Author: Press Room

A 73-year-old man has been charged with murder following the death of a 77-year-old man at a Northland property last month.Daniel Hepehi — also known as Danny Whiston — was found with critical injuries at a home on Waikerikeri Rd in Horeke in the early hours of May 22. He received medical attention but died at the scene.Officers were sent to the property after speaking to a man who had arrived outside the Kaikohe Police Station around 8.30pm the previous day.Detective Inspector Rhys Johnston said police had now charged a 73-year-old man with murder, although some inquiries were still ongoing.”The…

Published on 11/06/2025 – 3:12 GMT+2ADVERTISEMENTSeveral hundred people attended a mass after a former student opened fire at a school in Austria’s second-biggest city – Graz – on Tuesday, killing 10 people and injuring many others before taking his own life, according to authorities.There was no immediate information on the motive of the 21-year-old man, who had no previous police records. Two weapons were used to execute the attack, which the attacker is believed to have owned legally, police said.Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker as well as Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler and Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger attended the mass at Graz…

The government has unveiled how it plans to double the value of tourism exports by 2034 and boost visitor numbers. Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston said today $35 million was being invested in the first phase of a roadmap outlining what the sector needed to do to reach its goals. They included returning to 2019 international visitor arrivals – 3.89 million by 2026 – and doubling the 2023 value of tourism exports by 2034 to roughly $19.8 billion with international visitor arrivals sitting around 4.78 million. “International visitors bring billions of dollars into New Zealand, from big ticket spends to everyday…

One of New Zealand’s premier circus theatre companies has been left in shock following a devastating warehouse fire in Auckland over the weekend. Props, aerial equipment and bespoke costumes were lost in the massive blaze in Penrose on Sunday.Dust Palace chairman Grae Burton told Breakfast it was “devastating”.“It’s an important part of theatre history in New Zealand,” he told Breakfast this morning.“It’s impossible to value some of the hand-made costumes and set pieces. It’s really been quite a shock for the company.”Dust Palace’s props, aerial equipment and bespoke costumes were destroyed in a warehouse fire. (Source: Givealittle )The company has…

Motorists are being urged to take more care around accident scenes as it was “only a matter of time” before an emergency services worker was seriously injured. Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) Otago group manager Bobby Lamont said “near misses” were happening across the country, but particularly in FENZ’s Te Kei region, which encompassed Otago and Southland. He worried that “unsafe driver behaviour at incidents is so commonplace now that often our people won’t report the ‘minor’ incidents”. He said in February, a member of the public drove on the wrong side of the road past firefighters managing traffic…

One person has died following a house fire in Upper Hutt overnight.Emergency services were called to the property on Tararua St, between Ross Gr and Louis St, in Trentham at around 2.25am and found the house fully ablaze.Police said one person was found dead at the property.Fire and Emergency NZ responded with crews from Trentham, Remutaka, Silverstream, Thorndon, Wellington Crew and Avalon.The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including new corruption report, California protests, and Justin Baldoni’s legal loss. (Source: 1News)A scene guard was in place overnight and police and Fire and Emergency NZ investigators carried out a scene examination this…

Auckland commuters faced major delays across the city’s motorway network this evening as traffic ground to a halt amid a severe thunderstorm watch.All lanes have now reopened at Papakura following an earlier incident where debris spilled from the back of a truck, forcing a full closure. Meanwhile, separate breakdowns temporarily shut down lanes on both the Northwestern and Southwestern motorways.A fatal crash on the North Shore added to the congestion. Police said a vehicle left Onewa Rd and collided with a power pole on Seaview Ave just after 4.30pm. “Despite medical assistance being provided at the scene, sadly we can…

For Māori, assisted dying is a concept that forces whānau to consider how tikanga is to be used in a new setting. More than 2000 New Zealanders have applied for assisted dying since the End-of-Life Choice Act was passed into law in 2021 and — as more whānau experience a loved one making the choice — customs and protocols are being put in place to guide future generations. Mana Epiha spoke with two whānau about their experience for TVNZ’s Marae.Watch the full report on TVNZ+.Juliane Chetham’s sister suffered from multiple sclerosis. “I don’t know if it’s perhaps, unlike other terminal…

The planned expansion to an East Otago gold mine should be “declined in full”, the Otago Regional Council says. After visiting OceanaGold’s Macraes gold mine, north of Dunedin, 10 times, Otago Regional Council (ORC) senior consents planner Shay McDonald recommended the consent application for its proposed expansion be rejected. The expansion — referred to as the Macraes Phase 4 (MP4) Project — would result in actual and potential effects on surface water quality, aquatic ecology, natural inland and ephemeral wetlands, lizard habitat, and a threatened invertebrate species of moth, Ms McDonald said. These effects would be “significantly adverse” and could…

A failed asylum seeker first issued a deportation order in 1999 has today been sentenced to eight years in prison for sex crimes. Amir Mohebbi was found guilty in February of five charges, including rape, unlawful sexual connection and threatening to kill.He appeared in the Auckland District Court today where the woman he assaulted read a victim impact statement about the effect the offences, committed in June 2021, have had on her life.”The trauma you caused had such a profoundly severe impact that I felt no way out. I wanted to take my own life. You made my everyday a…