Author: Press Room

The first session of parliament on Monday was half-empty, with only the ruling Georgian Dream Party present, as no opposition parties attended. ADVERTISEMENTThousands of protesters gathered outside the newly elected Georgian parliament on Monday as it opened its inaugural session, accusing the ruling party of rigging the vote under Russian influence.Opposition lawmakers and the country’s ceremonial president refused to take part in the session, leaving only 88 members of the Georgian Dream party present in the 150-seat assembly. Several thousand protesters faced off against scores of riot police outside the parliament, under pouring rain.The October election, which saw the Georgian Dream…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ  KiwiSaver withdrawals for hardship reasons are happening at record levels, and there are warnings of more to come as a Christmas crunch hits. The 4000 people who withdrew $38.4 million from KiwiSaver in October this year set a record for the retirement savings scheme. Supervisor Public Trust said its data for the past two years showed there could be more to come, because there was usually a seasonal spike in hardship withdrawals nearing Christmas. “Already November is on track to be one of the year’s busiest months in terms of volumes of hardship applications, and…

Many bottle shops and supermarkets in Auckland are gearing up for a stricter cut-off time to sell alcohol just as the festive season kicks off.From December 9, all off-licence alcohol outlets will have to stop trading from 9pm, everyday.Liquor City Manurewa manager Durjot Heer said while he fully supported the new legislation, he wondered why it wasn’t implemented in January after the busy season.”[The change is] much safer for everyone, after 9pm there is always trouble,” Heer said.Heer said he had hoped the LAP trading hours was implemented after Christmas.”It’s our most busiest time of the year – it’s party…

The Swedish battery maker filed for bankruptcy last week, dashing ambitions for the European electric vehicles sector – and leaving significant EU loans outstanding ADVERTISEMENTThe collapse of Swedish battery maker Northvolt AB has left a hole in the EU’s ambitions for electric vehicle success – but also a potential three-hundred-million-euro hole in its budget.  The company filed for bankruptcy protection under the US Chapter 11 procedure last week, as it only had about $30 million (€28.81m) in cash remaining. Some of its debts of $5.84 billion are owed to the EU itself, which has sought to boost potential European champions in a…

Children are being “pulled out” of maths, English and science at school to learn te reo Māori, according to Associate Education Minister David Seymour. But is that really the case? 1News finds out.Some educators were left scratching their heads over the weekend, following comments David Seymour made about the curriculum. The ACT Party leader appeared on Q+A on Sunday morning to discuss the Treaty Principles Bill and its purpose.Q+A presenter Jack Tame asked Seymour what a Māori person gets today that a non-Māori person doesn’t due to the current interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi principles.The ACT leader spoke to…

Portuguese naval authorities record heightened Russian ship activity, including spy vessels. Although deemed normal, they stress the importance of continued observation. ADVERTISEMENTThe traffic of Russian ships off Portugal’s coast has intensified in recent times, resulting in close monitoring of the situation, the country’s navy said.About three Russian warships, two refuelling vessels, three scientific research vessels, and one spy vessel have passed through Portuguese waters in recent times, according to naval authorities.Speaking to Euronews, Major General João Vieira Borges, president of the Portuguese Military History Commission, described the movement as normal, saying there was no cause for concern or alarm.“Accompanying NATO…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ  New Zealanders are feeling noticeably more positive about the housing market, and ASB’s economists say that is likely to turn into more activity and rising prices. The bank’s latest housing confidence survey shows an increase across all of its measures – house price expectations lifted, there was positivity about interest rates continuing to drop and improving sentiment about whether it is a good time to buy. A net 20% of respondents thought it was a good time to buy, up from 8% last quarter. Aucklanders had some of the strongest expectations of house price increases,…

Police have found a man and his dog who had been missing on the Kāpiti Coast.The man and his dog were last seen on Kaitawa Rd in Ōtaki Forks at about 7am on Saturday. Police said search teams found the dog, and then the man a short time later, at about 5pm yesterday.”He was transported to hospital for assessment.”

The Education Review Office (ERO) has panned the revised version of NCEA Level 1 that was introduced only this year.In a report published today it called for another overhaul and warned that it might be time to scrap the first year of the national school qualification altogether.Level 1 was not fair or reliable and its recommendations for change were critically important, the report said.”NCEA Level 1 difficulty varies between subjects and schools, which means that students have different amounts of work and different chances of achieving. Three-quarters of school leaders told us that credit values are not a reliable indicator…

The group split on the vote for final approval following decision-making meeting in Strasbourg. Co-chair Bas Eckhout says new executive is ‘good on content’, but several colleagues set to vote against. ADVERTISEMENTThe Green/European Free Alliance group in the European Parliament is split over whether to support the next European Commission, it emerged following a meeting in Strasbourg today.The European Parliament will vote at midday on Wednesday to approve the coming EU executive having approved all 26 commissioners with a backroom deal among centrist groups. An absolute majority of the votes cast is required to secure the green light, and abstentions do…