Author: Press Room

Kiwi rock band The Beths had their instruments and some of their gear stolen while on tour in Europe. In a post to Instagram, the group said their guitars, bass, cymbals, snare, pedal board, and rented equipment were stolen from their van while in Tourcoing, France, near Lille. “We’re pretty sad, these instruments have a lot of time and love in them. More than we can express really,” the post read. In the post, the band shared images of some of the stolen gear. Thanks to “the generosity of friends”, the band was able to make their next show in…

A gas bottle explosion inside a work vehicle left two people injured and set the vehicle ablaze in Christchurch this morning.Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) said it received reports of a car fire in the suburb of Hornby just after 9.30am on Monday.On arrival, firefighters located a work vehicle containing gas bottles ablaze on Waterloo Rd.”One bottle was involved in the explosion which set the vehicle on fire,” a FENZ spokesperson said.”The area was secured, and crews monitored the situation to ensure safety.”Two FENZ crews from Spreydon and Wigram responded, with a command unit from Wigram attending to assess gas…

A charge will be dropped against a trucking company involved in the death of a road worker.Johnathon Walters was killed by a runaway truck with bad brakes in Remuera last year.Ashik Ali — who was driving the truck at the time at a roadworks site at night — pleaded guilty to manslaughter, while WorkSafe also prosecuted his company, Ashik Transport.But the agency now says it plans to withdraw that charge.”The recent guilty plea to separate police manslaughter charges satisfies the public interest test of the solicitor-general’s prosecution guidelines. For that reason, WorkSafe intends to withdraw its charge against Ashik Transport…

Six people are reportedly injured following a two-vehicle crash on a stretch of State Highway 1 near the shores of Lake Taupō this morning.Police were called to the Tauranga-Taupō Bridge at around 11.25am on Monday.”At this stage six people are reported to have suffered moderate to serious injuries,” a police spokesperson said.St John said it responded with four ambulances and one helicopter.”Six patients were assessed at the scene, with all six being taken to hospital, one in a serious condition to Rotorua Hospital by helicopter, four in a moderate condition to Taupō Hospital by ambulance, and one minor condition also…

Published on 29/09/2025 – 19:27 GMT+2 ADVERTISEMENT The Alaska summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was a “victory” for Putin, Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtona said in an interview with Euronews. “To be quite frank I was a little bit sceptical about the Alaska meeting,” she said, adding that “it obviously hasn’t led anywhere.” Ahead of the highly anticipated meeting in Alaska on 15 August, Trump said he’d push Putin to agree to a ceasefire while talks could commence on ending the war. There was also an expectation that a trilateral meeting between Putin,…

A group of Southland-based Alliance Group shareholders say the $250 million offer by an Irish meat company for a 65% stake in the co-operative appears to significantly undervalue the business, wiping out about $150m of shareholder equity. In a letter to fellow shareholders, Michael Wilkins, Mark Gunton, James Anderson, Dave Pinckney and Andrew Morrison proposed an alternative plan to recapitalise Alliance, saying retaining full ownership by farmer shareholders was critical. A two-week capital raise roadshow began in Tuatapere yesterday, Alliance leadership providing more details on the Dawn Meats Group deal ahead of a shareholder vote next month. Those farmers pushing…

A Christchurch builder has been sentenced to seven months of home detention for failing to declare more than $260,000 in tax.Gary Terence Moss, who arrived in New Zealand from the UK in 2014, evaded Inland Revenue (IR) for over a year and fled to Australia soon after being told of an audit investigation in 2023.He appeared in the Christchurch District Court last week for sentencing on one representative charge and one single charge of evading or attempting to evade the assessment or payment of income tax. He was also ordered to pay $20,000 in reparations.After coming to NZ, he began…

ADVERTISEMENT The European Union is mulling new plans to tweak the rules of enlargement in a fresh attempt to bypass Hungary’s persistent veto on Ukraine’s membership bid. As of today, each stage of the accession process is subject to unanimity, and any member state can hit the brakes with a veto at any given moment. For more than a year, Hungary has prevented Ukraine from opening the first cluster of the negotiations, known as fundamentals, which covers key topics such as democracy, human rights, security, the judicial system and public procurement. Budapest has invoked various reasons to justify its veto,…

Synlait Milk has entered an agreement to sell its North Island sites for $307 million to a United States buyer in a business shake-up to focus on core Canterbury operations. The company announced the sale agreement while releasing its financial results after posting a loss after tax of $39.8m — “adjusted” to a bottom-line profit of $0.8m — a drop from its large loss of $182.1m a year ago. Synlait matched Fonterra in producing a record final payout of $10.15 per kg of milk solids for the financial year ending July. Proceeds from the sale to US healthcare company Abbott…

The Government has announced an overhaul to the classification of earthquake-prone buildings, introducing a new system that will see thousands of buildings moved out of the regime.Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk revealed the “refocus” of the system for earthquake-prone buildings alongside Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at an announcement in Wellington this afternoon.They were due to speak at 2.30pm.To watch a replay of the announcement, click the video above.