Author: Press Room

Published on 03/07/2025 – 17:45 GMT+2ADVERTISEMENTAs Moldova prepares to host a pivotal bilateral summit with the European Union this Friday in Chișinău, President Maia Sandu and her pro-European government are making a concerted push to accelerate the country’s accession to the EU – potentially outpacing neighbouring Ukraine.Despite repeated hybrid attacks from Russia and economic headwinds, Moldova is eager to present its recent progress in aligning with EU standards as grounds for decoupling its enlargement track from Ukraine’s. But Brussels remains cautious.A source within the Danish EU rotating presidency told Euronews that “the decoupling of the enlargement process between Moldova and…

A prominent New Zealander has been granted continued suppression orders prohibiting media from publishing his name and the charges he faces.RNZ revealed on Monday the prominent New Zealander was arrested last week.After being made aware of the man’s arrest, RNZ approached the Wellington District Court to see if there were any suppression orders and when he would be appearing in court.In response, a registrar said the man faced eight charges, all of which are category three offences meaning the offence is punishable by imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for two years or more.However, an application had been granted prohibiting media…

ADVERTISEMENTFollowing the news of Portugal and Liverpool FC winger Diogo Jota’s tragic passing in a car accident overnight on Thursday, the initial shock was followed by increasing demands from the fans to retire his number 20 jersey amid mourning over his loss.The diminutive Portuguese ace has died in a crash on the Spanish A-52 highway near Sanabria in the province of Zamora, after a tyre on his Lamborghini Urus SUV blew out while overtaking another vehicle. Jota’s vehicle veered off the road and caught on fire, according to authorities and media reports. The Portuguese international’s brother André Silva — himself…

A Queenstown landlord has been fined more than $113,000 for illegally using his property as a boarding house for 22 tenants — migrant workers. Landlord James Truong must pay this amount to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) on behalf of the tenants, who were primarily employed in Queenstown’s hospitality industry. In 2020, the Queenstown Lakes District Council and MBIE’s Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team warned Truong to stop using the property as a boarding house or apply for permission to formally change its use. He was clearly informed the rules of operating a boarding house and communicated…

The speed limit has been lifted to 100km/h at the new State Highway 1 and 29 intersection in Waikato — marking a milestone in the 17-month construction project.Waka Kotahi NZTA has announced that drivers travelling between the Bay of Plenty and Waikato can now use the full speed limit on approach roads to the new roundabout at Piarere.NZTA’s acting Waikato/Bay of Plenty infrastructure delivery regional manager, Darryl Coalter, said completion was just around the corner.”Lifting the temporary speed limit is a major milestone. We’ve come over the hill, and the finish line for this project is now in sight,” he…

Police investigating a three-month-old’s serious injuries in Wellington say they do not believe the injuries “could have been sustained accidentally”, and appealed to the public for information.Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Wescott said police were notified on June 14 that a three-month-old baby had been taken into hospital by her family. “The baby girl had a broken arm, which appeared an unusual injury for such a young baby,” he said. “Further examination has taken place at the hospital, which has identified multiple further fractures throughout the baby’s upper and lower body.”Police were investigating the circumstances of how these fractures and injuries…

Published on 03/07/2025 – 13:14 GMT+2ADVERTISEMENTFrance on Thursday launched a “diplomatic reserve” it hopes will attract 1,000 people before the end of the year to enhance assistance to citizens including those fleeing conflicts, counter disinformation about its diplomacy, and boost its soft power abroad. “Any French or European citizen aged 18 or over can join this civic reserve, if he or she adheres to a charter and a cardinal principle: the general interest,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in a speech.”And our ambitions are high, commensurate with our diplomatic network, which, with 163 embassies and 208 consulates general, is the…

Auckland’s North Harbour Stadium will continue to be operated by economic agency Tātaki Auckland Unlimited after the local board couldn’t find a better operator.The North Harbour Stadium Steering Group, made up of the chairpersons and deputy chairpersons of the Upper Harbour and Hibiscus and Bays local boards, opened an expression of interest process in January but received just two submissions.An evaluation panel found neither proposal met all the requirements and wouldn’t be any better than the status quo.Panel members unanimously decided to keep the North Harbour Stadium and Domain Precinct under its current management through Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, a council-controlled…

ADVERTISEMENTDenmark aims to use its six-month presidency of the EU Council to put “maximum pressure” on Hungary to lift its unyielding veto on Ukraine’s EU membership negotiations, which has triggered visible exasperation in Kyiv and Brussels.Every step in the enlargement process requires unanimity. “This is important for the Ukrainians. This is important in their fight (against Russia). They need to have the perspective of EU membership. And we are not taking that perspective away,” Marie Bjerre, Denmark’s minister for European affairs, said on Thursday during a briefing with journalists, including from Euronews, in Aarhus.”We are very ambitious and we will…

A woman has appeared in the Auckland District Court this morning charged in relation to the discovery of the body of a newborn baby in a wheelie bin in Auckland’s Freeman’s Bay.Police had been investigating since officers located the human remains on Renall St on Tuesday.Court documents showed the 32-year-old was charged with interfering with human remains — a charge that faces a maximum sentence of two years in jail.No plea was entered and the woman’s case was expected to be heard in court again at the end of the month.Detective Inspector Scott Beard said earlier that a 32-year-old woman…