Author: Press Room

A large scrub fire that broke out near a busy road in Auckland’s Silverdale this afternoon has been put out. A Fire and Emergency spokesperson told 1News it received multiple calls to a large scrub fire at on the Hibiscus Coast Highway shortly before 2pm this afternoon.At its peak, there were five trucks, one tanker and two support units in attendance. The spokesperson said the bush and grass blaze was approximately 200m by 30m, but has since been extinguished. A fire investigator attended the scene, and has since left, the spokesperson said. Photos shared with 1News taken earlier this afternoon…

An alcohol ban will return for the streets of Renwick during next year’s Marlborough Wine & Food Festival and there’s talks of the ban becoming permanent.The ban was first launched at the 2024 festival in February after a request from police.At a full council meeting on December 12, solicitor Claudia Mark talked the council through a renewal of its Alcohol Control Bylaw which had recently been reviewed.The review found the bylaw was the best way to deal with alcohol consumption in public places, Mark said, as there were already permanent alcohol bans for central Blenheim and Picton.”It has been very…

A person was flown to hospital in a serious condition today after a motorcycle accident at Woodhill Forest in Auckland’s Muriwai. Maritime New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre told 1News it was coordinating the rescue of a male motorcyclist from the Woodhill Forest area, following the activation of a personal locator beacon just before 11am. Auckland Rescue helicopter said a crew was sent to Woodhill to find a male patient suffering “multiple injuries from a motorcycle accident”. One patient in a serious condition was airlifted to Middlemore Hospital. (Source: Auckland Rescue)Hato Hone St John confirmed the patient was flown to Middlemore…

Drug testing services are warning recreational drug users of synthetic opioids and cathinones — just as summer parties and festivals kick into gear.Illicit party drugs such as MDMA were often imported here illegally from Europe, but that distance meant supply here could be unreliable and more dangerous.Meanwhile, testing service Know Your Stuff has confirmed it wouldn’t return to at least seven events these holidays, where lagging ticket sales have cut budgets for some onsite drug checks.The service set up stations at more than 170 events last year, where staff took testing faciltities to as many parts of the country as…

When Russia takes Ukrainian children from their homes and families, Ukrainian mothers have no other choice but to risk their lives trying to bring their kids back, even if that means weeks of travel through Russia and days-long FSB interrogations Otherwise, entire generations might be lost forever. ADVERTISEMENTWhen Russian forces occupied Kherson in the early days of the full-scale invasion in 2022, Moscow troops soon started targeting Ukrainian children. Tetyana Bodak from Kherson is raising eight children. When the city was under occupation, she did her best to protect them from the Russian troops, resisting as long as she could and not…

Champion New Zealand jockey Opie Bosson has announced his retirement from race riding in a statement online today.Bosson shared the “personal news” in a post to social media platform X, formerly Twitter.”I’m retiring from riding today,” he wrote.”Thanks all the owners, trainers and public who have supported me over the past 30 years.”Bosson said he’s had an “incredibly rewarding career”, but the time was right to move on.Manager Aidan Rodley said Bosson’s journey in racing began under the guidance of his godfather, Stephen Autridge, where he started as an apprentice.”His race-day debut came at just 15 years old, riding Comette…

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was requested to dissolve parliament by Chancellor Olaf Scholz after the leader’s ruling coalition collapsed. ADVERTISEMENTGermany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced on Friday he has agreed to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s request to dissolve parliament and has set 23 February as the date for the new elections.Steinmeier was widely expected to adhere to the date pre-agreed upon by Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the country’s main opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The president’s decision means that Germans will head to the polls in February, a date pulled forward significantly after the ruling coalition’s government collapsed,…

There are concerns police have misused a new gang patch ban law after a 12-year-old boy was questioned on Christmas Day for wearing a boxing gym t-shirt, featuring elements of the Black Power logo. The boy was walking to a friend’s house on Wednesday when officers, earlier responding to a medical event across the road, approached him. They told the 12-year-old they were allowed to confiscate his t-shirt, which displayed the logo of his boxing gym. A boy holds a shirt from the Kia Kaha Boxing Club in Mt Wellington. (Source: 1News)The gym, Kia Kaha Boxing Club, is associated with…

More people than ever before were called to the ballot boxes in 2024, as democracies worldwide raised their guard against information manipulation. ADVERTISEMENTAn estimated 3.7 billion people in more than 70 countries across the world were eligible to vote in 2024 according to the UN, in what has been described as a landmark ‘super year’ of elections.High-stakes votes took place in populous nations such as the US, India and Indonesia, and authoritarian and autocratic states including Belarus, Iran and Russia. The European election in June saw some 182 million people cast their ballots across 27 countries in one of the…

Summer activities are in hyper-drive as many New Zealanders enjoy the holiday break.Joining the fun is a new adventure park at the bottom of the South Island which is all part of a wider plan to lure tourists south.Bluff Hill has been transformed into a 26-trail experience called Motupōhue Adventure Park.Southland Mountain Bike Club has been behind the upgrades in recent years.Club president Marcus Roy told 1News, “we’re really excited. It’s been an amazing journey to get to this point.”The long and scenic hill slope is full of twists and turns with roughly 26km of trails all up.”Currently Bluff is,…