Author: Press Room

A suspected car thief has been stopped in his tracks by a Selwyn family yesterday morning following a string of alleged burglaries. On Monday evening, the 27-year-old allegedly stole a vehicle – a white Nissan Presage – from Hornby, in Christchurch. The car was crashed and abandoned in West Melton just after midnight. Over the next few hours, police allege the man “attempted to break into more vehicles and steal from several properties”.A car owner disturbed the man as he attempted to break into his vehicle in the Kingsdowne Dr area around 8am on Tuesday and called police.“The car owner…

Rough sleepers in Napier now have a place to stay overnight with the official opening of the city’s night shelter.Named Āhuru Mōwai as a “warm, calm haven”, the shelter would provide short-term refuge initially for some of the city’s most vulnerable men – known as whānau pounamu – as winter deepens. The facility has been unofficially open for the past three weeks, and rough sleepers and advocates have already noticed huge positive changes. Now, the shelter has been officially opened with Whatever It Takes Trust managing operations at the facility, which hosts up to eight men each night from 4pm…

Ozzy Osbourne, the “prince of darkness” and godfather of heavy metal, has died aged 76, just weeks after he reunited with Black Sabbath bandmates for a farewell concert in his hometown of Birmingham in England, writes Australian music educator Lachlan Goold.His family posted a brief message yesterday: “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning.”John Michael Osbourne changed the sound of rock music and leaves behind a stellar career spanning six decades, numerous Grammy awards, multiple hall of fame inductions – and a…

The Department of Conservation is investigating the unexplained discovery of a dead stoat on Stewart Island.Rakiura is known to be stoat-free with the nearest population 30km away across the Foveaux Strait.The dead stoat was found on the Rakiura Great Walk Track earlier this month with its skull crushed, either from a trap or similar blunt force.The department’s Southern South Island Director of Operations, Aaron Fleming, said a stoat’s swimming range was 2km and they were not known to stowaway on boats.”This stoat has died from a head injury then mysteriously turned up on a busy walking track,” Fleming said.”We need…

A beverage company with beginnings in the kitchen of a Dunedin student flat has credited a now two decades-old initiative as paving the way for its success. Cheeky Hard Iced Tea was joined by fellow businesses PledgeMe and PocketSmith at the University of Otago’s School of Business yesterday for an event hosted by Startup Dunedin celebrating the past 20 years of student startups. All were involved in the organisation’s Audacious startup programme — a Dunedin City Council-sponsored initiative for University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic students to help start their own business, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Co-founders Brendan…

The Kāpiti rail line is suspended after a car collided with a train in Glenside this afternoon.Police said the incident occurred at around 1.05pm, after a vehicle “left the road” on Middleton Rd, where it landed on nearby railway tracks.”The sole occupant of the car received minor injuries and was assisted out of the car by members of the public before a train collided with the car.Emergency services at the scene this afternoon. (Source: Supplied)”There are no other reported injuries at this stage.”The road remained closed while emergency services were at the scene.Motorists were advised to take an alternate route…

More than 50,000 people made withdrawals from their KiwiSaver accounts on the basis of hardship in the year to June — compared to about 18,000 five years ago.KiwiSaver provider Simplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub said the increase started in 2023 and the reasons were easy to understand — the recession and cost-of-living crisis were putting ongoing pressure on people’s budgets.”But, some context: The number of hardship withdrawals were 1.6% members, and 0.3% of savings. The hardship, as is true for the wider society, is concentrated pain among a few,” Eaqub said.Sorted’s personal finance lead Tom Hartmann told RNZ, it was…

Published on 23/07/2025 – 15:49 GMT+2 ADVERTISEMENT A day after Japan reached a trade agreement with the US on tariffs, the EU and Japan announced plans to strengthen their trade cooperation and combat economic coercion during the 30th EU–Japan summit held in Tokyo on Wednesday. “The world is changing rapidly. For strategic partners like us, it means becoming even closer to face the realities of our times,” Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said after the summit, stressing this came against a global backdrop “with growing trade tensions and uncertainty, fragile supply chains, the challenge of overcapacity and unlevel playing fields.”…

The Finance Minister does not believe New Zealanders are getting a “raw deal” on butter, but has accepted there is no getting away from how expensive it is right now.Nicola Willis met with Fonterra’s chief executive Miles Hurrell at Parliament on Tuesday evening.While the two meet regularly, there was increased interest in the meeting due to the current price of butter. Willis had earlier said it was something she would discuss with Hurrell.Finance Minister Nicola Willis says the price of butter will be discussed at her meeting with the giant co-op.  (Source: 1News)Characterising the meeting as “constructive and engaging,” Willis…

Published on 23/07/2025 – 15:50 GMT+2 •Updated 15:55 ADVERTISEMENT Ursula von der Leyen has called Volodymyr Zelenskyy to express her “strong concerns” and demand “explanations” over a new law that weakens the independence of two of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies: the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). Under the legislation, approved by the Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday and signed by Zelenskyy hours later, the two agencies are brought under the direct oversight of the prosecutor general, who is a political appointee. The prosecutor general will be allowed to select cases handled by NABU and…