Author: Press Room

Nelson Mayor Nick Smith has hit back at “disinformation” being spread on social media about fluoride in the city’s water.Outdoors and Freedom Party co-leader Sue Grey had applied to speak during the public forum of Thursday morning’s Nelson City Council meeting to adopt its annual report.Grey’s application was sought following a post to the party’s Facebook page a day prior that alleged that Nelson had started fluoridating its water supply after the party claimed to have measured fluoride at 0.98 parts per million in the city’s drinking water.During Thursday’s meeting, the mayor dismissed the allegation as “disinformation” which was “completely…

A large fire in a commercial building in the Auckland suburb of Ōtāhuhu has now been contained and firefighters will remain on scene for several hours to dampen hotspots.Fire and Emergency NZ were called to the building on McGee St at around 2.30pm.The building where the fire was first reported was “well ablaze” when crews arrived and then spread to an adjoining premises.”The blaze reached fourth alarm level, and currently there are still 15 fire trucks plus other support vehicles on the scene,” a spokesperson said.Incident controller James Hall said firefighters have contained the fire in the second building and…

An Auckland businessman appeared in court today in relation to the alleged smuggling of around two million cigarettes concealed in cat litter and face masks inside shipping containers bound for the Port of Auckland.The illicit tobacco was seized by Customs this week after information was received from overseas border partners about two sea freight containers suspected to contain undeclared cigarettes.Customs officers X-rayed both shipping containers that revealed anomalies, a spokesperson said.”Subsequent examination found approximately 1.5 million cigarettes hidden inside cardboard boxes placed among bags of cat litter and face towels in one container.”Approximately 560,000 cigarettes were hidden similarly among boxes…

Members from two Timaru families have worked more than 300 years combined at the Smithfield plant, they’re now among hundreds of people trying to figure what to do next after losing their jobs.The Alliance processing plant axed 600 jobs last month, closing its doors on 139 years of operation. Many families have had generations working there and it wasn’t uncommon for people to spend their entire working life at the site.Two families with a very long and proud history working for Smithfield are the Mobberleys and Holdens — who’ve worked more than 300 years between them.Siblings Angela and Nigel Mobberley,…

The late Queen Elizabeth II is making a surprise Hollywood movie cameo.Her Majesty, who died aged 96 on September 8, 2022 at her beloved Balmoral estate in Scotland, will be appearing in Paddington in Peru when it is released on 8 November.It has been a seven-year wait since Paddington 2 was released about the marmalade-loving bear.The late monarch was famed for her sense of fun when it came to getting involved in Hollywood stunts – appearing with Daniel Craig in a James Bond sketch to mark the start of the London Olympics in 2012.She also sat down with a version…

The process to remove fuel from the HMNZS Manawanui after it sank in Samoa is expected to begin this month, the New Zealand Defence Force says.However, an academic has expressed concern with the pace of the operation and monitoring around the wreck.The NZ Navy vessel sank on a coral reef off the coast of the island of Upolu after running aground and catching fire on October 6. All 75 of its passengers and crew safely evacuated.Local authorities said about 200,000 litres of diesel leaked from the wreckage in the week following the incident.Samoan international relations expert Iati Iati said the…

Ukrainian soldier Yevhenii spoke exclusively to Euronews about his journey from DJing to the front lines, sharing how music provides solace amid the chaos of war. ADVERTISEMENTWhen Russia’s full-scale invasion started in February 2022, Yevhenii called his mother, saying: “Mum, I’m leaving Kyiv. Missiles are striking all around me. It’s deafening.” In her calm and typical way, she replied: “Alright, son, I’m makingborshch. We’ll be waiting for you.” Today, he chuckles at the memory. Before the war, he worked as a DJ and dancer, but his life was to change drastically in 2022. When Russia started attacking Ukraine, many were faced…

Two people have been injured, one critically, after an assault in Auckland’s Papatoetoe this afternoon.Police said they were called to a commercial address on East Tamaki Rd at around 1.19pm.”Two people had been reportedly injured with a weapon (not a firearm),” a spokesperson said in a statement.Hato Hone St John said it responded to the scene with two ambulances at 1.13pm.”Two patients have been transported to Middlemore Hospital, one in a critical condition and one in a moderate condition.”Police said they were making a “number of inquiries” to locate those believed to be involved.Anyone with relevant information should contact police…

A controversial housing development north of Wellington has been granted resource consent.The Plimmerton Farm project in Porirua seeks to build 2400 new homes in addition to a commercial area, retirement village, and school.It has been widely criticised by environmental groups amid concerns about runoff into the wetland, known as Taupō Swamp.The project — earmarked by the Labour government for fast-track consenting under the Covid-19 Recovery legislation — received the green light to be included in the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill last month.At the time, Porirua mayor Anita Baker, a longtime advocate for the project, said the region was in desperate…

The new aid package includes weapons that will be pulled from existing US stockpiles, including air defence interceptors for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems and munitions for HIMARS rocket systems. ADVERTISEMENTThe Pentagon has said it will send an additional $425 million (€392 million) in military assistance to Ukraine as Kyiv prepares to face Russian forces augmented by more than 10,000 North Korean troops.The new aid package, announced by Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, includes weapons that will be pulled from existing US stockpiles, including air defence interceptors for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and…