Author: Press Room

“Woke barrel-hugging piece of scum.”It’s one of the latest insults sent to Selwyn District councillor Shane Epiha who says he is fed up with the insidious actions of faceless bullies.Epiha (Ngāpuhi, Waikato, and Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri) had already decided not to run for a third term on council, but the rising tide of online abuse has solidified his decision.”It’s not unusual to receive negative comments and messages over the past six years.”But they have been getting worse the last couple of years.”Recent consultation on the Government’s Local Water Done Well reforms became a powder keg in Selwyn, he said.Rather…

ADVERTISEMENTTalks between the US, Ukraine and European officials to discuss ending Russia’s full-scale invasion were supposed to take place in London on Wednesday — however, the meeting was downgraded to a lower level when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cancelled his participation.Instead, Washington has sent in its Ukraine envoy, retired General Keith Kellogg, who has been absent from some of the most important stages of the negotiations since the new US administration took office.Ukraine is represented in London by Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who are currently meeting with European…

A Married at First Sight bride has accused her on-air husband of lying in his application for protection against her, which she claims he lodged out of retaliation.Ryan Donnelly and Jacqui Burfoot were paired together in the most recent season of the hit Australian reality TV series but chose to separate during an insult-laden final vows ceremony. Their bickering went from the small screen to the courtroom when Burfoot was granted an interim restraining order in Tasmania, preventing Donnelly talking about her on social media. Donnelly responded by applying for an apprehended domestic violence order against Burfoot, which came before…

A seven-year-old Dunedin boy who died after a car crash in the Catlins has been described as a “bright, loving, and adventurous little boy”.Police have named O’siah Prasad as the boy who died after a single-vehicle crash at Ōwaka last month.More than $10,000 has been donated to honour his memory and help support his family through a Givealittle page, which has since closed.A family friend who created the page said his presence brought so much love and warmth, and his loss had left an unimaginable void.”O’siah was a bright, loving, and adventurous little boy who filled every room with joy.”Among…

ADVERTISEMENTUS President Donald Trump has lashed out at Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying the Ukrainian leader is prolonging the “killing field” after he pushed back on ceding Crimea to Russia as part of a potential peace plan.”This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.”Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when…

There’s been a tearful closing day to the coroner’s inquest into the death of Olympic cyclist Olivia Podmore.Her family have sat through more than three weeks of evidence, in Hamilton and now Christchurch, her father Philip Podmore struggling with emotion as he talked of what they’ve learned about Olivia’s time in the High Performance Sport New Zealand system. Philip Podmore. (Source: 1News)“We hope Cycling New Zealand and High Performance can learn from this tragic event. From what we have heard during the inquest this could have been avoided.”Podmore died in August 2021. In a closing statement to the Coroner, her…

ADVERTISEMENTTwo Belgian teenagers who were found with thousands of ants valued at more than €8,000 and allegedly destined for European and Asian markets will be sentenced in two weeks, a Kenyan magistrate has said.Njeri Thuku, sitting at the court in Kenya’s main airport, said she would not rush the case but would take time to review environmental impact and psychological reports filed in court before passing sentence on 7 May.Belgian nationals Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, both 19 years old, were arrested on 5 April with 5,000 ants at a guest house.They were charged on 15 April with violating wildlife conservation…

ADVERTISEMENTIn Europe, the number of irregular migrants is estimated to be between 2.6 million and 3.2 million. New research shows that access to primary health care for irregular migrants is generally preferred over providing low-income support. The PRIME study, undertaken by researchers at the European University Institute in Italy and the University of Uppsala in Sweden, collected the answers of 20,000 people across Austria, Italy, Poland, Sweden and the UK.Respondents in the UK were found to have more negative views than in the other four countries across a number of policy areas.  Those surveyed in the UK were also the least…

Several staff members at Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison were assaulted in two violent incidents over the weekend, in what’s been called a “nasty and calculated” attack. A prisoner allegedly hit a staff member with a sandwich press and threw hot water at three others in one attack, according to Corrections. Another staff member was punched in the face in a second unrelated incident. The alleged attacks have raised fresh concerns about prison staffing levels.Corrections Association industrial officer Alan Whitley said the hot water used in the incident had sugar dissolved in it, burning staff further.”It was a fairly nasty and…

ADVERTISEMENTElvira Azimova, Chair of Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Court, said her visit was part of the “follow-up” to the recent EU-Central Asia Summit, which brought together top officials from both regions. “My schedule includes meetings with practically all the key European institutions except the European Commission,” she noted, framing her presence in the EU capital as part of a broader effort to engage in “multilateral cooperation”. The renewed outreach comes as Kazakhstan attempts to present itself as a modernising state with legal institutions ready to support reforms. The Constitutional Court, reinstated in 2023 after a constitutional referendum, is still in its early stages…