Author: Press Room
The 2026 Winter Olympics are now fewer than 100 days away, and the event has already sold around 850,000 tickets and is expected to draw up to two million visitors. Beyond local enthusiasm, with seven of 10 Italians interested, the Games, taking place from 6 to 22 February 2026, are proving especially popular among Americans,according to a study carried out by Ipsos for VISA. The 2025 Winter Olympics will be the first post-pandemic Winter Games. Back in 2022, fewer than 100,000 spectators attended the edition hosted in China. An analysis of early ticket sales shows that US citizens account for…
Wesley College has been ordered by the Ministry of Education to close its boarding hostels by this Friday, bringing forward a previously announced end-of-term deadline following “further serious incidents”.The school announced two weeks ago it would close its boarding hostels by the end of Term 4, with board chairperson Jan Tasker saying it was now undertaking a full review and would only reopen when it could guarantee “the highest standards of safety, care, and student wellbeing”.But in a post on the school’s Facebook page on Monday, principal Brian Evans said the Ministry had notified the school it would impose a…
By Euronews Published on 03/11/2025 – 10:19 GMT+1 •Updated 10:30 All is set on the eve of Euronews’ Enlargement Summit, the first-of-its-kind televised live event bringing together EU and candidate country leaders for groundbreaking conversations on the future of European integration. The unprecedented summit, taking place on Tuesday, 4 November in Brussels, will mark a defining moment for EU enlargement policy in the heart of Europe, as the continent’s political heavyweights gather to discuss the 27-member bloc’s expansion towards the east and southeast. European Council President António Costa has confirmed his participation, joining a remarkable assembly of leaders set to define…
An offender who fired a shotgun at a residential complex in Wellington yesterday – where a person fell from a balcony – was targeting a specific person, police say. Detective Senior Sergeant Lee Underhill said officers were called to the Brooklyn Rd property about 3.30pm on November 2. “While nobody was hit, we believe the incident targeted a specific individual, who suffered moderate injuries fleeing to safety,” he said. “It is concerning that an offender has discharged a firearm in a highly populated apartment building and we are aggressively pursuing every lead in order to locate the offender.” Underhill said…
Police have apologised to the family of murderer Ross Appelgren after it was discovered they lost their original 1985 investigation file.Appelgren was convicted in 1985 of murdering Darcy Te Hira in the kitchen at Mt Eden prison. Appelgren always maintained he was not in the kitchen when Te Hira was attacked.Appelgren died in 2013, but now his widow, Julie, is trying to have her deceased husband’s conviction overturned by the Court of Appeal, so last year her legal team — lawyers Nick Chisnall KC, Kerry Cook and investigator Tim McKinnel — asked police for the file. They were told it…
A woman suffered a brain injury and permanent damage to her memory after being given too many opioids on a busy night at Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital.The Health and Disability Commissioner has criticised Health New Zealand Counties Manukau, saying it had a responsibility to ensure its ward had enough staff, and that it did not have adequate protocols or documentation in place during the incident in 2021.The 46-year-old woman was found unresponsive and not breathing properly in a ward shortly after midnight on her second night in hospital.She was given oxygen and overdose-fighting medication but had already suffered a brain injury…
Tonga league player Eliesa Katoa has undergone surgery after he suffered “seizure activity” on the bench during the second half of Sunday’s Pacific Championship match between Mate Ma’a Tonga and New Zealand.The 25-year-old was seen slouching in his seat minutes after he left the field following a third head knock. He was fitted with an oxygen mask before being stretchered off the field.His NRL club, the Melbourne Storm, have provided an update, saying he was in a stable condition after surgery.”Melbourne Storm forward Eli Katoa was taken to hospital after suffering seizure activity on the bench during the second half…
Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere has fired back over calls to resign – instead suggesting MPs Takuta Ferris and Mariameno Kapa-Kingi should throw in the towel.Calls for Tamihere to resign came after a vote by party members to suspend Kapa-Kingi last month. Although the vote was successful, it was not unanimous within the party.Today, the executive of Te Tai Tonga electorate began a petition for Tamihere’s resignation.The petition, which was posted to Instagram, had also been liked by Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.The electorate had previously abstained from suspending Kapa-Kingi at the National Council hui in October. It…
Locals and visitors to Kaikōura are being reminded to look out for distressed birds which may have crash landed.The nationally vulnerable Hutton’s shearwater / Kaikōura tītī birds began returning home in August to breed in the snowy mountain tops of the Seaward Kaikōura Ranges.”Most people are aware to lookout for crash landings in March and April when the fledglings leave the nest for the first time,” Kaikōura Wildlife Centre Trust volunteer manager Sabrina Luecht said.”But adult birds crash land too, throughout the breeding season from August to March.”We have a lot of seasonal staff and visitors and they can’t be…
The Government has announced changes to initial teacher education and the governance of the Teaching Council over what it says are serious concerns about the preparedness of new teachers and the effectiveness of current oversight.Education Minister Erica Stanford said the changes were aimed at lifting the quality of teacher training and restoring confidence in the system.”We are firmly committed to backing teachers to succeed in the classroom. Multiple reports show initial teacher education is not doing that. It’s letting teachers and students down.”Stanford pointed to findings from the OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2024, which showed that 62%…