Author: Press Room

Is once a week enough to wash your towels? Or, like some, once a month?Perhaps you should reach for a clean towel daily?With the pandemic still a recent memory last year saw an unprecedented global rise in over a dozen communicable diseases.One contributing factor cited by the American Medical Association was hygiene, specifically the role of the humble bathroom towel.Professor Elizabeth Scott is a professor of biology and co-director of the Simmons University Center for Hygiene & Health in the Home and Community.The manager of a groundbreaking 1982 study examining the bacteria lurking in hundreds of homes, she filled in…

The unusual contraption cutting weeds from Lake Horowhenua is best described by its skipper as something out of Waterworld — the infamous cinematic flop.It’s part boat, part tractor, with wheels like a paddle steamer, and teeth which mow aquatic weeds at the bottom of the lake. It chugs along at a walking pace cutting and scooping up about ten tonnes of weed a day.”It’s not a Ferrari,” skipper Julian Everth said.”It’s a weed harvester essentially. A very slow-moving barge is probably more accurate.”The NZ$300,000 machine, made in the US, is one of just two in the country.The teeth are lowered…

Police have strongly condemned a Destiny Church-linked protest which disrupted a children’s event hosted by a drag king at an Auckland library yesterday and confirmed that allegations of assault were being investigated.Destiny Church’s Man Up and Legacy groups stormed Auckland’s Te Atatū Community Centre and library to protest a children’s science show hosted by drag artist Hugo Grrrl. Around 30 young children and adults were barricaded inside during the incident, RNZ reports. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown described protester behaviour as “thuggery”.Hours later, protesters broke through police barricades at the city’s Rainbow Parade and held up festivities with a haka on…

A community-led conservation project in the Waioeka Gorge is helping the whio, or blue duck, best known for being on New Zealand’s $10 note, from the brink of extinction.Volunteers for Eastern Whio Link have helped fledge more than 120 ducklings, with over 1000 traps catching stoats and rats covering 30,000 hectares.Sam Gibson, or Sam the Trapman, started the group in 2020, bringing together local hunters, fishers and farmers.“I used to hunt and fish in these rivers as a kid and there were whio everywhere.. when I came back there weren’t any whio in the rivers,” he told 1News.“I got together…

A recent 1News Verian poll found 46% of New Zealanders thought the issue of homelessness was getting worse, 39% said it was staying the same while 10% said it was improving. The latest 1News Varian Poll asked 1000 eligible voters whether they “believe the issue of homelessness is improving, worsening, or staying about the same in your community?”Five hundred were polled via mobile phone and another 500 had been polled online, using online panels. There is a 3.1% margin of error.Christchurch City Mission used to get 25 new clients looking for a house each month, but in January there were…

After decades of labour – one of the rarest cars in the world, a recreated 1937 Bugatti Atlantic, has been remade and unveiled in Hawke’s Bay.It’s all part of the Art Deco Festival which made vintage lovers flock to the region.Napier’s streets were packed with dazzling vintage rides, people coming from across the country to get into the 1920’s swing at the Art Deco Capital. It was all about trains, planes, and automobiles for the year’s festivities. The first-time post Covid-19, train day trips have been on offer, some enthusiasts making a 9-hour trip from Wellington. “Was great going through…

France is discussing holding an informal emergency Ukraine summit in Paris with European countries on Monday. ADVERTISEMENTEuropean leaders are set to convene in Paris for an emergency summit on the war in Ukraine as the US moves forward with Russia peace talks without European involvement.Though the summit has not been confirmed by French President Emmanuel Macron or spokespersons of the French president, European officials have hinted at the meeting likely going ahead.Speaking on a panel at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said the meeting will likely take place on Monday, adding that the last…

For Lyndon Cleaver, no two days are ever the same — but that’s just how he likes it.On a warm Saturday in February, the Southland harbourmaster is out on Lake Te Anau making sure people stay safe on the water.The following day, he’ll make a trip to Dunedin to check on a cruise ship en route to Fiordland.Cleaver will ensure the vessel meets its requirements for entering a UNESCO area and even stay on board until Tuesday when it arrives at Milford Sound.Who knows what Wednesday will bring.But today, he is guiding small aluminum boat Toroa out of the Te…

ANALYSIS: Were another nation responsible for such actions, the New Zealand government would have been quick to condemn it, argues Kiwi professor of law Alexander Gillespie. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ 2023 strategic foreign policy assessment, Navigating a shifting world, accurately foresaw a more uncertain and complex time ahead for New Zealand. But already it feels out of date.The Trump administration’s extreme disruption of the international order (which New Zealand helped construct) is going further and faster than foreseen in the assessment. Were another nation responsible, the government would have been quick to condemn it.US President Donald Trump (Source: Getty)But…

Former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has advice for New Zealand as it considers joining defence and technology agreement AUKUS.Morrison, who has been in New Zealand to speak at a forum hosted by Waikato University, was one of the original three leaders to sign the agreement, along with former US President Joe Biden and former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In an interview with Q+A, he said any country looking to join AUKUS would have to make a contribution to prove their value to the technology-sharing arrangement. “What happens with Pillar II is that there would be direct engagement with…