Author: Press Room
ADVERTISEMENT The European Union has begun making overtures to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico ahead of a high-stakes summit on Thursday to push him toward lifting the veto he has imposed on a new round of sanctions against Russia. Fico has no objection to the package itself, which targets Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), oil infrastructure, the “shadow fleet” and cryptocurrency platforms, as well as the movements of Russian diplomats across the bloc, but has raised a series of unrelated grievances about energy prices, the car-making sector and competitiveness. These issues, he said, should be discussed “substantially” at the level…
Parents at a Christchurch school are being offered financial incentives if their children meet attendance targets.The Government has set a target of 80% of students being in class 90% of the time by 2030.It said attendance has risen every term since it was elected.In term two of this year, slightly more than 58% of students attended school regularly, compared to nearly 40% in term two of 2022.Te Kōmanawa Rowley Primary School has set a slightly lower target than the Government, in a bid to boost attendance.Students who turn up for 80% of the time in term four will get a…
ADVERTISEMENT Nearly three-quarters of Dutch political parties running in the upcoming October elections include at least one proposal in their programmes that violates the rule of law, claims a fitness check by the national association of lawyers published Monday. The Dutch Bar Association, NovA, examined the political programmes of the 15 parties currently represented in parliament and scored the programmes from green – those ideas that strengthen the rule of law — to yellow and red — those that are against the constitution. The far-right Forum for Democracy (FvD) contains the most concerning proposals: 33, followed by Geert Wilders’ Freedom…
Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi has hit back at the allegations of “major overspending” from her own party last week, insisting her electorate budget has never been overspent.She has not addressed questions about the appropriateness of hiring her son Eru Kapa-Kingi in her office.In a late-night email last Monday, Te Pāti Māori’s leadership levelled a number of claims about Kapa-Kingi and her son, including that Parliamentary Services had warned she was on track to overspend her office budget by up to $133,000.In an post on social media this afternoon, Kapa-Kingi said she had taken “some time” to decide how…
Published on 20/10/2025 – 11:58 GMT+2 ADVERTISEMENT A bus driver was killed when Sebastiani basketball ultras threw stones and bricks at a coach carrying Pistoia supporters along the Rieti-Terni motorway Sunday evening, in one of the most violent incidents involving Italian sports fans in recent years. Around 40 Pistoia fans were travelling home after their team’s A2 match victory in Rieti when several attackers hiding behind motorway guardrails near the Contigliano junction launched the assault, fatally striking one of the two drivers sitting up front. Police are questioning about 10 Rieti supporters, though no arrests have been made. Investigators confirmed…
An Auckland man controlled two teenagers “as if they were his property”, put them to work and kept their money, a jury has been told.Moeaia Tuai, who is 63, is standing trial on two charges of dealing in slaves.He is also accused of two rapes, eight charges of indecent assault, six of sexual violation by unlawful connection and assault with a statue and a broom.”The modern-day charge of dealing in slaves might not match the picture of slavery you might have in your mind, perhaps, or the ball and the chain and someone holding a whip,” Chis Howard, prosecuting, told…
ADVERTISEMENT Europeans continue to grapple with the idea of a potential summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, which would mark the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine that Putin, a man under sanctions and an arrest warrant, sets foot on European soil. As they gathered on Monday for a meeting in Luxembourg, foreign affairs ministers of the European Union walked a fine line between supporting Trump’s diplomacy and defending the integrity of the International Criminal Court (ICC), where Putin is wanted for the deportation and transfer of tens…
Would-be Kaipara mayor Snow Tane is seeking a vote recount.Tane is just 21 votes behind incoming new mayor Jonathan Larsen after Friday’s local election results.Dargaville’s Tane has 3117 mayoral votes, compared with Topuni’s Larsen on 3138 votes.Matakohe’s Dr Jason Smith, who achieved 3081 votes, has confirmed he won’t be seeking a mayoral vote recount. He was 57 votes behind Larsen, 36 votes behind Tane.Tane confirmed this afternoon his team will be lodging an application for a judicial vote recount in the Whangārei District Court before the end of today.Newly-voted-in Larsen will be completely knocked out of Kaipara District Council (KDC)…
Published on 20/10/2025 – 13:37 GMT+2 German social media users have been widely sharing a picture that they say shows supporters of Russia flying in a hot air balloon emblazoned with the face of President Vladimir Putin in Berlin. In the photo, we can see Putin against the colours of the Russian flag, with the balloon flying over the Brandenburg Gate and the Fernsehturm, or TV Tower. One of the users sharing the picture appears to affiliate themselves with the far-right AfD party, adding captions that say that “political sympathisers” of Putin were responsible for the balloon, which was flying…
ASB has cut a number of its fixed-term home loan rates.Its six-month rate will drop by 10 basis points, from 4.95% to 4.85%. Its 18-month rate will drop by four basis points, to 4.45%.The two-year rate drops to 4.49% and the three-year to 5.79%. The four-year rate falls to 5.09% and the give-year to 5.15%.The latest consumer price index update showed inflation was hitting the top of the Reserve Bank’s target band, with a 3% year-on-year rise.But economists did not expect it to alter the direction of interest rates, at least in the near term.Kiwibank’s economists said the result was…