Author: Press Room

An electric scooter rider has been critically injured following a collision with a car in central Auckland this afternoon.Police said they were called to the intersection of Mount St and Symonds St at 4.05pm today.Officers could be seen inspecting the e-scooter, which was broken in half between the handlebars and riding deck, according to a 1News reporter at the scene.”Motorists and pedestrians are asked to follow the directions of emergency services staff at the scene,” a police spokesperson said.The road is closed in both directions from Wellesley St to Mount St.Detours are in place for bus routes 70, 22N, 22R,…

A Fiji Airways flight that sparked an emergency callout has landed after circling in the air for two hours above Canterbury.The airline confirmed the Nadi-bound plane hit a bird during take-off around 2pm and had to return to Christchurch Airport.RNZ understands the Boeing 737-800 had more than 170 passengers on board and was forced to enter a holding pattern to burn fuel before attempting to land.The plane landing back at Christchurch Airport. (Source: Tom Heslop @tomhaviation)In a statement, Fiji Airways said all guests and crew on board flight FJ450 were safe and their flight and engineering teams were closely monitoring…

Rotary Club of Ashburton’s annual Bookarama fundraiser has received a $3500 boost from the district council to help cover rising costs of disposing the unsellable items.The event was granted $3,500 from the council’s discretionary fund to assist with disposing of around 16 tonnes of unsold books and magazines – the equivalent weight of about eight large cars.Bookarama organiser David Mead welcomed the council’s assistance.“We know it’s a one-off,” Mead said.“We will be working with the council on a longer-term solution for the issue.”Ashburton’s David Mead, amongst the many books the club had collected that were able to be put up…

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is demanding answers from Fonterra over the sale of its consumer businesses to French dairy giant Lactalis.But the co-operative has said those answers were already publicly available.Fonterra has agreed to sell major brands like Mainland and Anchor for $3.845 billion.The inclusion of Bega licenses held by Fonterra’s Australian business brings the total proceeds for the sale of consumer and associated businesses to $4.22b.The sale includes a long-term agreement for Fonterra to sell milk and ingredients to Lactalis.The deal is expected to settle in the first half of next year, subject to regulatory and shareholder…

The future of longstanding Māori news and current affairs programmes – such as Te Karere and The Hui – are in doubt with the Government’s Māori media funding agency Te Māngai Pāho restructuring how it distributes funds after its budget was reduced from previous years.Over the past three years, the agency received annual funding boosts of around $16 million. With the change in Government, the boosts have not continued with Te Māngai Pāho’s budget set to return to its baseline funding of $50 million.Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka said the Government was focused on adhering to the baseline.”I think that…

A video recording of a survivor’s harrowing account of the Whakaari White Island disaster has been played in a coroner’s court, detailing the horrors of the eruption and how the teenager protected himself and sought help in the immediate aftermath of the eruption.The coronial inquest into the eruption which killed 22 people and injured 25 others in 2019 continues in Auckland, moving onto evidence from survivors and witnesses.Australian Jesse Langford, whose parents and sister were killed in the disaster, was 19 at the time of the disaster and had suffered burns to most of his body.He is one of three…

A post mortem has confirmed a young man who died after suffering what he thought was an allergic reaction at a mental health respite facility had eaten a meal that contained trace amounts of peanut.The pathologist found the man’s cause of death was anaphylaxis due to peanut allergy.The man’s mother says she’s “horrified”, calling her son’s death a “senseless waste of a life”.RNZ earlier revealed a review was underway into the death of Riley Brown, who was a patient at the facility in Nelson run by Pathways, a provider contracted by Health New Zealand.Brown’s mother, Paula Brown, earlier said the…

Rotorua Police have thanked members of the public who came to a woman’s aid after she was allegedly assaulted by another woman in Rotorua yesterday. Police were alerted to a 69-year-old woman being assaulted on Hinemoa St shortly before 4pm yesterday. Rotorua Area Prevention Manager Inspector Phil Gillbanks said after seeing the assault, multiple members of the public quickly intervened and provided immediate care for the older woman.”This was a callous and violent attack on a vulnerable member of our community and police are appalled by these actions,” he said. “Police would like to recognise and thank the fast actions…

Young people with long Covid say they feel “invisible” as they live in their own personal lockdowns, giving up jobs, study and relationships, while the rest of the world moves on. Cushla Norman talks to some long Covid sufferers and medical experts about the debilitating nature of the disease, particularly for young people, and examines how much support there is for them in our health system. Evidence is emerging of the unexpected toll long Covid is taking on the brains of young people. Researchers say this is a big change from the pre-pandemic situation when cognition impairment tended mainly to…

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including heavy rain on the way for some, a timeline for the Gaza hostages to be released, and why Princess Catherine says put down your phone. Some weather warnings are likely to remain in place into the weekend as a front stalls over the Tararua Ranges and Buller district. US President Donald Trump says the remaining hostages in Gaza should be freed early next week. A person has been seriously injured when a car and e-scooter collided in Auckland. A Fiji Airlines plane remains grounded in Christchurch after bird strike. The Princess of Wales…