Author: Press Room

Around 70 firefighters have extinguished a large blaze in a building in Auckland’s Kumeū which began late last night.A Fire and Emergency spokesperson told 1News calls were initially received at about 10pm, and the fire reached a third alarm level calling for additional firefighting crews. Speaking from the scene, Fire and Emergency assistant area commander Shaun Pilgrim said on arrival crews found a “well-established fire” in the rear part of a paint and panel shop next to a battery recycling building. Fire and Emergency were called to the commercial building in Kumeū just after 10pm. (Source: 1News)”Couldn’t tell you accurately…

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Moscow has forcefully deported over 19,500 Ukrainian children. They not only have their identities changed but also have to undergo some military education, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner tells Euronews. ADVERTISEMENTTens of thousands of Ukrainian children have been forcefully deported by Russia since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and until now, Kyiv has managed to bring back only about 1,000 of them, Ukraine’s Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets told Euronews.Moscow started its deportation campaign when it first invaded Ukraine in 2014, and Kyiv’s first recorded case of a Ukrainian child being forcefully…

Air New Zealand released its newest safety video this morning, starring Kiwi NBA player Steven Adams in the lead role.Every Point Counts is the airline’s 23rd safety video and keeps true to Air New Zealand’s tradition of using entertaining and quirky safety videos. The video depicts Adams taking on a group of Kiwi kids in a basketball game, which eventually ends with a down-to-the-wire on-court battle in a packed stadium. Alongside the Houston Rockets centre, the video also features several other notable Kiwis in various cameos. This list includes Steven’s sister, Olympic gold medallist Dame Valerie Adams.Comedian Tom Sainsbury plays…

A proposed amendment to Slovakia’s language legislation could prove a fresh setback to diplomatic relations between Bratislava and Budapest. ADVERTISEMENTA draft Slovak law that would crack down on the use of minority languages in public has raised concerns about the rights of the country’s Hungarian population.The proposed amendment to Slovakia’s existing language law states that Slovak text must appear first on public signs and advertisements, and that minority languages would be prohibited on public transport and in places such as post offices, according to local media reports. People who fall foul of the legislation would face fines of up to…

By Farah Hancock of RNZ An East Otago gold mining company, with a fast-tracked expansion project, has a poor history complying with consent conditions. An audit of OceanaGold’s Macraes mine, completed in October by the Otago Regional Council, found “continued or repeated non-compliances” with several resource consent environmental monitoring conditions between 2019 and 2024. It also found a trend of declining aquatic health in the surrounding ecosystem, but did not deem this a breach by itself. The council did not take enforcement action against the company, which said it was working proactively with the council to improve compliance. The East…

Angela has spent most of this year looking for work.She had a fixed-term contract that expired in June, but started to look for her next move in January, knowing the end-date was approaching.The 46-year-old, who has worked since she was 16, specialises in the arts and culture sector and has a master’s degree.She broadened her search this year to other industries and estimates she applied for about 70 roles across project management, communications and engagement positions with not-for-profits and other organisations.Recruitment sites showed there were hundreds of other applicants for the roles. There were almost 1000 for an operations co-ordinator…

In Charente-Maritime, France, rising child cancer cases are suspected to be linked to pesticide exposure. Local residents are pushing for stricter national and EU regulations on pesticide use. ADVERTISEMENTThey are invisible, but traces of them can be found everywhere: in our food, in plants, in the soil, in groundwater, in the air and in our bodies.These are pesticide residues. Europe is one of the world’s biggest consumers of them, and the leading exporter.The risks they pose to the environment, and to animal and human health, are at the heart of a vigorous debate, particularly as regards their intensive use in…

An investigation has been launched following a “suspicious” house fire in Hastings early this morning. Emergency services were called to the fire at a vacant house on Lowe Street at about 3am today. “Initial enquiries suggest people were seen running away from the house a short time before,” police said. Police wanted to hear from anyone living on Lowe Street who might have CCTV footage that could help with the investigation. “We’d also like to hear from anyone who heard or saw something which might be relevant, who has not yet spoken to us.”Anyone with information was asked to update…

The European Commission is proposing a voluntary single digital portal for companies posting workers to another member state to provide cross-border services. Stakeholders are divided over its ‘added value’. ADVERTISEMENTThe European Commission on Wednesday proposed an initiative to cut red tape, reduce administrative delays and harmonise different national requirements for companies that temporarily post workers to another member state to provide a service.   The initiative will introduce both a single digital portal and a standard electronic posting declaration to facilitate the cross-border provision of services by some five million posted workers in the single market.   “The proposal will reduce one…

One NZ is facing criminal charges over claims made in its ‘100% mobile coverage’ advertising campaign that the Commerce Commission says may have breached the Fair Trading Act.It related to an advertising campaign to promote a proposed future satellite direct-to-cell mobile phone service in collaboration with Space X. The country’s second biggest telecommunications company, One NZ, formerly Vodafone, was asked by the Commission to stop the high-profile 100% mobile coverage advertising campaign last year.Commerce Commission deputy chairperson Anne Callinan said the Commission has now filed criminal charges. It said headline representations made during the campaign could be “misleading and distort…