Author: Press Room

On Monday, an eye-catching retail store will open its doors in the Waitaki Valley town of Kurow. Business and rural editor Sally Rae catches up with Whistle & Pop founder Bex Hayman. Queen St, Lambton Quay, George St — Bledisloe St? “We’re on the high street of Kurow,” Whistle & Pop founder Bex Hayman exclaims with a wide smile, as she prepares to open her rural-themed jewellery and accessories retail store on Monday. It might seem a brave move given the economic climate, let alone in a small rural town arguably better known historically for being the ‘hood of All Blacks…

“Bias” and “structural racism” within the police are partly why Māori men are more likely to be stopped, prosecuted and tasered, a two-year investigation has found.The report – Understanding Police Delivery – which has just been released presents key results from the first phase of an inquiry into “equity and fairness” in policing.It was announced by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster in March 2021 after RNZ revealed police officers in many regions were systematically stopping and photographing rangatahi Māori on the street for a national database.One of its key findings was that physical appearance – including size, gender, age and ethnicity…

The war in Ukraine has dominated the political discussion ahead of three east German state elections in September. Both far-left and far-right parties are demanding negotiations with Russia and the halting of weapons deliveries to Ukraine. Can they affect Germany’s foreign policies? ADVERTISEMENT”Peace, freedom, no war.” These are the types of slogans that ring out across the quaint cobbledstone old towns dotted around eastern Germany. The average age range of those carrying flags adorned with “peace” and “our country first” is around 60. But many of these protests also have darker undertones and echoes of anti-democratic values. Some in a…

ASB has made cuts to its home loan rates again, continuing a recent trend in the sector.Effective from today, the bank lowered all of its fixed mortgage rates.”The two-year rate will drop to a market leading 5.89%,” the bank said in a statement.”The 18-month rate will drop 16 basis points to 5.99%, while the three- and four-year rates drop 10 basis points to 5.79%.”ASB’s five-year rate drops 20 basis points to 5.69%.”The one-year rate drops 14 basis points to 6.45%, and the six-month rate is reduced slightly to 6.85%.”Those rates applied to customers with minimum 20% deposit.ASB also lowered a…

Russia is more focused on pushing towards Porkrovsk in the east, as Ukrainian forces withdrew from some positions in the area. ADVERTISEMENTThe Russian military has recently moved units from at least one airborne (VDV) regiment from the western Zaporizhzhia region to the Kursk region in response to Ukraine’s recent incursion. This move, which also includes redeployments from the northern Kharkiv region, is seen as an effort to stabilise the front lines and improve command and control over Russian conscripts.Karolina Hird, Russia Deputy Team Lead at the Institute for the Study of War, commented on the situation: “These are not considered…

A secondary school principal says some Auckland schools are experiencing a “massive spike” in the number of students being fraudulently enrolled — with some parents going to great lengths to attempt to cheat the system.The issue was recently highlighted at Auckland’s Macleans College, where nine students in the last year were reportedly kicked out after it was discovered they had been fraudulently enrolled.The NZ Herald reported the discrepancies were discovered after the school decided to do a “blanket request” for power bills to verify the addresses of the roughly 700 students enrolled since July last year.Secondary principals’ association president Vaughan…

Their performances, CDs and gadgets are helping to buy medical kits for Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline. ADVERTISEMENTAs Ukraine remains engaged in Kursk and other battlegrounds, a Czech-based choir is helping buy essential products to support soldiers on the frontline.The group is based in Litomyl and it’s called Sonjasnyk, which means “sunflower”.Members are both locals and Ukrainians. They set up the choir in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in February 2022.They released a Compact Disc called “Still a Little While, Ukraine Hold Still a Little While”. Singer and composer Pavel Helan says the choir wants to help…

Female politicians fear a normalised “toxic environment” of gendered abuse is stopping women from wanting a seat at the decision-making table.Now, National Party deputy leader and Finance Minister Nicola Willis is calling for people to join her in “belittling the trolls” as she shares a message for an online harasser: “Stuff off.”Willis spoke at a gathering for women in local government ahead of the LGNZ SuperLocal conference yesterday.She announced the Ministry for Women was working with Netsafe on a toolkit for workplaces supporting women in leadership positions, including for local council candidates.Willis said gendered harassment had become normalised, and provided…

Efforts to form a government in Belgium are at a deadlock after the negotiator appointed by the Royal Palace to build a coalition from the five parties that won in the June general election has stepped down. ADVERTISEMENTEfforts to form a Belgian government have stalled as the politician appointed to reach consensus for a government coalition resigned from the mandate on Thursday.Belgian politician Bart De Wever led the Flemish nationalist party, New Flemish Alliance, that won the most votes at the recent June general election, and was appointed the position of “formateur” to find consensus. Flemish media reports that before…

Transpower has announced it will bring forward the ability of generators to access water storage to alleviate risks to the power supply because of historically low lake levels.The decision was announced on Thursday morning.Transpower said hydro storage was at just 55%, among the lowest levels in around 90 years of historic records.Executive general manager of operations Chantelle Bramley said the decision was largely supported by industry and will allow generators to access contingent storage at Lakes Tekapo, Pūkaki, and Hāwea if what is called a security of supply alert status is triggered.Transpower wanted to increase the buffer applied in calculating…