Author: Press Room
By Jorge Liboreiro & Video by Amandine Hess Published on 08/07/2025 – 17:52 GMT+2•Updated 17:56ADVERTISEMENTHungary is nowhere near unblocking the €18 billion in cohesion and recovery funds that Brussels keeps frozen due to persisting concerns about democratic backsliding, according to the new edition of the Rule of Law Report, released by the European Commission on Tuesday.It found that Hungary has made “no progress” on seven of the eight recommendations made last year, such as reforms on lobbying rules, the fight against high-level corruption and the editorial independence of public media.”It is deeply disappointing we’re not in a position to report further progress on…
Immigration NZ says immigration workers in Samoa helped an individual obtain visas fraudulently between 2014 and 2021.General manager of immigration investigations and compliance Steve Watson told RNZ that they were brought to New Zealand “with a whole lot of fraud going on back in Samoa that we’ve addressed”.The revelation followed this week’s sentencing of a Samoan national for their role in aiding other Samoans to work in New Zealand illegally between 2016 and 2021.They were a paid “associate” of the primary offender, who was sentenced back in April for running a service setting Samoans up with fake working visas.The associate…
Published on 08/07/2025 – 16:36 GMT+2•Updated 16:58ADVERTISEMENTMarine Le Pen has submitted a request to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to examine the immediate application of the five-year ineligibility sentence she received after being found guilty in March of misusing public funds, an offence with estimated damages running into several million euros. The daughter of the far-right party’s founder was sentenced to four years in prison, two of which are firm (but convertible into house arrest with an electronic tag), meaning she is unlikely to be incarcerated. She was also fined €100,000. In addition, the judge imposed a five-year ban from…
Around a dozen graves, some up to 150 years old, have been damaged at a historical Auckland cemetery.The graveyard is located at St Stephen’s Chapel near Parnell. The chapel, which was opened in 1857, is a registered category 1 building with Heritage New Zealand.Rosie Cormack told 1News she had been working at the St Stephens Chapel for about five years, working to restore graves and planting old-fashioned roses at the site.”Everything used to be badly damaged here, and slowly, we’ve restored it as much as we can,” the Heritage Roses convener said. “Some of them were impossible, the ground has…
Police are looking for the driver of a stolen vehicle that repeatedly rammed and extensively damaged a police car in Auckland in the early hours of this morning.The vehicle was signalled to stop at around 2.20am in Mount Wellington.It did, before reversing at speed into the police car, causing “extensive damage” and “rendering the vehicle immobile”.Police said one passenger from the vehicle had been arrested and there were “positive lines of inquiry” to locate the driver.A close-up of damage on a police car after it was repeatedly rammed by a stolen vehicle in Auckland. (Source: NZ Police)Neither of the police…
Health New Zealand has decided not to proceed with a proposed trial that was going to cut 12 maternity and gynaecology beds at Wellington Regional Hospital.The trial was aimed at making more room for patients from the overcrowded Emergency Department, according to a leaked memo.But after an emotional meeting with staff on Monday, who felt blindsided by the proposal, Health New Zealand has back-tracked saying it understands the importance of these services to women and families across the region.”After careful consideration of feedback from a broad range of stakeholders, the proposal will not continue.”Health New Zealand remains committed to optimising…
Fifteen years after Feilding farmer Scott Guy was shot dead, his parents remain hopeful the truth about what happened that cold winter morning will emerge.Bryan and Jo Guy say their lives are now divided into two parts — before Scott was killed, and after.The second part is hard to navigate, but they are determined not to be ruled by bitterness, and instead keep Scott’s memory alive.Scott Guy was 31. He and wife Kylee had a young son and another on the way when he was fatally shot at the foot of his driveway when he left for work on the…
Published on 08/07/2025 – 13:04 GMT+2•Updated 13:13ADVERTISEMENTThe EU and the US are preparing for a trade deal involving the US imposing a baseline 10% tariff on EU goods, according to several sources briefed by EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič.A preliminary agreement is expected to be concluded by Wednesday, with legal implementation by 1 August — the new deadline set by US President Donald Trump before additional tariffs come into effect if no deal is signed, sources said.“The US will not drop the baseline tariffs, because they’re a revenue source,” the Parliament’s trade committee head MEP Bernd Lange (Germany/S&D) told reporters on Tuesday.He…
A man has been charged after police found five “military-style” semi-automatic firearms hidden in children’s bedrooms in Napier. The discovery was made while police — working alongside the Firearms Safety Authority — were carrying out a search at the home of a firearms licence holder. Detective Senior Sergeant James Keene said concerns had been raised about the 42-year-old man’s fitness to hold a firearms license.”One of the most disturbing aspects of the arrest involved the discovery of five prohibited firearms, military-style semi-automatics, in children’s bedrooms,” Keene said.”The firearms were not locked away as required and ammunition was also accessible.”Keene said…
Research experts looking into the Covid-19 lockdowns say having people report breaches was highly ineffective and burdensome, as the first public hearings into New Zealand’s Covid response continue.The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Covid-19 is looking into the government’s response to the pandemic and its effects.This week’s hearings particularly concentrate on the impact of the extended lockdown in Auckland and Northland in 2021 and on vaccine mandates and safety.Today, Dr Antje Deckert told the Inquiry that 63,000 lockdown breaches were reported to police by citizens during levels 2, 3 and 4.Police road stops were also counterproductive because officers were often…