Author: Press Room

Largely fuelled by the war in Ukraine, EU member states’ military spending peaked at €279 billion in 2023, with 2024 expected to hit €326 billion. ADVERTISEMENTMilitary spending in EU countries has seen a substantial uptick in recent years. In 2023 alone, EU countries invested €279bn, the highest amount ever recorded by the European Defence Agency (established in 2004), and a 10% increase from 2022.But the rise in defence spending is hardly a new trend. Its upward trajectory began in 2014 when Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula.Last year, the top spending nations were all neighbours of Russia: Poland invested 3.3% of…

The European Commission and Mercosur countries announced on Friday the conclusion of an agreement creating a free trade area covering 780 million people. However, the deal will have to be sealed by EU member states. ADVERTISEMENTMore than twenty years after negotiations began, the European Union and the Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – have finally reached a trade agreement, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced from a summit in Uruguay on Friday.”Today marks a truly historic milestone,” von der Leyen said, adding the deal was “an ambitious and balanced agreement”.Negotiators from the Latin American trade…

Migrants and their families are being threatened with death or injury if they complain to authorities that they have been trafficked, says First Union.Twelve people have come forward so far, and more were in getting in contact all the time, according to union general secretary Dennis Maga.The trafficking — from the Philippines to New Zealand — that the migrants had suffered was a “complete deception”, he said.”They’ve been made to believe that there are some jobs waiting for them. And they’ve been forced to pay an amount of money even though for example, in the Philippines there should be no…

Budapest appears to be dragging its feet over submitting a realistic picture of Hungary’s economic outlook, according to a European Commission letter seen by Euronews – the latest potential quarrel in a pattern of worsening relations with Brussels. ADVERTISEMENTHungary’s fiscal plans are missing significant information and based on unreliable data, European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis has said in a letter to Finance Minister Mihály Varga, dated Thursday (5 December) and seen by Euronews.Budapest appears to be dragging its feet in submitting realistic economic forecasts to Brussels – part of a growing pattern of confrontation between the two.  “At this stage, there are…

A person was able to “drive off” after their car was hit by a train early this morning in Manawatū, police say.A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesperson said the train collided with the car at Halcombe at around 1.30am. It was understood that the driver got out of the vehicle before the collision but then returned and “drove off”, the spokesperson said. Police said the driver was located by officers a short distance away and was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.In 2012, a young woman was struck while driving a tractor across the Halcombe level crossing, surviving with serious…

A series of declassified documents suggest TikTok was exploited by a “state actor” to influence the outcome of Romania’s presidential election. ADVERTISEMENTThe European Commission has sent TikTok an “urgent” request for information demanding more answers about the platform’s increasingly controversial role in the first round of Romania’s presidential elections, which saw the sudden victory of Călin Georgescu and fuelled serious concerns of foreign interference. Georgescu, an independent candidate who has embraced Eurosceptic, Russian-friendly, ultra-nationalist and pseudo-scientific views, will face off Elena Lasconi, a pro-European liberal, in the second round scheduled for this Sunday.”We are concerned about mounting indications of coordinated…

The labour market is expected to become increasingly challenging, with an unprecedented number of people moving away from New Zealand, while AI is driving demand for skills that are likely to be in short supply.Recruitment firm Robert Walters said a lack of opportunities and inadequate salaries was driving people to seek employment overseas, which could mean the country lost a substantial number of highly skilled individuals, potentially for the long-term.”It’s no secret that the job market in New Zealand is pretty dire currently,” chief executive Shay Peters said.A survey of top-200 tech sector companies by the Technology Investment Network (TIN)…

Prosecutors say Anna Donelli exploited her spiritual role to pass messages between a gang and their associates in prison. ADVERTISEMENTAn Italian nun who won an award earlier this year for her voluntary work in prisons has been arrested on suspicion of being a mafia intermediary. Anna Donelli, 57, who served as a counsellor at several prisons in and around Brescia, northern Italy, was detained on Thursday, according to the Italian media. As part of a wider police operation, a further 24 people were detained in the clampdown for mafia-linked crimes including money laundering, drug trafficking and extortion. One of them…

Buses will not be available for those planning to spend their New Year’s Eve in Picton due to a scheduling clash with cruise ships visiting the region.The annual party usually attracts about 6000 people to the Picton foreshore for live entertainment and to watch the fireworks at midnight.The event, organised by Pure Events Marlborough in partnership with the Marlborough District Council, normally provided buses to help people travel between Blenheim and Picton. At one stage those buses were free.But at a council committee meeting last week, the council’s regional events adviser Samantha Young said the buses would not be available…

Police are investigating after needles were found in two different food products at a Woolworth’s supermarket in Auckland.Police confirmed they were making initial enquiries after a report of needles found at the Woolworth’s in Papakura Wednesday.Food Safety deputy director general Vincent Arbuckle said food safety officers would be onsite on Thursday to support police.”Police are making initial enquiries into the matter, with New Zealand Food Safety’s support, to ensure that consumers are not at risk.”The affected products have been removed from the shelves, Arbuckle said.”We are closely monitoring the situation. Based on information to date there is no evidence of…