Author: Press Room

Police are working to identify human remains found at a rural location close to Tokoroa township.Taupō area investigations manager Detective Senior Sergeant Ryan Yardley said at this stage, efforts are focused on identifying the remains and establishing the circumstances surrounding the discovery.Yardley said an examination of the scene is underway, and “specialist resources, including search teams, are assisting to ensure a thorough search”.”We understand this news may be concerning to the community, and we want to reassure residents that our team is working diligently.”Formal identification will take some time and until this process has been completed Police will be unable…

The European Commission in 2020 adopted 5G security measures to protect telecom networks, but just a handful of countries have banned the Chinese suppliers. ADVERTISEMENTThe incoming European Commissioner for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy is dissatisfied with how much national governments have excluded so-called high-risk telecom infrastructure companies – China’s Huawei and ZTE – from critical infrastructure, Henna Virkkunen told lawmakers during a confirmation hearing in the European Parliament on Tuesday night.In the three-hour hearing, Finland’s Virkkunen (EPP) – herself an MEP between 2014 and 2024 – said the issue will come up with the planned revision of cybersecurity rules next…

Two people have been arrested after a group of youths went on an alleged crime spree in Waikato early on Monday. Police were first called to a commercial premises on Ward St in Hamilton at around 12.30am, where a ram-raid had been reported. The alleged offenders managed to flee the scene before police arrived. The vehicle involved had been reported stolen. Just after 1am, police received a report of a group of youths — matching the description of those involved in the ram-raid — trying to break into cars about 35km away on Acacia Ave in Kihikihi. The group managed…

Airline customers have grown increasingly upset over delays in getting new planes from Boeing – delays that started long before 33,000 machinists went on strike on 13 September. ADVERTISEMENTBoeing says it will be several weeks before it can fully resume building passenger planes, following the return of factory workers after a strike that lasted nearly two months.A Boeing spokesperson on Tuesday said that the delay in restarting plants in Washington state and Oregon was due to multiple steps needed to resume production.Airline customers have become increasingly upset over delays in getting new planes from Boeing – delays that started long…

The Department of Conservation is set to trial paid parking at three South Island visitor sites in an effort to manage visitor pressure and support conservation efforts.Funded $3.8 million by the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy, the trial includes car park improvements and introducing paid parking systems for car parks at Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Franz Josef Glacier on the West Coast, and White Horse Hill in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park in Canterbury.Department of Conservation (DOC) heritage and visitors director Catherine Wilson said it is the department’s job to both protect and restore nature and ensure experiences are good.”These…

Dr. Nadezhda Buyanova, a pediatrician, was arrested after the mother of one of her patients filmed a video complaining that Buyanova criticised Russia’s war in Ukraine. ADVERTISEMENTA doctor has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison for spreading false information about the Russian military, after the mother of one of her patients reported her to authorities. Dr. Nadezhda Buyanova was first arrested in February after Anastasia Akinshina alleged that Buyanova told her and her son that his father — a Russian soldier who Akinshina says was killed in Ukraine — was a legitimate target for Kyiv’s troops.During…

After 34 years as an Aucklander, Burma the Asian elephant has begun her new life in Australia where she will soon join others at Adelaide’s Monarto Safari Park.The endangered elephant arrived at her new “forever home”, accompanied by Auckland Zoo staff, as the first of five elephants set to occupy the park’s new 12-hectare habitat.Senior elephant keeper Corryn Coers and elephant keeper Odin Neil engaging Asian elephant Burma in crate training (Source: Auckland Zoo)Auckland Zoo veterinary manager Dr James Chatterton, who accompanied Burma throughout her travel, said she’s doing well following her trans-Tasman travel.”Burma coped exceptionally well throughout her entire…

Social Development Minister Louise Upston has directed her officials to stop publishing weekly updates on benefit numbers as the number of people on welfare reaches record levels.The Labour Party is calling it a “cover-up” but Upston said such regular updates were “unnecessary” and monthly and quarterly data is a “better decision-making tool”.A short statement was recently added to the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) website without fanfare, noting: “The Income Support Weekly Updates will no longer be published following the 25 October release.”Asked by RNZ for an explanation, an MSD spokesperson said Upston would provide answers in Parliament on Wednesday…

The Government has pushed out the second reading of the Fair News Digital Bargaining Bill, because the minister responsible says it is not ready.The legislation would force tech giants, such as Google or Meta, to strike deals with New Zealand media firms for using their content.It was supposed to have its second reading on Wednesday, but on the final order paper appeared at 13th, meaning it was effectively postponed for the week.Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith said the Government was still working on the bill, and it was not ready to come back to the House.”It was on, but…

A record number of New Zealand citizens left the country in the year to September, and about half of them went to Australia, Stats NZ says.It has released new data showing the country had a net migration gain of 44,900, sharply down from a provisional peak of 136,300 recorded in the year to October 2023.Stats NZ said the number of people moving to New Zealand was down and departures had increased.There was a net loss of 54,700 New Zealand citizens in the year, driven by 79,700 departures and 24,900 arrivals.ASB economists said it was likely that departure numbers would remain…