Author: Press Room

A renewed Masterton dog policy will increase dog access in some public places and aims to reduce roaming and nuisance incidents.The proposed policy, which must be reviewed every five years, would be out for consultation until March 21.The draft policy received unanimous support from Masterton councillors on Wednesday.Amendments included designating Taranaki St’s park as off-leash to expand accessible dog exercise areas and address the demand for more off-leash areas in urban Masterton.The Taranaki St park had effective fencing and feedback indicated the area was already used off-leash without issues.The policy would also clarify on-leash requirements at the northern end of…

A teenager has been arrested for allegedly plotting an attack on a major railway station in Vienna. ADVERTISEMENTA 14-year-old Austrian supporter of the so-called Islamic State group was arrested on 10 February for allegedly planning an attack at a railway station in Vienna, authorities revealed Wednesday.The suspect, an Austrian national with Turkish roots, is said to have been radicalised online.He was detained after Austrian intelligence services were tipped off that he had posted stories and videos with Islamist extremist content on several TikTok profiles.Investigators found numerous extremist books as well as sketches of attacks with knives and machetes at a…

A North Dunedin petrol station has the first crypto ATM in the city — just do not ask its owner how it works. Chicago-based Coinflip has begun rolling out Bitcoin ATMs across Southland and Otago. It installed one at the Caltex petrol station in Great King St, North Dunedin, about three weeks ago. Another three ATMs have been installed in Invercargill and one in Queenstown. Caltex owner Stephen Pulley said he did not know much about the ATM. “I don’t know how it works. I’ve never been involved in Bitcoin. It’s out of my league, I’m too old for that.”…

The New Plymouth mayor has described compulsory changes to speed limits outside schools as “ideologically-driven nonsense” that will cost ratepayers hundreds of thousands of dollars to implement and jeopardise child safety.The Government is requiring streets outside schools with permanent 30km/h speed limits revert to variable speed limits, allowing speeds of 50km/h outside pick-up and drop-off times by July 2026.Rural roads that were outside schools would be required to have variable speed limits of 60km/h or less.New Plymouth Mayor Neil Holdom told an extraordinary council meeting the move was baffling.”This is a bit of policy that is ideologically-driven nonsense. There is…

A significant drop in visitor numbers and hundreds of thousands of dollars down the drain means Hawke’s Bay’s Splash Planet will close five weeks early.The outdoor water park – which is usually open until the end of March – will instead shut its doors this weekend.Hastings District Council says by the end of January, Splash Planet had seen 15,000 fewer visitors than the year before – resulting in more than $500,000 in lost revenue this season.Last month the council defended its $45 entry fee, saying it was in line with other adventure parks.It said a run of cold, wet weather…

The visit by MEPs comes after a range of criticism from the Donald Trump administration about EU regulation. ADVERTISEMENTEU lawmakers will meet officials from the White House, the US Department of state, the US Department of commerce as well as Congress representatives from both sides of the aisle to discuss a broad range of technology topics and legislative files, during a visit to Washington DC next week, Euronews has learnt.The visit, scheduled from 24 to 28 February, comes after the newly installed US administration led by Republican President Donald Trump has expressed criticism of EU regulation, which they claim is…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ  Some borrowers refixing their home loans have the opportunity to cut 10 years or more off their mortgages and save hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest. A year ago, the average one-year special home loan rate was about 7.3%, according to Reserve Bank data. If someone had a $500,000 loan over 30 years, that would be $791 a week. If they were coming up to refix their loan now and opted for 4.99%, which has been available for three years from Westpac and for a two-year term from ANZ, that would cut their repayments…

Queenstown burger joint Fergburger has dismissed a staff member after a tourist was given a receipt containing a racial slur. A photograph of a receipt, dated for Sunday, was posted to social media by a Taiwanese tourist.It had the words “ching chang” on it.In a statement posted to Facebook last night, Fergburger general manager Claire Burke said the employee involved in the incident was dismissed for what she described as “unjustified behaviour”. “While this cannot undo the incident or lessen the harm caused, we remain committed to addressing the situation thoroughly,” She said. “This incident has been caused by a…

The 88-year-old pontiff, despite battling pneumonia and a severe bronchial infection, was alert and responsive, Meloni stated on Wednesday. ADVERTISEMENTItalian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited Pope Francis in hospital on Wednesday, reporting that he was “alert and responsive” despite his ongoing battle with pneumonia and a severe bronchial infection that has kept him hospitalised for nearly a week.Meloni, who described the meeting as warm and lighthearted, said she brought well wishes on behalf of the Italian government and the nation.“We joked around as always. He has not lost his proverbial sense of humour,” her office stated.Her visit marked the first…

The mood inside Callaghan Innovation is grim, scientists say, as they scramble to secure themselves a future in New Zealand.The axe has so far fallen on 63 jobs at Callaghan, which is to be disestablished in the government’s overhaul of the science sector.While those roles will be gone in the next couple of weeks, more are expected to follow soon, with Science Minister Shane Reti confirming funding will cease to many functions within the organisation by 30 June.One Callaghan researcher, who RNZ agreed not to name, said it was only a matter of time before his name appeared on a…