Author: Press Room

In an exclusive interview with Euronews in Budapest, Georgia’s new Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili questioned whether the protests by pro-EU groups in her country could truly be described as “peaceful”. ADVERTISEMENTMass protests in Georgia are about to enter their third week, with thousands of Georgians taking to the streets to demonstrate against the recent decision by Tbilisi to put EU accession talks on hold. Protesters vowed to continue to demonstrate for as long as it takes until their demands are met, despite the intensifying violent nature of the clashes. Police have resorted to more heavy-handed tactics in an attempt to…

This week has seen a ratcheting up of pressure from the political right and car industry, which want the EU to ease regulations designed to cut emissions and promote a switch to electric vehicles. ADVERTISEMENTThe European Commission must take action “as soon as possible” as the automotive sector faces huge fines as a deadline to reduce the average emissions of cars and vans looms, the centre-right European People’s Party reiterated today.Stricter CO2 emissions standards agreed in 2019 come into force next year, but carmakers are blaming sluggish sales of electric vehicles for their inability to comply when the limit tightens…

A strange signal that has been interrupting a South Island council’s water monitoring system is being investigated by a government department.Waitaki District Council said its water and wastewater plants send data back to Oamaru but that the information from Hampden, Herbert and Moeraki had been recently disrupted.”We’ve had a strange signal interruption that sounds like a machine-gun like thudding.”In a statement, Waitaki District Council confirmed to 1News the disruptions have been “occurring for the past two months or so but is intermittent”.The council said it did not occur every day but that it crashed its systems for the entire day…

A delicate compromise has been struck to balance fishing activities and resource conservation in the Mediterranean, following intense negotiations that placed the sector under significant scrutiny. ADVERTISEMENTEU fisheries ministers reached an agreement on fishing limits for 2025 after two days of discussions in Brussels ended on Wednesday night, with wrangling over Mediterranean stocks leading to reduced quotas.These measures decided at the EU level aim to safeguard the long-term health of fish stocks and marine ecosystems in the Atlantic, North Sea, Mediterranean, and Black Sea while ensuring the livelihoods of fishing communities.The debate over fishing days—also known as fishing efforts—in the…

One person has died following a two-car crash in Taranaki this afternoon.Police said it was notified of the incident at Matarikoriko Rd and Kairau Rd East in Brixton around 3.55pm.One person was critically injured in the crash and “subsequently” died, police said. The road is closed while the serious crash unit examines the scene.

The new guidelines put forward by Brussels reflect the right-wing shift that is rapidly reshaping the bloc’s migration and asylum policy. ADVERTISEMENTThe European Commission has given political approval to Poland’s contentious plan to introduce a time-limited, territorial suspension of the right to asylum, enshrined in both European and international law, in response to the migration flows that Russia and Belarus have weaponised against the bloc’s Eastern border.The blessing also applies to any other member state under a similar situation, including Finland, which has introduced an emergency law that, if triggered, will prevent migrants from submitting asylum claims and empower border…

Police are making inquiries following the “unexplained” death of a person in a Northland forest this afternoon.The body was discovered in Waipoua Kauri Forest. The death is being treated as “unexplained” at this stage of the investigation. “The death will be referred to the coroner, and at this stage, it is not being treated as suspicious,” a police spokesperson told 1News.

Wanting to stay productive or financial necessity are the main reasons Europeans keep working even after receiving old-age pension. ADVERTISEMENT13% of people in the EU in 2023 continued working during the six months following the receipt of their first old-age pension.  Among them, about half maintained their previous employment, while the other half made adjustments, such as switching jobs or reducing their working hours.The data was compiled in the latest member state figures of the Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) by Eurostat.”It may seem a low number, but retirement ages have increased by multiple years in many EU countries,” said Jelle Lossbroek,…

A central Dunedin bar has had its liquor licence opposed after it was found to have traded without a valid licence. An on-licence application for Indigo Room, in Moray Pl, has been opposed by police, the medical officer of health and a licensing inspector. The applicant, Aika & Co 2016 Ltd, was sent licence renewal documents and an invoice in September, a report to Dunedin’s district licensing committee said. But the renewal application was not submitted and the licence expired on October 15. In his report, medical officer of health delegate Aaron Whipp said the applicant had continued to operate…

The first time Layba Zubair realised what happened to her was rape, she was looking up at a poster that had been put up at her school for consent-awareness week. Content warning: This article discusses rape and sexual violence.The poster said something like ‘this is not OK’ or ‘if you see something, say something’ and it struck a chord with her. “Those nights had been buried off in my brain. I didn’t really think too much about them after it happened.”She struggled to talk about what happened with her parents because of cultural differences. “I’m not even supposed to be…