had opened an inquiry into the “serious incident” involving an Emirates A380-861 aircraft arriving shortly after 11.30am on Sunday in wet weather conditions.”The reported circumstances were that the aeroplane landed during rainfall and then taxied to the parking gate. The post-flight inspection identified some damage to two of the aeroplane’s tyres and wheels,” the TAIC announcement read.No injuries were reported.Auckland Airport confirmed an incident had occurred…

Key diary dates Monday 1 December NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will meet with Denys Shmyhal, Minister of Defence of Ukraine, at NATO Headquarters in Brussels Tuesday 2 December EU Health Ministers council meeting on Critical Medicines Act Wednesday 3 December European Commission proposal of the Environmental Omnibus and the Economic Security doctrine European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) votes on migration Thursday 4 December EU Transport Ministers council meeting Friday 5 December EU Telecommunications Ministers council meeting: Conclusions on European Competitiveness in the Digital Decade In Spotlight Good morning, everyone. Peggy Corlin here reporting…

Police are investigating the theft of burial plaques from an Invercargill cemetery – including several from the graves of World War I and World War II veterans.Acting Inspector Mel Robertson said the plaques were stolen from St Johns Cemetery between October 28 and November 22.”Several of the stolen plaques were taken from the graves of Returned Service personnel who served in the First and Second World Wars, making this a particularly distressing crime for families and the wider community.”According to the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, the St John’s Cemetery in the suburb of Waikiwi included the official war graves…

A man who was taken to hospital with fractured ribs and bruised lungs was left a paraplegic after a chest drain was inserted incorrectly.The man had been admitted to Auckland City Hospital following a car crash in 2022 where, four days into his stay, he was assessed as having a build-up of fluid between the tissue lining his lungs and chest and would require surgery.Health NZ’s Chest Drain Management policy stated, unless in an emergency, all chest drains for fluid aspiration should be guided by real-time radiology imaging.However, said the request for real-time radiology imaging was not accommodated by the…

The Government has announced it wants to bar councillors from lifting rates more than 4% annually, in a move to “protect local government’s social licence”.Councils would also have a minimum rates rise level mandated for the first time, with local government instructed to keep annual rises in a modelled “target range”.A proposed initial rates rises target range would be between 2% and 4%.Local Government Minister Simon Watts said a full cap will apply from 2029, but with monitoring of rates and grounds for interventions as soon as 2027.What the Govt’s proposed rates shake-up would mean for you – Watch on…

France is one of the few European countries where poverty rates have increased over the past decade. According to the latest Eurostat data, Paris has reported an almost 2% increase since 2014 in the number of people experiencing “difficulties” or “great difficulties” in making ends meet, as the statistics institute puts it. Aside from France, over the past ten years poverty rates have risen only in northern Europe: Denmark (+2.4%), Finland (2%), Sweden (2.8%) and, outside the EU, Norway (+4.7%). Which EU countries have reduced poverty rates the most? At the same time, many Eastern and Southern European nations have…

A challenge to court orders that suppress certain details regarding the Tom Phillips case has continued today with a two-day hearing beginning in the Hamilton High Court.Stuff and NZME have made an application for a judicial review of a Family Court ruling. Media, including TVNZ, are seeking to overturn an earlier privacy injunction lodged by the Phillips family.Court imposed restrictions have limited media organisations, as well as police and Oranga Tamariki, from sharing certain information since Tom Phillips was killed in the early hours of September 8.The fugitive Marokopa father had been on the run with his three children for…

A 19-year-old man has been arrested after Customs officers found 15.17kg of methamphetamine in his luggage at Auckland International Airport.Customs said the discovery was made on Sunday, and the amount of methamphetamine discovered had a potential retail value of approximately $4.55 million.The Canadian-national appeared in the Manukau District Court this morning, charged with the importation of a Class A controlled drug.He was first identified as a risk passenger through Customs’ standard pre-arrival screening. Customs said frontline officers then questioned the man on arrival from Vancouver, Canada, and was further referred for a baggage check.Customs located approximately 15 vacuum-sealed packages hidden…