Author: Press Room

Nearly two thirds of survivors, whānau and Muslim community members were diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder or PTSD — or combinations of all three — within three years of the March 15 terrorist attacks, according to a new study on the psychological impact of the attacks.The University of Otago study followed 189 survivors, bereaved family members and the wider Christchurch Muslim community, and looked at outcomes during the initial 11-32 months following the attacks.The paper — The Psychosocial Impacts of the 15 March Terrorist Attack on the Christchurch Muslim Community — which will be published in the…

The $30.2 million prize from last Wednesday’s Lotto Powerball draw has not yet been claimed.One ticket won the mammoth jackpot last week. The winning ticket was sold at Albany Central Superette in Auckland.Will Hine, head of corporate communications at Lotto NZ, said: “We’re encouraging anyone who bought their ticket from Albany Central Superette for the draw on 23 October to check their tickets — someone’s life is about to change in an instant.”We have just had Labour weekend, so potentially our lucky winner may have gone on a trip and forgotten all about their ticket.”Hine said most Powerball winners claim…

Floods are the most common and most costly natural disasters in Europe. They are becoming more frequent due to climate change. What is Europe doing to anticipate and limit the damage? ADVERTISEMENTIn the past 30 years, floods have affected 5.5 million people in the European Union, causing 3,000 deaths and more than €170 billion in economic damage.Storm Boris left a trail of destruction in September across central Europe. Around 30 people lost their lives. Nine people died in Poland, and over 6,500 people were evacuated. More than  11,500 homes were damaged.  On September 15th 2024, the dam close to the southwestern…

There are concerns those most impacted by proposed cutbacks to postal services will struggle to have a say in any changes.The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) wants to reduce rural postal deliveries from a minimum of five days a week to three days. City postal deliveries could also be cut down to two days per week.It said the move was in response to plummeting mail volumes — but the Postal Workers Union of Aotearoa is rejecting the proposal entirely, claiming rural communities which need it most will be cut off.The union’s John Maynard told Breakfast the move will…

Recent ballots in Georgia and Moldova have shown how the Kremlin is working to counter the EU’s eastern expansion. ADVERTISEMENTAn annual assessment of candidate countries’ progress towards becoming EU members, unveiled by Brussels on Wednesday, showed none of the hopefuls making big strides despite a renewed sense of urgency to expand the European bloc eastwards.Ten states are waiting in the wings to join the European Union, nine of which have been recognised as official candidates. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has injected new impetus into the process of integrating them into the European bloc to avoid the so-called ‘grey zone’ on…

A substantial overhaul of the under-funded attendance system is needed, says the Education Review Office, as chronic absence reaches crisis point.In a report published today the office said 80,000 children were chronically absent in term two this year, generally the worst of the four school terms in terms of attendance.It said that meant one in 10 students missed more than 30% of class time that term, double the figure 10 years ago.”We are really worried. We think chronic absence has reached crisis levels,” head of the ERO’s education evaluation centre Ruth Shinoda told Morning Report.”Its doubled in the past decade…

The commission has strongly criticised Antoni Macierewicz for his role in cancelling prominent defence projects ADVERTISEMENTThe head of a special commission investigating Russian and Belarusian interference in Poland announced on Wednesday that he is referring a former defence minister to prosecutors. General Jaroslaw Stróżyk, who also chairs the Polish Military Counterintelligence Service, accused Antoni Macierewicz – the defence minister from 2015-2018 under the right-wing Law and Justice Party (PiS) – of impairing Poland’s defence capabilities before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.Stróżyk was appointed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk to head the commission when it was established in May.…

The Government is set to make redress payments to a group of Lake Alice survivors after “inequities” in a 2001 settlement were identified.From 1972 to 1980, hundreds of young people were sent to Lake Alice Hospital, where they suffered paralysing injections and electric shocks as punishment at the hands of head psychiatrist Dr Selwyn Leeks.In 2001, the Crown reached a $6.5 million group settlement with 95 survivors. They had been subjected to abuse at the facility.”Law firm Grant Cameron and Associates (now GCA Lawyers) represented the group and deducted an estimated $2.6 million in legal fees from the total settlement…

The number of companies opened across the EU is higher than those closing, with 3.4 million new companies created in 2022 versus 2.8 million that went out of business. ADVERTISEMENTAccording to the most recent Eurostat data, the EU’s business ecosystem seems to be in good health.In 2022, 3.4 million new companies opened across the block, while 2.8 million closed down.The countries that launched the most new businesses — compared to the size of their markets — were Lithuania (18.3%), Portugal (16.7%) and Estonia (16.6%).Austria (6.2%), Denmark (7.4%), and Italy (7.9%) reported the lowest rates of enterprise growth.The countries with the…

Health New Zealand is feeling the heat from its minister after revelations of a second significant spend-up on catering at conferences in the past year.In response to questions from RNZ, Health NZ confirmed it hosted up to 400 finance staff at a conference at Auckland’s Eden Park on 30-31 October last year.The overall catering costs totalled $95,584. The venue hire was an additional $20,067.It comes after RNZ revealed Health NZ racked up a $60,000 catering bill — including $9200 on canapés — during a three-day meeting for 300 managers in late March.In a fresh statement to RNZ, a spokesperson for…