Author: Press Room

Four men have been arrested in Waikato following search warrants related to the tangi of a prominent gang member earlier this month.Detective Inspector Graham Pitkethley said a tangi was held in Huntly for a Taupiri gang member on December 2. He said during the procession several attendees were observed wearing gang insignia in a public place, including gang members from Taupiri Motorcycle club, Head Hunters, and Westside Outlaws.”Vehicles, including motorbikes, were seen performing burnouts and antisocial road user behaviour,” he said. “Several vehicles couldn’t be stopped at the time, and in these cases, information was noted for further investigation and…

The German city is providing vouchers worth €10 for women to use on night-time taxis, following the lead of several other municipalities in Germany. ADVERTISEMENTThe German city of Cologne is offering night taxi vouchers to women to help them get home safely, in a pilot project inspired by similar initiatives in other parts of Germany.The Women’s Night Taxi scheme is providing a total of 1,500 vouchers worth €10 each to women and gender-diverse people for taxi journeys between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am, according to Cologne’s city council. The vouchers can only be used with one company,…

A person has been found dead following a fire in Auckland’s Ranui early this morning.Emergency services were called to the fire on Swanson Rd at around 4.41am.”Tragically, a resident of the home was found deceased inside,” police said.”At this stage, the fire is being treated as unexplained and a scene examination is being conducted.”Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) described the building as a 5m x 3m cabin. A fire investigator was at the scene. It’s believed the cabin was at Western Park Village. A spokesperson for the village said there is very little it can comment on at this…

Diego Solier and Nora Junco were given the green light to join the fourth largest group in the European Parliament – but not the leader of the SALF party they belong to, Luis “Alvise” Pérez. ADVERTISEMENTThe right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament on Wednesday welcomed two new members, Diego Solier Fernández and Nora Junco García, from Spain’s anti-establishment party The Party is Over (SALF).   The two MEPs requested to join in July this year along with their leader, the controversial YouTuber Luis Pérez, better known as ‘Alvise’, who has not yet been approved or rejected…

The Commerce Commission has issued a draft decision on slashing card fees paid by businesses that it says could save Kiwis more than $260 million a year if it went ahead.The decision would reduce the fees paid by businesses for accepting Visa and Mastercard payments.”These fees are passed on to consumers through the cost of goods and services, and surcharges,” the Commerce Commission said.The commission would set the expectation that savings businesses make under the decision, if it went ahead, would be passed on to shoppers.New Zealand consumers spend about $95 billion each year using Visa and Mastercard, the commission…

Pyongyang’s forces are helping Vladimir Putin’s army in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive in August. ADVERTISEMENTSeveral hundred North Korean troops have been killed or injured fighting for Russia against Ukraine, a senior US military official has said. Speaking on Tuesday, the official did not specify how many had died but said the number of casualties was high because Pyongyang’s soldiers were not battle-hardened.The disclosure comes weeks after Ukrainian and Western sources confirmed that North Korea had sent around 10,000 soldiers to aid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war efforts. In return for weapons and military personnel, Moscow…

Children in early learning are at an unacceptable risk of harm due to gaps in the way the sector is monitored, the regulatory review of early childhood education says.The review by the Ministry of Regulation published on Wednesday says the sector’s regulations are excessive and confusing, and the division of watchdog responsibilities between the Education Ministry and the Education Review Office are unclear.It cited regulations about door handle heights, water cylinder temperatures and immunisation records as examples of poor rule-making.Regulation Minister David Seymour said he accepted all 15 of the review’s recommendations, which would bring a major shake-up to an…

The tech giant says it “strongly disputes” the allegations after the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) filed criminal complaints in France and Belgium. ADVERTISEMENTThe Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has filed criminal complaints in France and Belgium against subsidiaries of Apple, accusing the tech giant of using conflict minerals.Lawyers representing the Congolese government allege that Apple uses minerals pillaged from the DRC and laundered through global supply chains, making it complicit in crimes committed by armed groups that control some of the mines in the country’s east.The complaints were prepared by a team of international lawyers on behalf of…

The Marlborough Mayor says the reopening of Kenepuru Rd just in time for the holiday period would allow people to “rediscover” the region after three years of closures.A storm in July 2021 particularly damaged one of the main routes into the Kenepuru Sound, with repairs costing around $85 million. Before the repairs could be completed another storm hit in August causing widespread damage throughout the Marlborough Sounds.Following the completion of a retaining wall which Marlborough Mayor Nadine Taylor described as an “engineering work of art”, she told Breakfast it was “the best Christmas present ever” for those who use the…

Police are investigating a “suspicious death” after a person was found lying on a street in Napier’s CBD during the early hours of this morning.Police were called to the scene near the intersection of Emerson and Hastings streets at around 3.15am, following a report of a person lying on the street.”Emergency services responded to the location and CPR was performed on the person but sadly, they could not be revived,” a police spokesperson said.”Police would like to hear from anyone who witnessed any incident in the area from around 2am.”If you have information or CCTV or dashcam footage that could…