Author: Press Room

The Polish border with Belarus has seen conflict between law enforcement and migrants travelling eastwards, and Germany’s decision to temporarily impose border checks has put Poland under further pressure. ADVERTISEMENTNGOs in Poland and abroad have criticised Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s announcement that he intends to temporarily suspend the right apply for asylum in his country.The proposal is part of a wide-ranging strategy approved by Tusk’s Civic Coalition party. According to initial versions of the document published by Polish media, the plan includes limiting the number of people who can apply for a visa, making it harder to obtain a…

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau says there was no talk of Government interference during her talk this morning with the Local Government Minister.Whanau earlier arrived at Parliament for a meeting with Simeon Brown as her council faces the threat of government intervention.The council has to find a way to fill a huge budget hole, after a decision not to sell its airport shares.Opposition MPs claim the Government is trying to score political points by criticising Wellington City Council. (Source: 1News)Following the meeting, Whanau said the conversation was polite and friendly and was mainly about her giving an update on the council.Ahead…

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented Ukraine’s much-anticipated ‘victory plan’ at the parliament in Kyiv on Thursday. What is in there, what isn’t, and what does NATO have to do with all this? ADVERTISEMENTAfter showing it to Ukraine’s most important allies and the two candidates for the next US president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented his victory plan to the parliament in Kyiv. The proposal comprises five points, the first being a bid to join NATO. According to the latest available data, 84% of Ukrainians want their country to be a member of the alliance.Over two and a half years into Russia’s full-scale invasion and countless…

A childhood friend of manslaughter-accused Himatjit Kahlon has given evidence at the Auckland High Court that he too had received Honey Bear beer from Kahlon.Aiden Sagala died last year at age 21 after consuming liquid meth from a beer can. The Crown contended he was given the can by Kahlon, whose manslaughter and drug charges trial began yesterday.The Crown’s case is that Kahlon was in charge of beer that was held at a Papatoetoe warehouse which had received 700kg of methamphetamine — some of the meth was in liquid form in the beer cans when it was found — and…

One in four New Zealand adults surveyed have recently shopped at online retailer Temu, new research from Christian aid and development agency Tearfund New Zealand shows.That’s equivalent to more than one million New Zealanders. The study also found a further 14% of New Zealanders are estimated to have recently purchased from Shein. Temu and Shein are Chinese-owned ultra-fast fashion retailers. Shein focuses on clothing while Temu sells a wide catalogue of items that also includes kitchenware, household goods, car accessories, electronics and more. They primarily sell items through their apps, particularly Temu which gamifies the shopping experience by flooding its…

The Christchurch mosque terrorist has failed in a bid to have the coroner’s inquest into his attacks put on hold.Deputy Chief Coroner Brigitte Windley informed the hearing: “I have before me an application made by Mr Tarrant to adjourn these proceedings.”Counsel is aware of the reasons that are being advanced in support of that application.”The killer was deemed an interested party for phase two and had been listening to parts of the hearing from the Prisoners of Extreme Risk unit at Auckland Prison. His application came following evidence from gangs expert Jarrod Gilbert, who said the terrorist would have been…

Software sold by UK company Datel that allowed infinite boosts on a racing game doesn’t infringe EU copyright law, judges in Luxembourg said, in a ruling that some say could prove crucial to the gaming sector. ADVERTISEMENTThird party add-ons for Sony PlayStation games that offer players extra options don’t breach EU copyright law, the European Court of Justice has said.   The EU’s highest court found against the video games giant in a case seen as crucial to a games modding ecosystem worth hundreds of millions. “The Directive on the legal protection of computer programs does not allow the holder of that protection…

The Star is in a “pretty sad state” after the embattled casino operator got hit with millions of dollars in extra fines and had its Sydney licence suspension extended.The company received the $15 million penalty after a second probe revealed further significant failings, the NSW Independent Casino Commission said.It came two years after the casino first had its licence suspended and was fined $100 million following an earlier inquiry.”If Sydney Star fails, The Star group will fail,” chief commissioner Philip Crawford says. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)Star Entertainment Group had started to clean up its act but huge questions remained around competence…

The number of ghost homes is on the rise in Tauranga, but the city still has fewer empty houses than another area in the region.Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale said Tauranga was facing a housing shortage and it was better to occupy current dwellings than build new ones.“It’s a very hard problem to solve. We’re a very attractive place to come and holiday, and it’s probably a problem a number of councils around the country grapple with.”Drysdale said he was keen to see if the council do anything about the empty homes in the future, but there were “other priorities right…

The one-day summit is expected to be heavily dominated by migration as member states look to “innovative solutions” to stem the flow of irregular arrivals. ADVERTISEMENTUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will present his ‘Victory Plan’ to European Union leaders on Thursday.The Ukrainian leader will then head over to the NATO headquarters where a meeting of the alliance’s defence ministers is taking place over the next two days. EU leaders, gathered for what is expected to be a one-day summit, will meanwhile then turn their focus to other topics on their agenda. These include the Middle East and efforts to engineer a…