Author: Press Room

Some have falsely claimed that the Ukrainian president did so in retaliation against Trump’s recent tirade against him. ADVERTISEMENTThe internet is awash with false claims that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has banned Truth Social, the social media platform owned by US President Donald Trump. Images have appeared on other social networks such as X, purportedly showing screengrabs of users unable to access Truth Social in Ukraine. It appears that both supporters and detractors of Ukraine have been spreading the message, with some commending Zelenskyy for banning Truth Social and others accusing the president of restricting free speech. The claims follow a war of…

Police have recovered a number of guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition after searching a property in Auckland’s Papatoetoe last night. The police Eagle helicopter located a vehicle of interest linked to an incident where a gun was allegedly pulled on a person on Monday night. Area commander for Counties Manukau West inspector Dave Christoffersen said police then went to the property the car was parked outside.Armed staff asked those inside to come out, which they did, and police searched the property.They found “numerous” guns as well as ammunition. The haul included two shotguns, two SKS assault rifles and…

The EU defence sector is increasingly struggling with finding workers with the skills needed to match the sector needs, industry representatives say – Why? What profiles are they looking for and what is the bloc doing to address the gaps? ADVERTISEMENTEurope’s defence sector needs more than just funding— it needs talent, industry representatives say. “This is certainly one of the periods impacted by the most intense search for new hires in Leonardo’s history, even more intense than in previous conflicts,” the Italian-based aerospace, defence and security company Leonardo told Euronews in a statement, referring to the war in Iraq or the conflict…

Round two of applications are now open for both new schools and state schools wanting to convert to charter schools, David Seymour says. Last year, the Associate Minister of Education announced seven publicly-funded, privately owned schools would open their doors in 2025 as part of the first round. These were Mastery Schools New Zealand – Arapaki; Te Rito, Te Kura Taiao, Ecole Francaise Internationale Auckland, Tipene, The Busy School, North West Creative Arts College and Christchurch North College. The Charter School Agency and an independent Authorisation Board processed 78 applications to open charter schools in the Government’s first round of…

In a short update on Wednesday morning, the Vatican said Pope Francis “had a peaceful night and is resting.” ADVERTISEMENTPope Francis remained in critical but stable condition on Wednesday morning and has suffered no new respiratory crises as he recovers from double pneumonia, doctors have said.The Vatican provided a short update, saying “the pope had a peaceful night and is resting.”The 88-year-old pontiff underwent a follow-up CT scan on Tuesday evening to monitor his lung infection, but no results were provided. Doctors said the pope’s prognosis remained guarded.He was nevertheless well enough to meet with the Vatican secretary of state…

The complexities of funding the sealing of a rural road came to the fore at a Hurunui District Council meeting on Tuesday.After around two hours of debate, councillors agreed in principle to contribute to cost of sealing the unsealed section of Maskells Road, Balcairn, near Amberley, from general rates.The 24 property owners living along that section of road will be expected to pay half of the cost, should 75% of the property owners agree to the terms.The council’s chief finance officer Jason Beck said the project would be loan funded and paid off over 10 years.Property owners will be able…

Kirill Shamiev, an expert on civil-military relations and Russian domestic politics at the European Council on Foreign Relations, discussed how the European Union should navigate the growing rift between Washington and its allies over the war in Ukraine. ADVERTISEMENTToday Radio Schuman explores the implications of the US administration’s approach to ending the war in Ukraine with Kirill Shamiev, an expert on civil-military relations and Russian domestic politics at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).The discussion takes in US president Donald Trump’s decision to engage in bilateral negotiations with Russia, divergence from European allies in UN votes, ambiguity over security…

The man accused of sexual offending while on staff at Christchurch’s St Bede’s College over two decades ago can be named. Father Rowan Maxwell Donoghue, 68, has been named as the former staff member facing 11 charges including indecent assault on a boy between 12 and 16 and three charges of indecent assault on a man/boy over 16.Police said the alleged offending happened between 1996 and 2000, when Donoghue worked at St Bede’s College in Papanui.In October 2024, police filed charges relating to offending against three individuals who boarded at St Bede’s College in Christchurch approximately two decades ago.Further charges…

With tax filing season around the corner, a number of tax scams such as phishing and smishing attacks are likely to be on the rise. Euronews Business looks at which tax scams are the most common and how to protect yourself from them. ADVERTISEMENTTax season can be quite stressful, as most of us grapple with confusing tax form language, hunt down months-old receipts and hope for refunds. However, this is also a time for tax scammers to prey on harassed tax filers, with a variety of new scams. In 2024, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) revealed $9.1 billion (€8.7bn) in…

An unprecedented 55 haka groups are performing at Te Matatini Festival from Tuesday to Saturday in New Plymouth, Taranaki.Both TVNZ and Whakaata Māori are providing free-to-air coverage of the event on TVNZ 2, TVNZ+, and Māori+. Wednesday’s scheduleWednesday – Te Haumi (Source: Supplied)Thursday Thursday – Te Kei (Source: Supplied)FridayFriday – Te Awa (Source: Supplied)The groups are split over four pools – Te Ihu, Te Haumi, Te Kei, Te Awa – each pool has been allocated a performance day.Fourteen groups will perform on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and thirteen on Friday in the preliminary round.At the end of Friday, the top twelve…