Author: Press Room

Kostin’s resignation followed allegations that nearly 50 prosecutors in the western Khmelnytskyi region of Ukraine had acquired false disability certificates. ADVERTISEMENTUkraine’s prosecutor general Andriy Kostin has publicly resigned following a corruption scandal in which dozens of prosecutors are alleged to have obtained fake disability certificates to enable them to receive social security benefits and avoid conscription.A statement published by General Prosecutor’s office said the decision to resign came hours after Zelenskyy held a Security Council meeting to discuss “fake disability certificates of officials of state bodies.””I consider the position of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to be absolutely correct…

The third and final container which came off the HMNZS Manawanui when it sank in Samoa has been removed from the reef, the Defence Force has confirmed.The containers, each 3m long, came off the Manawanui on October 6 when the ship capsized. The NZDF said two containers were empty, while one contained food.The containers were all being safely disposed of at the nearby port, and the food has been buried at a landfill.Senior national representative commodore Andrew Brown said the removal took four days of coordination between the NZDF, local contractor Ark Marine, and the support of Samoan authorities.”This was…

Tom Cruise’s mystery Warner Bros. movie is set to begin production imminently.According to Variety, the untitled flick – which stars the 62-year-old actor and is being directed by Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu – is due to enter production in the UK shortly and could even begin shooting as early as next month.While the picture’s story is currently unknown, Warner Bros. previously revealed Cruise would be leading a star-studded cast which includes Anatomy of a Fall actress Sandra Hüller, Breaking Bad star Jesse Plemons, Emmy Award-winner John Goodman and Your Honor actor Michael Stuhlbarg.Riz Ahmed and Sophie Wilde have also…

Ambulance workers’ industrial action has ceased – for now – after their unions accepted the latest pay offer from ambulance service Hato Hone St John.The Government announced the breakthrough this morning, while also hailing a further funding injection into the charity.Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said the coalition would lift its support by more than $21 million, bringing the taxpayers’ contribution to St John to nearly $357 million for the 2024-25 financial year. The funding came from Health NZ and ACC.”Hato Hone St John provides an essential service by ensuring people receive timely treatment in an emergency,” Costello said. “This…

A new study shows a growing contribution of universities to the continent’s innovation ecosystem but laments the bloc’s fragmentation is crippling the ability to turn high-level scientific research into economic competitiveness. ADVERTISEMENTA new report by the European Patent Observatory (EPO) shows that patent submissions across the continent are concentrated in just a few places.Half of all direct and indirect patent applications submitted with the European Patent Office between 2000 and 2020 – on a total of over 100,000 – came from only 5% of all European universities.France’s University of Grenoble was the most active, with 3,348 submissions, followed by Zurich’s…

Unsettled and rainy weather is expected to kick off the long weekend across many parts of New Zealand, according to MetService forecasters. As of Wednesday afternoon, wet weather was forecast for Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Waikato over the weekend, with heavy rain also affecting other regions. MetService meteorologist John Law said it would be a “very different story to the weather we saw last weekend” with a “messy” picture across the country on Saturday.Heavy rain was expected to move northwards, up the South Island throughout today and Thursday. Orange heavy rain warnings have been issued for much of Fiordland and…

Authorities said 46 other people were rescued from a heavily overloaded inflatable boat that got into difficulty. ADVERTISEMENTFrench maritime authorities pulled the bodies of two migrants from the English Channel on Wednesday, pushing the count of dead and missing in French waters so far this year to more than 50.Authorities said 46 other people were rescued from the aftermath of a failed attempt to cross the treacherous waterway between France and England aboard a heavily overloaded inflatable boat.While small boat crossings of the Channel have been a mounting problem in recent years, this year is proving to be particularly deadly.The…

Insurance premiums have “increased horrendously”, a Consumer NZ insurance expert says. Rebecca Styles told Morning Report the lack of competition was one reason for the high cost of insurance. House insurance premiums in New Zealand increased by 97 percent in the last 10 years, and over 30 percent this year, Styles said. “While it looks like there’s choice and you can shop around, there’s not really… they’re sort of different brands, but they’ll sort of go back to the main company,” she said. Another challenge specific to house insurance was getting the individual assessment required for each quote, which discouraged people from comparing…

Tauranga City Council’s decision to sell the Marine Precinct at Sulphur Point has been heavily criticised at a meeting this afternoon.The Council announced the sale of the precinct — established to support local fishing and the marine industries — in May. This decision was made prior to the Tauranga City Council’s first election since 2019, which was held in July this year.At the time of the sale, the previous council said it would “guarantee its future in bringing significant economic benefit to the wider community”.As part of the sale, the purchaser – a private, unknown buyer – is required to…

Valeo employees in Suze-sur-Sarthe are striking to save their jobs, as the automotive industry’s future in Europe remains in doubt due to competition and downsizing. ADVERTISEMENTDozens of funeral crosses line the road leading to the factory owned by car parts giant Valeo in northwestern France.Each one bears the names of the nearly 300 employees at risk of losing their jobs in the coming weeks.Since Monday night, the workers at this plant in Suze-sur-Sarthe — in a region where the automotive industry is vital for the local economy — are on strike. The site mainly produces battery cooling systems for electric vehicles…