Author: Press Room

The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab released a new report on Russia’s coerced adoption of Ukrainian children. According to it, Moscow launched the programme together with its all-out invasion, pointing to crimes against humanity. ADVERTISEMENTTaken from homes, detained for months and subjected to intense propaganda before coerced adoption — a new report by Yale’s School of Public Health has shed light on Russia’s forceful deportation of Ukrainian children and revealed information and details unknown until now. The researchers were able to track down how exactly Moscow is removing children from their homes, forcefully re-educating them and then placing them with Russian families under…

A Kapiti Coast motorcyclist was taken into custody yesterday for failing to stop and dangerous driving, shortly after appearing in court on the same charges.The 32-year-old was arrested yesterday afternoon after his court appearance earlier in the morning.Police said the man had appeared in Porirua District Court charged with failing to stop and dangerous driving. “Stunned” officers then observed the man doing a wheelie past a patrol unit on Cedar Drive just before 4pm, police said in a statement.He was spoken to by officers at his address minutes later and taken into custody.His motorbike was impounded.”Police will not tolerate this…

Auckland Council is moving to sell its remaining stake in Auckland International Airport.Trading in the airport company’s shares has been suspended while the deal was being completed.”Auckland Future Fund Trustee has invited a relatively large group of brokers to submit offers for a parcel of 163,231,446 shares (a 9.71% shareholding) in Auckland Airport,” the airport company said, in a filing to the NZX.It said the brokers would be expected to on sell to investment funds and clients.On Auckland Airport’s closing price on Tuesday night, the stake was worth about $1.3 billion, although such a large parcel of shares would likely…

The Pope often takes time during his Christmas appearances to call for peace across the world, but there’s no evidence he wants to replace the festival with a day dedicated to peace. ADVERTISEMENTSocial media users are claiming that Pope Francis has announced that the Catholic Church will celebrate a “Feast of Peace” or “Party of Peace” instead of Christmas this year.Some of the posts share the claim with a link or screenshot of an article from Argentinian news outlet El Cronista making the same allegation.Ultimately, there’s no proof that the Pope has made any such announcement.The El Cronista article has…

Testing results for potential further spread of the avian influenza variant found at an Otago chicken farm are expected today.Speaking to Breakfast this morning, Minister for Biosecurity and Food Safety Andrew Hoggard said the testing had been carried out at other sheds on the premises — and at other properties that trucks and equipment have gone to.Chickens at the commercial egg farm in Otago tested positive for the high pathogenic strain of avian influenza known as H7N6, it was announced on Tuesday.Around 80,000 birds would have to be culled at Hillgrove Egg Farm over the next two to three days…

Didier Reynders, the former European Commissioner for Justice, is under suspicion of money laundering. ADVERTISEMENTDidier Reynders is at the centre of a new criminal scandal engulfing Brussels.Belgian authorities suspect the politician has for years engaged in a money-laundering scheme involving lottery tickets and cash of unknown origin. Reynders has already been questioned by prosecutors and police have raided several of his properties. He has not yet replied to the latest accusations.Who exactly is this man?Born in Liège, a city in the French-speaking region of Wallonia, in Belgium, Reynders studied law and began his career as a lawyer before entering politics.…

MetService has issued heat alerts for Nelson, Blenheim and Napier as temperatures remain high in parts of the country.”The temperature is forecast to be very hot for this location,” messages on the MetService website read.”We advise you to keep hydrated, seek shade, check in with vulnerable people and look after your pets and livestock.” Using 20 years of data, meteorologists have picked a threshold for 46 locations across the country, with the alert triggered if the mercury spikes.NIWA principal scientist Chris Brandolino said the warm weather may last, particularly for the North Island, right through the weekend and perhaps even…

Key negotiations on the EU-Mercosur trade agreement are set to begin today in Uruguay. Meanwhile, France remains staunchly opposed to the deal and is actively working to rally a blocking minority to derail the agreement. ADVERTISEMENTWill France manage to kill off the Mercosur agreement? Today and tomorrow, 5 and 6 December, crucial negotiations to finalise the EU-Mercosur agreement take place in Uruguay. If approved, the trade deal involving the EU and the South American bloc, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia, would become the EU’s largest trade agreement in terms of population and trade volume. But France continues to…

Almost 1100 properties have been removed from Nelson City Council’s slope hazard mapping after an error was discovered.Some residents and developers previously challenged the accuracy of the maps, but experts representing the council had defended them as “robust”.A slope hazard map identifies areas which are potentially susceptible to slope instability and may be used in building and resource consent processes.The error relates to the “smoothing out” of the slope angle data, rather than the underlying dataset itself which was derived from LiDAR (laser measuring) readings from 2008-2015.The mistake was admitted in a joint witness statement dated November 6 between experts…

It comes as demonstrators took to the streets for the seventh consecutive night to protest the government’s decision to halt EU accession talks. ADVERTISEMENTUkraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Georgian Dream (GD) of pushing the country towards dependence on Russia, and said he is working with European and other partners to prepare sanctions against the Georgian government. “This situation in Georgia, of course, is not just the problem of one nation and not just the problem of our region – how the current government in Georgia is pushing the country into clear dependence on Russia. It is truly shameful what actions they are…