Author: Press Room

Waikato Regional Council has urged people to treat the bright orange discolouration of the Ohinemuri River as contamination.The discolouration, which appears to enter the river downstream of the Waitawheta River, was reported to the council at around 3pm today.Senior incident response officer Robert Isaac said the worst case scenario is that the discoloured water is due to a mine shaft collapse.Old mines contain many heavy metals and contaminants, he said.”Until we can ID the source we need to treat this as worst case scenario as we are getting reports of people standing in the water. If this is an old…

Friday’s ceremony was attended by representatives of the European Commission as well as the European Parliament, the diplomatic corps and several Ukrainians, many of whom wore traditional dress. ADVERTISEMENTA 30-metre long Ukrainian flag has been unfurled outside the European Commission building in Brussels to mark the country’s State Flag Day.The ceremony on Friday was attended by representatives of Commission as well as the European Parliament, the diplomatic corps and several Ukrainians, many of whom were wearing traditional dress.European Parliament Vice-President Sophie Wilmès said that she was pleased to “once again express the steadfast support of the European Parliament for Ukraine.””I…

Biosecurity New Zealand has temporarily suspended all Australian tomato imports after the detection of a virus at two South Australian growing properties.The tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) — which was first noted in the Middle East — has never been detected in New Zealand, and affects tomatoes, capsicums, and chillies. The virus caused yellowing and deformity in the host plants, but has no impact on human health.Import restrictions were placed on all tomato seeds from Australia and tomato imports from all states except Queensland yesterday by the Ministry for Primary Industries.Biosecurity NZ deputy director general Stuart Anderson said Australian…

An 11-month-old Kaitaia baby and a family member were rushed to hospital in a fire truck to save his life earlier this month. The baby’s family member said it was around 2pm on August 5 when she went to check on him and knew immediately something was wrong. “His lips started to go blue. I sorta panicked, picked him up and screamed at my sister and said he’s not breathing,” she said. They called 111 and asked for an ambulance. The operator told her to perform CPR until help arrived but the baby began having a seizure.An 11-month-old Northland baby…

A local commercial fisherman has pleaded with Fisheries New Zealand to either leave them an area to fish or buy back their quota in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.An application has been made for a mātaitai reserve to be created around Moutohorā-Whale Island and the Rurima island group which would ban commercial fishing in the area.About 50 people attended a public meeting on Wednesday night to discuss the creation of a mātaitai Reserve around Moutohorā-Whale Island and the Rurima island group.The meeting at Te Whare o Toroa Marae in Whakatāne was called by Fisheries New Zealand and Te Rūnanga o…

Those against a median barrier blocking direct access to their homes have won a small victory after the New Zealand Transport Agency decided not to install the rest of the barrier.However, Waka Kotahi said it would not remove the section of barrier already installed on State Highway 2 at Aongatete in the Western Bay of Plenty.Despite that, Kirsten Warbrooke said she was over the moon at the outcome, after years of lobbying against the barrier, which was partly installed in July.”It’s more than we asked for,” she said. “I’m in shock to be honest.”The residents banded together to fight the…

Philip Polkinghorne looked up “leg edema after strangulation” the day after his wife’s death, a court has heard.The former Auckland eye surgeon is on trial, accused of murdering his wife Pauline Hanna in 2021 and staging it as a suicide.The Crown argues Polkinghorne strangled his wife and went to great lengths to stage her death as a suicide. But his defence argues Hanna ended her life after after struggling with depression for many years.Police detective Andrew Reeves told the High Court in Auckland on Friday that Polkinghorne used the search engine Duck Duck Go to get information about strangulation on…

An archive featuring thousands of images of Māori, Pasifika, and New Zealand European rugby greats form the early 20th century is set to go under the hammer.The collection has been in foreign hands for more than a decade but is now priced to sell — with a $1 reserve.Fairfax Media sent the archive to the US to be digitised more than a decade ago, and by the time the Duncan Miller Gallery in Los Angeles purchased it, the archive was in danger of being destroyed.New Zealand Rugby Museum director Stephen Berg said to get the photos back in New Zealand,…

Authorities say the eruption’s effects remain localised with road closures but do not threaten the population. ADVERTISEMENTA volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted Thursday evening for the sixth time since December, spewing red lava through a new fissure on the Reykjanes Peninsula.The eruption began shortly after 9 pm local time (11 pm CEST) following a series of strong earthquakes and within the hour, a 4-kilometre fissure cut through the Sundhnúkur crater.Iceland authorities say the eruption’s effects remain localised with road closures but do not threaten the population.Halldór Björnsson, head of weather and climate at the Norwegian Meteorological Agency, told the Icelandic…

Several dried and cured meat products from a Christchurch-based company have been recalled due to a lack of required food safety controls, New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) has announced.Safari Meats and SA Shop Limited issued the recall of all batches of 13 dried and cured meat products, including biltong, droëwors, and chillibites.NZFS deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said the products should not be eaten.”The concern with these products is that the Christchurch-based company has produced them without the required food safety controls in place.”You can return them to the place of purchase for a refund. If that’s not possible, throw them…