Author: Press Room
Published on 22/07/2025 – 16:35 GMT+2 •Updated 16:36 ADVERTISEMENT A British man who dreamed of being like James Bond was convicted on Tuesday of trying to spy for Russia. Howard Phillips, 65, sought to pass information about former Defence Secretary Grant Shapps to two men he believed were Russian agents. However, the contacts were actually undercover British intelligence agents. A jury at Winchester Crown Court found Phillips guilty of assisting what he believed to be a foreign intelligence agency. The unanimous verdict came after four hours of deliberations. He was remanded into custody and will be sentenced in autumn although…
New Zealand joined 24 other countries including, Britain, Japan and a host of European nations in issuing a joint statement overnight saying the war in Gaza “must end now” — the latest sign of allies’ sharpening language as Israel’s isolation deepens.The foreign ministers of countries also including Australia and Canada said “the suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths”. They condemned “the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food”.The statement described as “horrifying” the recent deaths of over 800 Palestinians who were…
Working a four day week reduces burnout and improves job satisfaction, a new study has found.The research out of Boston College in the United States tested the effect of reducing employees hours to a four-day week with no reduction in pay.The study held six-month trials reducing the working hours for 2896 employees across 141 organisations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland and the USA.The outcomes of the trials were then compared with 12 control companies that did not transition to the shorter work week.Clinical psychologist Dougal Sutherland spoke to Breakfast about the results of the research. (Source: Breakfast)The…
An external review following a New Plymouth District Council rates GST blunder — which could’ve cost it $20 million in lost revenue — indicates key managers may not have a sufficiently sophisticated understanding of the rating process and its impacts.The Simpson Grierson review found the council lacked financial reporting and modelling capability which “strongly suggests a need for training, and possibly recruitment/restructure and training”.Council chief executive Gareth Green conceded an earlier restructure — which saved the district council $10 million — played a part in the error.”That necessitated some significant pressure being applied through the business.”I think that pressure along…
By Mihhail Salenkov & Euronews Published on 22/07/2025 – 13:41 GMT+2 •Updated 13:41 ADVERTISEMENT Russian lawmakers vote Tuesday on legislation criminalising “searching for extremist content online”, marking the first time Moscow will hit internet users for consuming rather than distributing materials deemed as banned. The law targets internet users who knowingly search for content from the Russian extremist register, which contains 5,473 entries and is maintained by the Ministry of Justice. The definition of “extremism” in Russia is open to interpretation, and it enables the authorities to target minorities, political opposition, or stifle freedom of expression or assembly. For example, in 2023, Russia…
The rollout of paid parking to more Tauranga city centre streets will cause “huge problems”, say critics, and one business owner is “gutted”.From August 4, on-street parking in the city centre fringe between the eastern end of Fourth Ave and Park St, north of the CBD, will cost $1 an hour for the first two hours and $2 for every hour after, to a maximum of $10.Two-hour parking limits would also apply to some sections of Cliff Rd, Brown St, Arundel St, Fourth Ave, Fifth Ave, Sixth Ave, Seventh Ave, Eighth Ave, Sheath St and Edgecumbe Rd.Parks on those streets…
By Serge Duchêne Published on 22/07/2025 – 11:25 GMT+2 ADVERTISEMENT Ukraine’s SBU state security service launched a series of raids on the country’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) as part of an investigation into allegations that officials within the agency have been cooperating with Russia. The SBU said on Monday that it had arrested two officials working for NABU, one a suspected Russian spy and the other over alleged business ties to Russia. The security service said one of the officials, who was unnamed, allegedly collected and sent the details of Ukrainian law enforcement officers and other citizens to the Kremlin. “At…
Police believe Abdulhassan Nabizadah was “set up” to be robbed – but the incident took a violent and ultimately tragic turn.Nabizadah, 63, was found critically injured on a street corner of Camperdown Road in the early hours of 17 March, shortly after police were called to a home invasion a block away on Darlington Road.He died in hospital the next day.Detective Inspector Nick Pritchard – the head of the investigation into Nabizadah’s death – told RNZ that police had identified and spoken to a woman linked to messages which drew Nabizadah to the suburb of Miramar and the assault which…
Regional aviation will become increasingly unsustainable and ticket prices will continue to rise until the government takes action on aviation system costs, airlines say. Sounds Air announced this week that it will be cutting its Blenheim to Christchurch and Christchurch to Wanaka routes due to spiralling costs. Sounds Air chief executive Andrew Crawfords has cited rising levies as a contributing factor to the cuts, even though there is still demand on those routes. “Where are we supposed to get that from? We’ve just got to pull that on the travelling public.” More services will be lost if there is not a reset of…
Who doesn’t love a bargain?But marketing experts are warning shoppers to be wary about discounts and promotional activity, and say they’re not always everything they appear to be.Price matchesMany shops offer to beat a competitor’s price. But it can be harder to claim on this offer than it might seem.Often, it has to be an identical item, in terms of packaging and brand, with the product in stock and available for same day delivery or collection. Usually, shops offering this option will also require that the competing retailer is in New Zealand with physical stores.Marketing expert Bodo Lang, from Massey…