Author: Press Room

A multi-tonne truck that rolled off a narrow, winding road and down a bank in Wellington’s Aro Valley has been successfully rescued.The multi-tonne truck crashed down a bank on Thursday morning and landed only metres from occupied homes.Two huge cranes were brought in to salvage the wreck on Friday.Residents parked up to watch the retrieval throughout the morning.The truck was being held in place by a cable before it could be raised up the bank.Mortimer Terrace was closed overnight, with cordons in place, and 10 residents were evacuated because of the risk the truck might fall on them.A multi-tonne truck…

Hugh Grant hated his character in Notting Hill.In the 1999 rom-com, the actor played bumbling bookstore owner William Thacker who falls in love with a movie star played by Julia Roberts but Grant has labelled him “despicable” for the way he treated the actress throughout the movie.Speaking as part of Vanity Fair’s Scene Selection, Grant explained: “Whenever I’m flicking the channels at home after a few drinks and this comes up, I just think, ‘Why doesn’t my character have any balls?'”There’s a scene in this film where she’s in my house and the paps come to the front door and…

The suspension of Parliamentary proceedings following a haka led by Te Pāti Māori during debate on the Treaty Principles Bill on Thursday has gained international attention.Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, who started the haka, was suspended from the House, while Labour MP Willie Jackson was booted from the debating chamber after he called ACT leader David Seymour a “liar”.The Bill passed its first reading and will head to a select committee before it is voted on again in six months. The legislation, which was part of the Coalition Government deal, is not expected to go any further than that…

Parliamentary confirmation of Ursula von der Leyen’s new team of Commissioners has spiralled into a political drama, threatening to delay the start of the new EU executive. ADVERTISEMENTConfirmation hearings for the 26 commissioners-designate saw intense backroom negotiations between party leaders this week, exposing fractures and potential reform of the parliamentary majority that ushered in Ursula von der Leyen as president of the EU executive in July.Most expected the formal approval process of the Commissioners-designate to wrap up following this week’s ‘Super Tuesday’ hearings, which saw MEPs question the six candidates for vice-president (VP) positions.Party rivalries, strategic vetoes, and retaliations have led to a deadlock,…

A crew of volunteer firefighters has encountered “every first responder’s worst nightmare” after arriving at a car crash to find their own family members were involved.Himatangi Beach Volunteer Fire Brigade, near Palmerston North, was called to the crash on Monday at 5.29pm, when that “nightmare became a reality”.”One of the vehicles involved belonged to Dianne, who is the wife of our Chief Fire Officer, and the mother of two of our brigade members. All three members were on the first arriving truck at the scene,” a post on its social media page read.”For all of you who were on the…

By Jonathan A. Greenblatt – CEO and National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews. In October 2021, the European Commission called on all member states to develop national strategies against antisemitism.  However, three years later, the Belgian Federal Government still has failed to answer this call. The inertia is indefensible. ADVERTISEMENTThis past week has been marked by alarming and unacceptable violence against Jews across Europe that seems like a flashback to Europe of the last century.In Amsterdam, a…

A driver has received minor injuries in a crash which left a car on its side next to a house in Auckland’s Remuera this afternoon.The crash, which saw firefighters free the driver from the car, occurred on Combes Rd at around 1.30pm, police said.St John responded to the incident with one ambulance and assessed and treated one patient in a minor condition, a spokesperson said.A tow truck responds after a car ends up on its side next to a Remuera home. (Source: 1News)Fire and Emergency New Zealand said it responded with two fire engines and a heavy rescue engine from…

EU prosecutors are investigating eight individuals and two companies in Croatia over alleged bribery, abuse of authority and money laundering. ADVERTISEMENTCroatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has fired Health Minister Vili Beroš after he was arrested on suspicion of corruption as part of a European Union investigation.Eight individuals — including Beroš and the directors of two hospitals in the capital Zagreb — and two companies are suspected of “accepting and giving bribes, abuse of position and authority and money laundering,” the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said in a statement on Friday. Speaking at a press conference on Friday after Croatia’s…

They are both Dunedin born and bred. And now Katie Gotlieb and Max Meffan have forged award-winning careers in the city while working on multimillion-dollar international projects for their employer Farra Engineering. Ms Gotlieb, 25, was recently named joint runner-up in the Steel Construction New Zealand (SCNZ) young achiever of the year award, while Mr Meffan was highly commended in the SCNZ apprentice of the year. Farra’s nomination for Ms Gotlieb described her as an ‘‘incredibly capable young woman’’ excelling in the field of engineering in construction. Her career to date at Farra as a project engineer in the design and innovation team had been an exciting one. As a graduate engineer, the company would have…

A former Tipene Funerals undertaker alleged to have mishandled human remains has pleaded not guilty in the District Court at Auckland this afternoon. Fiona Bakulich, 48, first appeared in court in October, where she faced 10 charges in total. One was a charge of misconduct in respect of human remains, while nine others related to obtaining by deception — which court records show amounted to more than $15,000. Bakulich was released on bail at her first court appearance. Her arrest followed a multi-month police investigation into “concerns around burials at Waikumete Cemetery” in Glen Eden.Today, before Judge Peter Winter, her…