Author: Press Room

A St John worker who helped with the response to 2019’s Whakaari / White Island eruption says he had trouble sleeping for weeks after.At the Coronial Inquest into the disaster, which killed 22 people, he said what happpened was “a very challenging time”.”During the event I don’t think it really hit hit me until after the event, I didn’t sleep for quite a few weeks very well at all,” he said.The staffer, who was working on the St John Air Desk which coordinates and dispatches air rescues, cannot be identified.”I kept replaying over in my head, what decisions have been…

ADVERTISEMENT The Party of European Socialists (PES) has expelled the Slovak prime minister Robert Fico’s party from its political group in the European Parliament. The Socialist group’s assembly took the decision unanimously on Friday and it was announced by Secretary General Giacomo Fillibeck during the Socialist Congress in Amsterdam. “Smer has been taking over the past couple of years political positioning that contradicts severely and deeply the values and the principles our family stands for,” he said. “The message is clear: if you belong to the PES family, you share the same values we all do.” The move has been…

The Health Minister is standing by his criticism of doctors as the feud over a mega strike escalates, and says he might consider a law change.Simeon Brown has accused doctors of “crossing an ethical line” with industrial action that “was hurting patients” during a speech at the senior doctors’ annual conference.That’s angered doctors, who are set to strike over pay and conditions next week.However, leading patient advocate Malcolm Mulholland said the minister’s comments on a possible law change were “pathetic”.”I think the reason why our doctors and our nurses are striking is because there’s just simply not enough staff. I…

ADVERTISEMENT The need to ramp up basic defence equipment like rifles and small-calibre ammunition is not being discussed enough by EU policymakers with big-ticket weapon systems like counter-drone measures and missiles too often receiving all the focus and money, the head of Beretta told Euronews. Most of the Italian company’s business is civilian, for hunting essentially, but defence and law enforcement have been gaining ground over the past four years, now accounting for a third of sales. Europe has seen a surge in defence spending since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. The EU put forward…

The future of the Manawanui wreckage and potential compensation payments remain a major talking point in Samoa.The Royal New Zealand Navy vessel ran aground on a reef off the south coast of Upolu in October last year and sank.New Zealand paid NZ$6 million to the Samoan government over it, however communities are yet to see any money.Tafitoala village has been directly affected by the maritime disaster.Resident Fagailesau Afaaso Junior Saleupu said the New Zealand High Commission and Samoa government held a short meeting regarding potential compensation options this week.Three options were tabled around the distribution process. One involved the Samoa…

The Kaipara District Council’s deputy mayor Jonathan Larsen has been elected to the top job with a total of 3138 votes. Final results posted by the council tonight showed Larsen won the race by 21 votes, ahead of iwi leader Snow Tane who attracted 3117 ticks. The tight race included the third placed previous Kaipara mayor Jason Smith, 36 votes behind Tane. Earlier today, the council held a public-excluded meeting to discuss an election process complaint letter from outgoing mayor Craig Jepson. Jepson sought council support for an election process complaint he wanted to forward to the Department of Internal…

A high-country station in Central Otago made famous for being the home to Shrek the sheep could soon become a gold mine.Australian-listed parent company Santana Minerals, which owns NZ company Matakanui Gold Limited, has bought 10% of Bendigo Station – roughly 800ha of land – from retired farmer John Perriam for $55 million.The station is about an hour’s drive from Queenstown.For decades, the land has been known for its merino sheep stock of the Shrek kind, but it could return to a gold rush era.The sale means the gold mine firm under the Bendigo-Ophir Project is one step closer to…

ADVERTISEMENT Romania is in agreement with US President Donald Trump’s “ambition” to request that all EU countries cut their energy ties to Russia in response to the war in Ukraine, the country’s foreign minister Oana Țoiu has told Euronews’ 12 minutes with. “We agree in Romania – and I have mentioned this to Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well – that the ambition that President Trump has put forward, the request actually to members of the European Union, to cut off from energy sources from Russia that generate profit that is used to fund the war, is the proper…

Kaipara District Council has today in a secret vote backed an election process complaint letter from outgoing mayor Craig Jepson.The decision was made at an emergency council meeting called by Jepson and held this morning after it was abandoned last night when it became “unruly”.Jepson had sought council backing for an election process complaint he wanted to forward to the Department of Internal Affairs.He said the primary objective of the meeting was to investigate whether Kaipara had an “honest and above board” election.Today’s council decision to back Jepson‘s complaint was made in a narrow 5:3 vote.Outgoing councillor Eryn Wilson-Collins said…

ADVERTISEMENT Around three-quarters of adults in 10 EU countries believe that large companies with 250 or more employees should be held accountable for human rights and environmental harms in their supply chains, a new Ipsos poll shows. Respondents in Sweden and Spain appear to hold this view particularly strongly. The survey, commissioned by Global Witness and Amnesty International and conducted by Ipsos, interviewed 10,861 people across Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, and Sweden. It follows negotiations to review the Corporate Sustainability and Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), a landmark EU bill that holds companies accountable for…