Author: Press Room

Tech billionaire and X owner Elon Musk launched a tirade of comments against the European Union last weekend, calling for it to be dismantled as well as comparing it to the “Fourth Reich”. The background to his comments was a €120 million fine imposed on X by the European Commission on 5 December, for allegedly violating its transparency obligations under the EU’s Digital Services Act. He was joined in his opposition by several top members of the Trump administration, including the president himself, who said Europe was “heading in a very bad direction”. Many of Musk’s remarks about the EU…

The European Union has agreed to indefinitely immobilise the assets of the Russian Central Bank, a central element of the reparations loan to Ukraine, still under intense negotiations ahead of a make-or-break summit next week. By doing so, the EU will lock the assets under its jurisdiction amid concerns that the US would seek control of the frozen assets and use them in a future settlement with Moscow as it negotiates an end to the war. The long-term immobilisation was agreed by ambassadors on Thursday afternoon under Article 122 of the EU treaties, which only requires a qualified majority from…

Probes such as the ongoing investigation into how the College of Europe was awarded a contract by the EU’s diplomatic arm (EEAS) could tarnish the EU’s name, the bloc’s watchdog, Teresa Anjinho, said in Euronews’ interview programme 12 Minutes With. “Whenever you have these kinds of allegations that are related to integrity issues, it is very important to acknowledge that you always have high risks in terms of damaging the reputation of the European Union as a whole,” Anjinho said. The inquiry revolves around suspicions that the EEAS broke its own rules by providing upfront information to the College of…

Published on 11/12/2025 – 12:00 GMT+1 “French politics, money and sex“ was the answer of the Europe Today team to your reporter when he asked what today’s explainer is about. Easy to mock and laugh at, as you cannot imagine a more powerful trio. But perhaps the topic needs a more mature take? Brothels have been banned in France since 1946. But French far-right lawmaker Jean-Philippe Tanguy wants to bring them back. His pitch? They would not be run by souteneurs. The plan would be to create “cooperatives” managed by the women themselves. As Tanguy poetically put it: “sex workers…

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa plan to travel on December 20 for the signing of a contentious agreement with the Mercosur trading bloc of South American countries. The Commission, which has been negotiating the deal for 25 years, is confident a majority of member states will support it. But EU diplomats say the arithmetic remains uncertain, with the split between supporters and opponents still razor-thin. The next ten days will be decisive. The deal was concluded in December 2024 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay with the EU aims to create a…

It’s social media D-Day for more than a million young Australians, who, in theory, shouldn’t be able to access their online accounts from today.Major social media companies, including Meta and Snapchat, have spent recent weeks removing under 16s, to comply with the Federal Government’s world first ban.Its aim, according to Australia’s online safety regulator, eSafety, is “to protect young Australians from pressures and risks that users can be exposed to while logged in to social media accounts”.1News asked Kiwi politicians if they would support a similar ban in New Zealand. (Source: 1News)Countries the world over are watching Australia to see…

Wholesale rates are getting the blame for the fact that two weeks after the official cash rate was cut, one major bank has increased some of its fixed-term home loan rates.Westpac said on Tuesday it was increasing its home loans over two- to five-year terms by 30 basis points.That takes a two-year fix to 4.75%.At the same time, it is reducing its six-month rate by 20 basis points, to 4.69%.Before the latest OCR decision, wholesale markets had virtually priced in one more cut.So when the Reserve Bank indicated it thought another cut might not be needed, wholesale rates ticked up.Westpac…

A Nelson teenager was fleeing police at about 183km/h when she lost control of the vehicle and smashed into a tree.Tieylr Saige Ayrton, 17, died from a head injury sustained in the crash on Rutherford Street in March 2022.The girl was under the influence of alcohol and driving on a restricted driver licence in the early hours of the morning. Her two passengers suffered serious injuries in the crash.Coroner Megan Armistead, in findings released on Wednesday, said Ayrton’s death was avoidable and highlighted the dangers of driving while intoxicated and the importance of complying with restricted licence conditions.The Transport Agency…

A homicide investigation has been launched following the death of a Mt Eden Corrections Facility prisoner.Detective Senior Sergeant Martin Friend said officers were notified by Corrections about a serious assault at the prison on November 29. He said the male victim was taken to hospital with critical injuries.”He has remained in intensive care at Auckland City Hospital since that time. Unfortunately, despite ongoing medical assistance, the man succumbed to his injures yesterday,” Friend said. Police had continued inquiries since late November, which would now become a homicide inquiry.”Our thoughts are with the man’s family at this difficult time,” he said.…

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including a man arrested after a murder on an Auckland bus, new material about Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein to be released, and malware warning for thousands of New ZealandersA man’s arrested after two stabbing attacks on an Auckland bus.Tracks in Tongariro National Park will reopen today after a large fire was contained. New material about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell is about to be released. Australia’s world first ban on social media for under 16s has kicked in. Thousands of New Zealanders will get emails this morning, alerting them to the presence of…