Author: Press Room

Unions stated that salary raises for public servants included in the budget law are not enough to bridge the gap with high inflation rates in the past three years. ADVERTISEMENTThousands of nurses, teachers, and other public sector employees in Italy abandoned their jobs on Friday to fight the government’s budget plan. Unions organised a general strike with 43 demonstrations across the country.Protesters denounce a decline in spending power, persistently low salaries, and government policies that have weakened public services. They also are pressing for a more equitable distribution of profits from private companies to workers. “These protests don’t just speak…

More assertive steps should have been taken to assess Olivia Podmore when she expressed suicidal ideation, an inquest has heard.Warning: This story discusses mental health and suicide. A list of helplines is available at the end of the article.Instead the elite cyclist — left vulnerable from bullying within Cycling New Zealand (CNZ) and seen as a whistleblower — was considered at low risk of suicide.The Rio Olympian died by suspected suicide at the age of 24 in August 2021, at the end of the Tokyo Olympics, which she was not selected for.Psychiatrist Dr Erik Monasterio told Podmore’s inquest she was…

The arrests come as numerous European governments confront apparent hybrid attacks possibly linked to Russia. ADVERTISEMENTThe head of the Slovakian Intelligence Services has announced the arrest of a Ukrainian citizen and a Slovakian-Hungarian dual national for allegedly planning attacks on the country’s critical infrastructure. During a press briefing, services chief Pavol Gašpar and the Slovakian interior minister Matus Sutaj Estok, said that the two arrested were part of a larger international group who are being investigated in collaboration with intelligence services of other countries. Gašpar declined to give any more information on those detained, but said the authorities have “documented,…

A school north of Auckland has hit a sour note with some neighbours after switching its traditional school bell to a bit of rock ‘n’ roll and other classics to signal the start and end of class and breaks.It has sparked two opposing petitions: One to keep the music — and one to make the music stop.Warkworth’s Te Kura O Puhinui introduced the new system several years back but recently received a petition signed by some neighbours calling the music noise pollution.Principal of Te Kura O Puhinui, Karney Dawson, told RNZ’s Checkpoint the students and parents loved the musical alerts…

In an interview before leaving office, Josep Borrell sounds the alarm about Russia’s military superiority in its war of aggression in Ukraine and urges EU countries to “do more and quicker” to support Ukraine. “We don’t have a sense of urgency.” ADVERTISEMENTAs his five-year mandate as the European Union’s foreign policy chief comes to an end, Josep Borrell issues a final warning about the danger that Russia’s expansionism poses for the entire bloc and calls, one last time, on member states to ramp up their military assistance and prevent Ukraine from succumbing to Vladimir Putin’s control.”We’ve reached the breaking point.…

ANALYSIS: He’s brave, principled and loyal to his staff. But how well will Richard Chambers navigate the complex landscape that’s New Zealand now? A landscape crowded with issues like racial inequity in policing, controversial gang insignia laws, and the increasingly pressing question of whether to arm our police. The new police commissioner talks to John Campbell. Richard Chambers was once chased by a “gentleman with a chainsaw”. The man was “unwell”, he tells me. Chambers was a sergeant at the time, the most senior police officer there, and he desperately wanted to keep everyone safe. “I was leading the way.”…

The Chinese-owned platform is under increasing scrutiny in Europe for its influence over electoral processes. ADVERTISEMENTTikTok has been accused of spreading election-related disinformation in Ireland, as voters head to the polls to elect a new government on Friday.The allegations come amid mounting pressure on the Chinese-owned platform, which some EU lawmakers claim played a pivotal role in the surprise victory of little-known ultranationalist Călin Georgescu in the first round of the Romanian presidential elections last Sunday.International NGO Global Witness conducted an investigation designed to test the platform’s ability to detect and remove false claims about the electoral process in Ireland,…

Some regions are declaring a teacher supply crisis, as schools once again struggle to find enough teachers for the coming year.Principals told RNZ they needed more staff than ever thanks to the arrival of nearly 40,000 children of foreign workers over the past two financial years and, for primary schools, increases in classroom release time for teachers next year.They said they were getting more applications from overseas-trained teachers, but what they really wanted were locally-trained graduates.Primary schools had been told to expect an over-supply of teachers as enrolments dropped.But Southland Principals Association president Simon Bell said the 80 schools in…

The Government plans to prevent New Zealand’s highest earners from being able to make unjustified dismissal claims.The policy was part of the ACT-National coalition agreement and it will now be introduced to Parliament next year.A threshold of $180,000 per year would be set. Anyone earning above that would be unable to raise an unjustified dismissal claim if the planned law change comes into effect.The move “will enable employers to ensure they have the right fit for their high impact leadership and specialist roles”, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden said.”This policy is about offering workers and employers more…

A person has been seriously injured after allegedly being struck by a machete during a fight in the car park of an Auckland mall last night. Three people will face court today after the incident and a later warrantless search at a South Auckland property, where three firearms were seized.Auckland City CIB Detective Senior Sergeant Martin Friend said officers responded to a report of two groups of people fighting in the car park at St Lukes Mall at about 7pm yesterday. He said one person sustained serious injuries after being struck with a machete, and was transported to hospital by…