Author: Press Room

Authorities in the Czech Republic’s Olomouc region declare a state of emergency a month after a train derailment caused what they called the world’s largest benzene contamination of its kind. ADVERTISEMENTCzech officials declared a state of emergency in the vicinity of Hustopeče nad Bečvou in the Přerov region due to the spread of toxic benzene following a train crash on 28 February.Olomouc Governor Ladislav Okleštěk declared the emergency after the toxic substance had already completely contaminated the nearby lake. He says the order was needed to enable faster remediation of the contaminated soil and water.”We have unanimously agreed to declare…

Finance Minister Nicola Willis says she has sought external advice on a possible break-up of the supermarket duopoly to help accelerate grocery competition. Willis said the Government was open to a range of “interventions” in the sector, focusing on making it easier for a third national competitor to enter the market.But the senior minister said she was also open to considering more drastic measures. “We can’t just wait for another competitor to arrive in order to make the New Zealand grocery sector more competitive sooner. It is possible that more significant reform of the underlying grocery market structure may be…

Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says Cabinet has agreed to a formal request for information (RFI) to accelerate improved competition in the New Zealand retail grocery market. Willis said the RFI would help the government to determine the next regulatory and legislative changes. The government wanted to hear what it would take to get a third player into the New Zealand grocery market, she said. Willis also announced she was considering “structural separation” of entities in the sector. She said she was seeking external specialist advice “on ways in which the existing supermarket duopoly could be restructured to improve competition,…

Police have confirmed one person died in a light plane crash near Lake Hāwea yesterday, with another person critically injured.Emergency services were called to an area east of the lake about 1.30pm.One of the plane’s two occupants was airlifted to Dunedin Hospital in critical condition. The second was located deceased at the scene, according to police.”The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has been notified, and a scene guard remained in place overnight. Police will make inquiries on behalf of both the CAA and the coroner.”Light plane (file picture). (Source: istock.com)Rescue crews at the scene of the crash were assisted by Fire…

Most New Zealanders are not aware of the limited amounts that people on a benefit receive, and that is adding to an increased fracturing of our society, one researcher says.The Helen Clark Foundation has released a new report into social cohesion in New Zealand, comparing it to Australia. Financial inequality was a significant driver of the problems identified in this country, the report’s author Shamubeel Eaqub said. New Zealanders were half as likely to say they are satisfied with their financial situation as Australians.”Inequality – that divide between people who are comfortably off versus people who are not, people who…

Ali Mau was a bullied teenager with “no cred” when she first stood up for women’s rights. Later, the award-winning journalist changed the way sexual harassment is reported by the media with the #MeTooNZ project. The searing and deeply personal new memoir, No Words for This, is Mau’s bravest writing yet.Growing up in Australia with an Australian dad and an English mum, Mau’s family wasn’t wealthy, and at the private girls’ school she and her sister attended, she was bullied as a “poor girl”.Despite having “no cred”, Mau found herself taking a stand one day against a screening of a…

Students in Serbia have once again taken to the streets, this time protesting against a news outlet accused of running a propaganda campaign against university students who have been rallying for five months against government corruption. ADVERTISEMENTThousands of protesters have gathered outside a pro-government TV station in Serbia, accusing it of spreading propaganda against university students who have been leading months of large-scale anti-corruption protests against the government of President Aleksandar Vučić.Informer TV, a private station loyal to Vučić and his right-wing government, has repeatedly labelled the student protesters as extremists and mercenaries during the nearly five-month-long demonstrations. Although the…

Christchurch Women’s Hospital is celebrating its 20th birthday – as is the first baby born there back in 2005.Holly Williams was born just one hour after the new hospital opened its doors, weighing 3.6 kilograms. Her father Colin, with newborn Holly in his arms, told 1News at the time, “It’s a lot to take in”.Today, the pair laughed together as they looked back on the photos from March 30, 2005.“You’ve got hair now and I haven’t. It was a great day. I was very proud,” Colin told his daughter. When asked what it means to be the first born at…

During a visit to the Pituffik Space Base on Friday, Vance told US troops that Denmark has ‘underinvested’ in Greenland’s security and demanded that Copenhagen change its approach. ADVERTISEMENTDenmark’s foreign minister has scolded the Trump administration for its “tone” in criticising Denmark and Greenland, saying his country is investing more into Arctic security and remains open to more cooperation with the U.S.Lars Løkke Rasmussen made the remarks in a video posted to social media after a visit to Greenland on Friday by US Vice President, JD Vance.”Many accusations and many allegations have been made. And of course we are open to…

Worker representatives say vulnerable Pasifika people are still being taken advantage of, over two years after a damning review of our Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme found conditions amounting to ‘modern-day slavery’.Immigration Minister Erica Stanford recently apologised for a lack of communication about the scheme with Pacific leaders.There are currently 13,000 workers around the country helping with vineyard and orchard harvests, most coming over from Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu.There is no law requiring RSE workers to have a day off each week – one of many issues raised with the Immigration Minister last year in briefing notes released to 1News.…