Author: Press Room

The wave of support for Zelenskyy comes after US President Donald Trump called him a ‘dictator’ and criticised the fact elections didn’t take place last year when his mandate expired, despite Ukraine being subject to martial law. ADVERTISEMENTThere has been a flurry of support across Europe for Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s legitimacy as president of Ukraine after US President Donald Trump called him a dictator.Trump’s remarks, in a post on Truth Social, came a day after Zelenskyy said Trump was living in a “bubble” of Russian disinformation.On Wednesday, Trump questioned Zelenskyy’s position as president after his mandate expired in May last year…

Dunedin travellers are stuck paying more for scarcer seats now that Air New Zealand has moved to using smaller and slower planes on a key route, a business leader says. Air New Zealand announced in October last year its morning and evening flights between Dunedin and Wellington would now use smaller ATR-72 turboprop planes instead of its roomier Airbus A320 jets. An ATR-72 seats 68 passengers, while an Airbus A320 seats 171. The changes officially came into effect this week, the first flight of the day now scheduled to depart Dunedin at 6.35am and arrive in Wellington at 8.30am —…

A person has been seriously injured in an incident in Auckland’s Clover Park this morning.Emergency services were called to a Rochas Pl address following a report of a person injured shortly after 5am. “One person suffered an injury and was transported to hospital in a serious but not life-threatening condition,” a police spokesperson said. St John said it sent one ambulance and one rapid response vehicle. One patient in a moderate condition was transported to Middlemore Hospital, a St John spokesperson said. Police said the offender has fled the scene prior to officers’ arrival, and were “working hard to identify…

You could call it a brazen move. With her other hospitality venture Bru Cafe, in Moray Pl, celebrating its second anniversary next week, restaurateur Jacinda Reid is preparing to open Brazen Eating House in Filleul St. The premises have been home to various eating establishments over the years, most recently Bracken. Ms Reid described the restaurant’s style as tapas-inspired international fusion with a Kiwi twist, the menu designed around inclusivity, connection and bold flavours. The idea for Brazen came when she was reflecting on hospitality and trying to categorise what hospitality was, while reflecting on how people used to eat…

Police are searching for a driver who crashed into two properties in Massey, West Auckland before fleeing on foot this morning. Emergency services were called after a vehicle travelling along Don Buck Rd entered a driveway and crashed through a fence and into two houses shortly after 4am. “Thankfully no one was injured,” a police spokesperson said. Footage taken by 1News showed debris strewn from homes on Don Buck Rd, in Massey. (Source: 1News)”The driver has abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot and inquiries are underway to locate them.” Footage taken by 1News showed debris strewn from both homes…

Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovilė Sakalienė says Europe needs to be “armed to the teeth” now that the US is pivoting away from its traditional transatlantic alliance. She explained to Euronews how her family was exiled in Siberia by the Soviet Union. And why Europe needs to defend itself. ADVERTISEMENTAmerica’s pivot towards more cooperation with Russia is the beginning of a “very difficult process” and requires Europe to the “armed to the teeth”, said Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Sakalienė talking to Euronew’s Europe Conversation.“We need to have instruments that are capable of ensuring that all the states that are on the…

Rural supplies co-operative Farmlands is highlighting improved half-year results, although it will not reveal its profit for the period. In a statement this week, the co-operative said there had been a 14% increase in revenue, to $477.6 million, and an improved half-year ebitda, up 49% at $17.7m, which it attributed to operational improvements made over the past 36 months. But when asked for its full six-month financial results, a spokeswoman said the results were not being published for the period. The full-year result would be released at annual reporting time in November, the spokeswoman said. In November last year, Farmlands…

A New Zealand glacier expert sounding the alarm on climate change feels like she is yelling into the void as yet another study shows our glaciers are rapidly shrinking.The grim news – published in scientific journal Nature today – showed glaciers were retreating world-wide at an increasing pace, with New Zealand’s ranking third highest in percentage of glacial mass loss since the start of the century.Researchers analysing glacier data sets from across the globe between 2000 and 2023 found the speed of retreat increased in the past 10 years compared to the decade prior.Since 2000, New Zealand’s glaciers had shrunk…

The EU executive will not put a contentious plan to slash pesticide use back on the table, agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen told Euronews, closing a key chapter of the Green Deal. ADVERTISEMENTThe goal of halving pesticide use in the EU by 2030 was once a cornerstone of the European Green Deal. But now, that target has been shelved indefinitely.In an interview with Euronews, Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen confirmed that reviving the plan is no longer on the EU executive’s agenda.”It didn’t work out, and now we have no progress at all. Is that facility off the table? That is off…

A Dunedin man bashed a seagull to death then decapitated it because he believed it had stolen his food, a court has heard. Carl Alan Michelle, 54, pleaded guilty to one charge of ill-treating an animal when he appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday. The court heard that on Wednesday last week, Michelle was in the Octagon sitting on the seats near the Robbie Burns statue. Seagulls were hanging around his feet. He suddenly grabbed one and killed it by battering its head into the concrete seat, then pulled its head off. The defendant then put the dead seagull…