Author: Press Room

The owner of a Palmerston North window installation company — which shut its doors owing customers hundreds of thousands of dollars — has avoided jail for now.Owner of Green Innovations, Michael Wright appeared in Wellington District Court on Wednesday for sentencing after pleading guilty to seven charges of obtaining by deception.But sentencing was delayed when he made an unexpected offer of reparations.The charges related to just over $300,000 paid to Green Innovations — between December 2022 and July 2023 — as deposits and progress payments for window installations that never eventuated.Judge Noel Sainsbury told the court and a gallery of…

Alexander Pumpyanskiy is a son of Russian businessman Dmitry Pumpyanskiy, who until 2022 was the head of Russia’s largest pipe manufacturer TMK. He was present at Vladimir Putin’s first meeting with businessmen after the start of the full-scale invasion. ADVERTISEMENTSwiss-Russian Alexander Pumpyanskiy has told Euronews that his continued inclusion on the EU sanctions list is aberrant and shows the Council is flying against a decision of the EU Courts.Alexander Pumpyanskiy, son of Russian businessman Dmitry Pumpyanskiy, is a long-term resident of Geneva who previously held positions in companies formerly owned by his father.He was originally included in sanctions lists as…

Police believe that a man wanted for arson attacks on Masterton church last month is receiving help to evade officers.Detective Senior Sergeant Philip Skoglund said Michael Kane McRae, 44, has not been found “despite wide-ranging enquiries”.”We believe McRae is still in the Wairarapa area; my message to anyone helping him evade capture is to come forward now, do not put yourself at further risk of prosecution,” said Skoglund.Four Masterton churches suffered damage ranging from moderate to significant following a group of suspicious fires believed to have started between 4.25am and 4.35am on February 22.The blazes were believed to have started…

The EU Commission will present its White Paper on the Future of European Defence by 19 March. ADVERTISEMENTThe European Commission will present a specific omnibus package for defence by June 2025, according to a draft of the forthcoming White Paper on the future of European defence seen by Euronews.The special simplification regulation will aim to reduce fragmentation within the single market and increase defence production through a simpler and more harmonised regulatory environment for defence products and services, the Commission plans.”Simplification is necessary to boost industrial defence production,” the draft says, adding that harmonisation will overcome the “additional administrative burdens…

Twenty people who entered an Auckland motorway on foot during a protest convoy organised by Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki in November have been fined.In November, the “Make New Zealand Great Again” protests saw a convoy travel from Mercer in Waikato to the Auckland Domain.They were protesting the flying of flags other the official NZ ensign.At one stage it blocked State Highway 1’s northbound lanes near Bombay as people rushed into the lanes on foot to perform a haka.Police at the time said the actions were “reckless, unlawful, and extremely irresponsible” .Today Superintendent Naila Hassan said police were able to…

China was the third largest partner for EU exports of goods and the largest partner for EU imports of goods in 2024. ADVERTISEMENTIn 2024, the EU exported goods worth €213.3 billion to China and imported €517.8 billion. This led to a trade deficit of €304.5 billion, according to the latest Eurostat figures.  The only EU countries toreport trade surpluses with China were Ireland and Luxembourg. The other 25 EU countries experienced trade deficits, with the Netherlands facing the largest deficit at €85 billion.China remained the EU’s largest trade partner for imports, accounting for 21.3% of the total, followed by the United States at 13.7% and the United…

A back-to-back victory at the top of a national economic ranking shows Otago is consistent with its strengths, an economist says. Otago beat 15 other regions around New Zealand to place at the top of ASB’s latest regional economic scoreboard for the final quarter of 2024 — repeating its top placing in the organisation’s previous ranking, for the third quarter of last year. The quarterly scoreboard ranks the economic performance of the country’s 16 regions on employment, construction, retail trade and house prices. Coming in second — also for the second time in a row — was Canterbury, followed by…

Police have issued a warning after stakes were found embedded in the ground in the Manawatū settlement of Himatangi.The stakes were discovered by members of the public “near the forest entrances at the beach, alongside other areas near the Tangimoana Forestry Block”, Manawatū Police posted today on its Facebook page.”These stakes pose a great danger and could cause serious injury to any person entering and using the forest, either recreationally or for work purposes.”Anyone found to be responsible for laying the stakes would face charges, police said.”Due to the severity of damage these stakes can cause to the public and…

This article was originally published in Italian The latest medical bulletins from the Vatican on the 88-year-old’s condition have said he is improving and is no longer in immediate danger of death. ADVERTISEMENTPope Francis marked his 12th anniversary as pontiff on Thursday with positive medical updates nearly a month after he was hospitalised with double pneumonia. In the Vatican’s latest medical bulletin on Tuesday, it said a chest X-ray had confirmed improvements just two days after doctors declared that the pope was no longer at imminent risk of death. However, the “general picture remains complex”, the bulletin read.The Holy See has…

A person was admitted to hospital overnight in Wairarapa after ingesting an unknown substance.It comes after three others were taken to hospital in the region after ingesting an unknown white powder over the weekend. Today police said they were called to a Masterton home in Wairarapa about 8.50pm Wednesday where the person was in critical condition. Three others fell ill over the weekend after taking what they thought was cocaine but was likely an opioid. Wairarapa Relieving Area Commander Inspector Nick Thom said today that the substances in the two incidents were not believed to be the same, but “police…