Author: Press Room

Paracetamol is safe for pregnant women despite claims made by US President Donald Trump, the New Zealand College of Midwives says.Earlier today, Trump said the medication – typically used to treat pain and fevers – should not be taken by pregnant women, as it “can be associated” with an increased risk of autism in children.The announcement was made with Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who was launching an investigation to identify all causes of autism.Kiwi health experts slam Trump’s ‘crazy’ autism claims – Watch on TVNZ+Associated Press reported the claims were unproven, and new evidence was not provided to…

Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden is speaking to media about her overhaul of the Holiday’s Act. Earlier today, 1News reported the Government will scrap and replace the Holidays Act in a move it said would finally fix New Zealand’s “broken” leave system.Van Velden revealed today that Cabinet had agreed to repeal and replace the Holidays Act 2003 with a new Employment Leave Act.The changes were aimed at making leave calculations more straightforward and ensuring that workers received their correct entitlements.

A company co-owned by a former All Black which ran a Canterbury restaurant has gone into liquidation owing more than $450,000 to creditors. Tap And Go Ltd had operated the Grain & Grape establishment in the small township of Darfield. The New Zealand Companies Office lists Murray Davie and Bernadette Taylor as directors and equal shareholders of Tap And Go. A previous company owned by the business partners, Kick for Touch Ltd, went into liquidation in 2023, after a Rolleston bar and restaurant struggled through Covid-19 restrictions. Mr Davie, 69, is a former All Black who made the national team…

A Christchurch resident says he had “a culture shock” during a recent visit to Kairaki Beach, witnessing what he described as “a ramshackle slum-like camp”.The resident, who LDR agreed not to name, said the behaviour of some campers and whitebaiters at the beach, near Kaiapoi, was concerning.A Waimakariri District Council spokesperson said staff were aware of the concerns and were monitoring the site alongside Environment Canterbury (ECan).”Council and ECan staff have visited Kairaki Beach several times over the last week and have spoken to about a dozen campers and several whitebaiters, who were not camping.”These numbers are in line with…

Fresh details have been revealed about FBI director Kash Patel’s secretive trip to New Zealand – including who he met, what he did and the estimated cost to taxpayers.Documents released to RNZ set out a timeline, budget and communication plan for Patel’s trip – the highest-ranking US official to visit New Zealand under Donald Trump’s second presidency so far.They show spy minister Judith Collins signed off on a $10,000 budget to cover accommodation, meals, flights and tourism activities for Patel and an official over the three-day programme.”The visit will not be publicly avowed, for security reasons, until after the Director…

ADVERTISEMENT United States President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order labelling Antifa as a “domestic terrorist organisation” in the country. In turn, posts alleging that the Netherlands has designated Antifa as a terrorist organisation gained traction, with some being viewed hundreds of thousands of times across social media. In one X post viewed more than 300,000 times, one user writes, “BREAKING: The Netherlands has now officially designated Antifa a terror group after a motion was passed. The world is cracking down on these freaks. All of Europe to follow!” Another post viewed more than 6,000 times states, “Antifa…

In the pouring rain, construction started on State Highway 1 Ōtaki to North of Levin today.The four-lane highway – the northernmost section of the Wellington Northern Corridor – will span 24 kilometres when the project is set to be completed in 2029.Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was wearing Red Band gumboots, while Transport Minister Chris Bishop donned brown leather shoes as they turned the sod on the project.Ō2NL is crucial infrastructure, as Horowhenua Mayor Bernie Wanden pointed out, because the district is experiencing significant population growth.”We have long been undervalued and underappreciated, but this project is changing that,” Wanden said.”The last…

Published on 23/09/2025 – 16:47 GMT+2 ADVERTISEMENT Implementation of EU deforestation rules will be delayed for a second time, to December 2026, the European Commission announced on Tuesday, citing technical issues in the IT system dealing with the submission of due diligence statements by affected businesses. Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall revealed the postponement of the EU’s anti-deforestation law by one year in a letter sent on Tuesday to lawmakers in the European Parliament and the European Council, claiming the IT system wouldn’t be able to handle the flow of information coming from economic operators that would arrive from 1 January…

Two bronze Labrador sculptures will be placed in downtown Invercargill, despite strong arguments against their new home.A notice of motion from departing Invercargill mayor Nobby Clark was approved with a narrow 7 – 6 vote at the final council meeting of the term on Tuesday.It means the sculptures, created with public money by Invercargill Public Art Trail Charitable Trust, will be installed at Esk St near other installations paying homage to the natural environment.Mana whenua representative Evelyn Cook said there were other places where the statues would fit, but not next to a weka, birds’ eggs, flounder/pātiki, kina or pāua.Kina…

Published on 23/09/2025 – 15:59 GMT+2 ADVERTISEMENT The EU is managing to “stabilise its relations with the US”, European Council President António Costa told journalists in a group interview in New York during the UN General Assembly. Costa touched on US reaffirmation of its commitment to NATO and Ukraine, and the trade deal struck between the EU and the US. “The 27 member states remain united in our relatiosn with the US,” said the Council president, noting that in January, “a lot of people were concerned about the risk of the United States’ withdrawal from NATO.” In June, Trump raised…