Author: Press Room

A severely overgrown sheep has been rescued from an Auckland lifestyle block after being found carrying nearly 6kg of matted wool.The ewe, dubbed Fiona in a nod to the world famous Shrek whose 27kg fleece once made global headlines, had been abandoned at the property for two years.She was struggling under the weight of an overgrown fleece that was matted and caked with dirt, faeces, and insects.The fleece removed from Fiona weighed 5.95kg. (Source: SPCA)SPCA inspector Amanda said the ewe was clearly uncomfortable and overheating when she arrived at the SPCA’s Māngere Centre. Staff provided food, water, and shelter before…

Repairs will finally begin on the Tinwald Viaduct in Canterbury next week, almost four months after it was closed due to damage.The country’s most hit rail bridge was damaged after being struck by an excavator being towed on a trailer on June 30.It was temporarily closed to traffic on July 29.KiwiRail said contractors will begin the repairs to the damaged wooden impact beams from December 1-19.The viaduct, located under the main south railway line, has a clearance height of 2.39m.It gets hit at least 13 times a year, according to KiwiRail.The closure, requested by KiwiRail, was to avoid further damage…

The Estonian start-up DefSecIntel has developed a mobile radar system that detects enemy combat drones. For this, the company received the innovation prize at the Milipol security technology trade fair in Paris. The idea for a drone defence wall on the EU’s external border also comes from DefSecIntel CEO Jaanus Tamm: “This will allow us to intercept drones in the border region. It is a networked platform of systems mounted on trailers or minivans.” DefSecIntel has entered into a cooperation agreement with the Latvian drone manufacturer Origin Robotics. The central element is the Blaze interceptor drone, which is already in…

A Manawatū man has been sentenced to six months in prison after one of his horses died from starvation and two others were found severely malnourished and without adequate shelter.He was sentenced today in the Palmerston North District Court on five animal welfare charges relating to the three horses he kept on his Ohakune property. SPCA said it began investigating after receiving a photograph of a horse lying dead in a paddock, along with a claim that two others were thin and without feed in August 2021. Inspectors visited the property and found a six-year-old bay thoroughbred mare, Mad About…

Auckland’s long-awaited City Rail Link will now not arrive for passengers until the second half of 2026, the Government and Auckland Council have confirmed.The $5.5 billion project, the largest transport infrastructure development in New Zealand’s history, consists of twin 3.45km tunnels linking renovated stations at Waitematā (Britomart) and Maungawhau (Mount Eden), plus two new underground stations at Te Waihorotiu in midtown and Karangahape Rd.The City Rail Link was expected to double the network’s capacity, slash travel times and redraw the supercity’s rail lines.In a joint statement today, Transport Minister Chris Bishop, Minister for Auckland Simeon Brown, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown…

Brussels will relax “strict” state aid rules and provide EU funding to help member states increase affordable housing, Dan Jørgensen, the first-ever European Commissioner for Housing, said on Euronews’ flagship interview programme, The Europe Conversation. “These rules refer to where the state can actually go in and support the building of new affordable housing or social housing,” Jørgensen explained. “We have to admit that in the situation that we’re in now and the way the rules are now, they are way too strict,” he added. “So, we need to transform them.” The EU Treaty prohibits state aid unless it is…

A judicial review has been filed by the mother of Kaoss Price, challenging the police investigation into the 22-year-old’s fatal shooting near New Plymouth in 2022. Price was killed by police gunfire on the evening of April 16, 2022. He had been driving in convoy with another vehicle along State Highway 3 between New Plymouth and Waitara in Taranaki.The young father had attempted to flee a routine traffic stop, driving dangerously and ramming a police car, shunting it off the road. He then tried to carjack “a number of vehicles” before being shot at six times on three occasions. He…

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will visit Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, breaking with a near-consensus among European leaders that more pressure must be applied on Moscow through sanctions and isolation to end the war in Ukraine. The meeting comes as Europeans work to sway the Trump administration to negotiate a peace settlement that ensures Kyiv’s sovereignty after a controversial plan shaped by Russian and US diplomats was leaked last week. It proposed sweeping concessions from Ukraine on its territory and the army, while shutting Ukrainian and European leaders out of negotiations entirely. The plan has since been tweaked…

Some councillors will be able to access allowances of up to $5500 to beef up their home security.The Remuneration Authority, which sets the rules around councillor pay and allowances nationally, has made the claim possible following incidents of abuse, harassment and threats against lawmakers.For the first time, elected members can receive up to $4500 to buy and install home security equipment, plus $1000 each year to cover monitoring, call-outs, and repairs.Hastings District Council Mayor Wendy Schollum said introducing security support, similar to what MPs already have, was a Remuneration Authority decision.”Our job is to decide the criteria around when it…

The European Union must move forward with a plan to use the Russian frozen assets to finance Ukraine with a reparation loan immediately, the EU’s ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová told Euronews in an interview on its flagship morning TV show Europe Today. The EU is looking for ways to keep Kyiv afloat and provide a constant funding line to pay for its military and budget needs next year and 2027. The Commission has pitched an unprecedented plan to convert the Russian frozen assets into a reparations loan for Ukraine. The Belgian government holds the key as the host of…