Author: Press Room
The arrival of New Zealand’s urban search and rescue team in quake-struck Vanuatu has been delayed because of an engine fire warning on an old Air Force Hercules.The specialist team of firefighters and volunteer doctors and engineers was due to land in Port Vila with 10 tonnes of equipment at about 8.30pm yesterday.But the NZDF said the crew was forced to divert to Noumea in New Caledonia after an engine fire warning.A second plane is due to leave this morning to recover them and take them to Vanuatu.Other flights including a new Hercules with foreign affairs staff will leave at…
Telecommunications company 2degrees’ ice sculpture, installed in central Auckland to stimulate conversation about the impacts of climate change, came as the company became the first of its kind to have its net-zero 2040 target validated by global organisation Science Based Targets Initiative.The three metre-tall installation in Takutai Square, made from 2500 litres of rainwater and weighing in at two tonnes, was intended to communicate the scale of the world’s environmental challenges as it inevitably melted throughout the day.In Antarctica and Greenland, the amount of ice predicted to melt annually roughly equates to around 183 billion of these ice sculptures, according…
One ticket has won $5 million with Powerball First Division this evening.The winning numbers are: 03, 13, 14, 23, 31, 35, bonus ball 32, and Powerball 01.The winning ticket was sold on MyLotto to a player from Otago.Strike Four has rolled over to $1.5 million on Saturday’s draw.
Brussels wants to use Ankara’s influence to guarantee unity in Syria, as well as to avoid a new confrontation in the northern part of the country. ADVERTISEMENTAll roads leading to Syria pass through Ankara… Or so it has seemed ever since Turkey emerged as one of the biggest winners out of the downfall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, having had a significant, indirect military presence in the country and supported the rebels who seized power. This has given Ankara immediate access to Syria’s new leaders, and international recognition as a major player in the country’s affairs. From US Secretary of State Antony…
The sequel to Wicked will now be titled Wicked: For Good.The upcoming musical movie was initially announced as Wicked: Part Two, but Universal Pictures has now revealed it has changed the title while confirming the flick will hit cinemas on November 21, 2025.Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo – who play Glinda and Elphaba in Wicked – took to Instagram to share the new title, reposting a clip from the official Wicked account.The caption read: “You will be changed. ‘Wicked: For Good’, only in theaters November 21, 2025.”Wicked – which was directed by Jon M Chu and also stars Jeff Goldblum,…
From the minute you walk into an appointment, the clock is ticking. You’ve got questions to ask and answers to get, so there’s no time to waste. Sometimes, it can feel that all you do is walk into an appointment and are sent on your way with a hefty bill and no clear answers.Re: News asked experts how patients can make the most out of their health appointments and what to do if they don’t go how you expect. How to maximise your appointment time Dr Luke Bradford is the medical director at the Royal New Zealand College of General…
A new report from the European Chemicals Agency suggests potentially carcinogenic aromatic brominated flame retardants, ABFRs, could be next in line for wide-ranging restrictions after the ‘forever chemicals’ known as PFAS also raised health concerns. ADVERTISEMENTA class of substances intended to stop plastics catching fire and used in anything from smartphones to sofas could be the next family of chemicals subject to blanket restrictions in the EU amid fears over their health and environmental impact.In a recommendation made on Wednesday, the European Chemicals Agency, ECHA, warned that aromatic brominated flame retardants (ABFRs) are of particular concern when used as additives…
Twenty-five thousand dollars for what looked like less than a day’s work? An Auckland couple building their dream home found the cost of connecting their electricity “outrageous”. The country’s largest lines company defended its fee but then, after the job was done (and Fair Go made some inquiries), an “early Christmas present” was on its way. Mava Moayyed reports.Watch this story on our home for news, indepth and consumer stories TVNZ+.Rishi and Pritha Bhattacharyya set out to build their dream home after purchasing a century-old, asbestos-ridden bungalow in Auckland’s Mt Eden.They anticipated challenges with demolishing the house and starting fresh,…
A Bruegel study quantified the budget cuts some EU countries could face if the bloc admitted all nine candidate states, with an overall net cost of around €26 billion a year for current members. ADVERTISEMENTA potential enlargement of the EU to nine new member states could bring significant changes to the bloc’s budget.A new study by Bruegel analysed what could happen to cohesion funds, which is the money that less-developed regions in the EU receive to catch up with the richer ones.Currently, most of these regions are in southern Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, and much of eastern Europe. Howeve, the…
In an interview with Euronews, Salomé Zourabichvili asked EU countries to avoid ‘business as usual’ with the Georgian government, as ‘Russia is experimenting a new form of invasion’ in the country. ADVERTISEMENTThe outgoing Georgian president has repeated claims that the 26 October Georgian parliamentary election was manipulated by Russian propaganda, and called on the EU to act quickly, without elaborating on how, in an interview with Euronews.Talking following a speech in the European Parliament’s plenary in Strasbourg, Salomé Zourabichvili reiterated her promise not to step down on the 29th of December, the inauguration day when the newly elected president, Mikheil…