Author: Press Room
Food prices continue to increase, with milk, butter and beef mince and steak contributing to the rise, according to new numbers from Stats NZ. Food prices increased 4.6% in the 12 months to June 2025. It followed a 4.4% increase in the 12 months to May. Higher prices for grocery items (up 4.7%) and meat, poultry, and fish products (up 6.4%) contributed most to the increase. The increase in grocery prices was driven by higher prices for milk, butter and cheese. “Dairy products continue to drive the higher cost in food prices,” Stats NZ prices and deflators spokesperson Nicola Growden…
ADVERTISEMENT Calls from the European Union and NATO for increased military spending aren’t exactly resonating among the EU public. A recent Eurobarometer poll showed EU citizens are not exactly eager to spend money on defence, despite growing warnings from NATO and the EU about the risk of future conflicts. Fewer than one in four people (23%) want the EU to use its funds for military purposes. Which countries show the least support for military spending? A recent joint report by Bruegel and the Kiel Institute claimed that a new Russian aggression is “conceivable”, citing NATO claims that Moscow might be…
A woman from Lower Hutt who won $1 million from a bonus ticket has become the 30th millionaire of 2025. The MyLotto player “couldn’t believe her eyes” on Sunday morning after receiving an email from Lotto NZ informing her of what she had won. “My first thought was ‘this can’t be real’, you don’t want to get your hopes up because you never expect things like this to happen to you,” said the woman, who wanted to remain anonymous. She had to ask a family member to double-check for her and said she “wasn’t sure what I was seeing was…
By Euronews Published on 17/07/2025 – 16:26 GMT+2 ADVERTISEMENT The arrest of Varna’s Mayor Blagomir Kotsev has escalated from a local courtroom drama into a regional diplomatic flashpoint, as protests sweep Bulgaria and extend to Brussels, Germany and the UK. Kotsev, a prominent figure from the opposition “We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria” party, was detained on 8 July on allegations of embezzling public procurement funds through a catering contract. He has firmly denied all charges, describing the case as politically motivated. The controversy deepened when a key witness later admitted their testimony had been coerced. On Thursday, during a…
The Commerce Commission has moved to lower interchange fees paid by businesses to accept Visa and Mastercard payments.The regulator has issued a final decision, saying the cost was too high, and their decision would save businesses around $90 million a year.It said the average business would save around $500 each year in lower fees, but individual businesses could save more or less, depending on the mix of transactions they accept.The Commission put the overall cost of interchange fees at around $1 billion for businesses, which were often passed onto customers through surcharges and higher product costs.”This is an important step…
Too many people are still ending up sick and in hospital from contaminated fresh chicken meat, public health professionals say.New analysis released by the Public Health Communication Centre (PHCC) on Thursday shows hospitalisation rates for campylobacter infection have increased by almost 70% in 17 years. The study found contaminated fresh chicken meat remained the dominant source, causing an estimated 77% of infections.But the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has disputed the figures and is accusing the researchers of scaremongering.The PHCC study noted that, in 2007, regulatory measures were introduced to reduce contamination levels in fresh chicken meat tested in processing…
ADVERTISEMENT A French court ordered the conditional release of a Lebanese pro-Palestinian communist militant on Thursday after more than 40 years in detention in France. Georges Ibrahim Abdallah was serving a life sentence for complicity in the murders of two diplomats, one American and one Israeli, in Paris in 1982. The Paris Court of Appeal ruled Abdallah, who has been imprisoned in France since his arrest in 1984, can be released next Friday on the condition that he leaves France and never returns, judicial authorities said. His lawyer, Jean-Louis Chalanset, told reporters that Abdallah wants to return to Lebanon upon…
Two people have been charged with neglect, 10 years after the unexplained death of a four-year-old girl in Northland.Alestra Kepa-Hati died in Kaikohe in October 2015. The girl had suffered a broken arm, broken pelvis and two separate head injuries in the weeks leading up to her death.Detective Sergeant Natalie Syddall today said police have now arrested a man and woman in relation to the ongoing investigation.“Today we arrested a 60-year-old man and a 56-year-old woman, who have both been charged with four counts of neglect of a child under 18.“Three of those charges relate to Alestra and one to…
A rural Western Bay of Plenty community is “in shock” as a controversial local industrial park is greenlit.Te Puna residents have been rallying against the development since 2021, as they say the culturally significant, flood-prone wetland is inappropriate for the business.Resource consents were granted for the industrial park by an independent commission whose decision was released last week.Te Puna Industrial Limited bought 12ha of industrial-zoned land at 297 Te Puna Station Rd for $4.7m in 2021 and applied for consents from the Western Bay of Plenty District and Bay of Plenty Regional councils in 2022.The company is half-owned by shipping…
ADVERTISEMENT Poland will remain the biggest beneficiary of the EU’s proposed €2 trillion budget for 2028-2034, officials said Wednesday after the European Commission unveiled its draft multiannual financial framework. Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domański called Poland “the biggest beneficiary of the biggest ever EU budget” with further funds available for security, cohesion, agriculture and innovation. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the proposal as “a budget for a new era that matches Europe’s ambitions,” designed to “strengthen our independence and respond to the challenges facing the union.” The budget allocates €300 billion for agriculture and €218 billion for…