Author: Press Room
İmamoğlu’s arrest has been widely viewed as politically motivated and sparked demonstrations in cities across the country, some of which have turned violent. ADVERTISEMENTThe head of Turkey’s main opposition party has visited jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu after six nights of mass protests calling for his release.İmamoğlu, who was arrested on 19 March on corruption charges, is seen as the main challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s 22-year rule.His arrest has been widely viewed as politically motivated and sparked demonstrations in cities across the country, some of which have turned violent.The government insists Turkey’s judiciary is independent and free of political influence.Özgür Özel, the leader…
June Carter, Kenny Chesney and Tony Brown have been invited to join the Country Music Hall of Fame.The Country Music Association announced the new 2025 inductees on Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee.Carter, the Grammy-winning member of one of country music’s pioneering families and the wife of country giant Johnny Cash, joins as this year’s veteran-era artist. Chesney, who has won the CMA Awards entertainer of the year four times, joins as the modern era artist. And Brown, a Nashville producer who has supervised a wide array of best-selling hits by Vince Gill, Reba McEntire, George Strait and many others, will join…
Officers working at a police custody unit in Gisborne failed to properly check on a woman convicted of murder who was found dead in her cell. The circumstances surrounding the death of 63-year-old Lynne Martin have been detailed in a decision released by the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) today. Martin was convicted of murdering her 88-year-old father by setting fire to his house near Te Karaka following a three-week trial in November 2023.Following the conviction, Martin was taken to the Gisborne police custody suite at the police station, where she would stay overnight before being moved to a corrections…
Due to ongoing geopolitical tensions, the Dutch government wants to more than double the number of people serving in the armed forces, from 70,000 to 200,000 people. ADVERTISEMENTThe Dutch Ministry of Defence has confirmed it aims to more than double its military personnel, from 70,000 to 200,000 by 2030. In a letter from the State Secretary for Defence, Gijs Tuinman, to the House of Representatives, he said that defence is “facing a major change,” which means “that the Netherlands must be able to stand on its own two feet.”In order to increase the size of the armed forces, the government…
A person has been charged with manslaughter after a 72-year-old man died in an incident while hunting in Bay of Plenty last week. Police were alerted to a sudden death in Minginui, Whakatāne, around 2am on Friday.The man killed was today named as 72-year-old Stuart Maxwell Stobie from Kawerau.Police today confirmed a 46-year-old man was arrested.He is due to appear in the Rotorua District Court today charged with manslaughter, unlawful hunting, and unlawful possession of a firearm.Stobie’s death is being referred to the coroner. “Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time,” police said. In a…
In a letter to Health Commissioner Oliver Várhelyi, health ministers from 12 countries urge the Commission to step up its fight against tobacco and novel nicotine products. ADVERTISEMENTHealth ministers have urged the European Commission to step up its fight against tobacco and questioned the blocking of several pieces of tobacco legislation in a letter to Commissioner Várhelyi seen by Euronews. In the letter, dated 21 March, health ministers from Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia, and Spain, at the initiative of the Netherlands, voice their concerns over the increasing use of new nicotine products among youth, cross-border…
A Christchurch moving company has developed its own app so customers can pick live timeslots with fixed hourly rates. Happy Helper Moving Company owners want to eventually develop the software further so clients can track the movement of their possessions in much the same way as Uber rides. Founder Tony Joyce started the moving company three years ago and was joined recently by software developer Fabian Johnson, who has taken an equity share in the business. Mr Joyce said the new logistics and booking app had sped up the service and helped remove the stress of moving houses for clients.…
A world-leading study is starting in Aotearoa, investigating why large numbers of Fijian people are developing heart disease at young ages, with heart attacks killing some still in their 20s.Fijians make up just 2% of New Zealand’s population, but 20% of people suffering heart attacks or angina here are under the age of 40.Many of them are otherwise fit and healthy until the heart disease strikes.University of Otago scientists believe there is a genetic link, and are recruiting people with premature heart disease, or a family history of the disease, who are under 55 and living in New Zealand.They hope…
The Common European System for Returns aims to speed up deportation of asylum seekers who aren’t permitted to stay in the European Union. In an unexpected move, it also opens the possibility to build the controversial detention centres outside the bloc. ADVERTISEMENTThe revised regulation fills a gap within the Pact on Migration and Asylum to be implemented from July 2026 and aims to address the fact that only about 20% of yearly deportation orders are carried out, according to EU institutions.Lists of safe countries of origin and safe third countries to which rejected asylum applicants may be sent should be defined. In…
A southern-based firewood business has blamed shortage of wood, staffing difficulties, theft of cut wood and Covid-19 for its insolvency position. KD Firewood, which originated in Invercargill and later took over Wanaka Firewood, was put into liquidation by a special resolution of shareholders earlier this month. The company, which was incorporated in October 2019 and ceased trading at the end of last year, was jointly owned by Kerry John Dixon and Owen Fredrick Dixon who were also its directors. In his first report, liquidator Iain Nellies of Insolvency Management Ltd said the total amount owed to creditors was just over…