Author: Press Room

Brussels has a “strong plan to retaliate” against Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, Ursula von der Leyen has said while calling for a “negotiated solution”. ADVERTISEMENTThe European Union holds “a lot of cards” that can be leveraged to negotiate, dissuade and, if needed, “push back” against Donald Trump’s plan to impose sweeping reciprocal tariffs on all America’s trading partners, Ursula von der Leyen has said on the eve of what the US president has dubbed “Liberation Day”.Trump, whose unprecedented initiative has antagonised long-time allies, rattled stock markets and raised the spectre of recession, has said his tariffs would target “all countries” as…

Minister for Rail Winston Peters has hit back at Labour’s suggestion he bears some responsibility for the ferry fracas, saying what he ordered in 2020 was not what Labour ended up trying to build.Peters on Monday revealed the coalition government’s replacement Interislander ferry plan, which he said would be “billions of dollars cheaper” than Labour’s iReX project, which the government canned in December 2023.The new Interislander ferries being delivered in 2029 will be about 200m long, 28m wide and carry rail, Peters said – about 20m shorter and two metres thinner than the original plan.Peters said marine infrastructure in Picton…

A 30-metre-long barge tipped at Tauranga marina yesterday.A Bay of Plenty Regional Council spokesperson said staff were notified that the barge operating in the marina had tipped on its side at around 2.15pm on Monday, resulting in the crane lying in the water.No-one was injured in the incident, which saw around 10 litres of diesel spill.”Proactive absorbent booms are already in place to contain this. A light sheen may be visible near the containment area,” the spokesperson said.Staff were on site working with relevant parties to ensure the barge was safely secured, they added.”It will continue to be monitored until…

On Monday, a French court found National Rally leader Marine Le Pen guilty of embezzling EU funds and barred her from contending any election for five years, including France’s next presidential election in 2027. ADVERTISEMENTWhat is in line for the political career for the National Rally leader, Marine Le Pen? Today Radio Schuman digs in to the aftermath of the court barring Marine Le Pen from running for public office for five years with Euronews journalist Greg Leroy.Le Pen has condemned the ruling as politically motivated and stated that millions of French citizens are outraged. She vowed to appeal and…

A new senior official who leads the Ministry of Health and has oversight of the more than $29 billion public health budget has been appointed today.Audrey Sonerson has been appointed as the Director-General of Health and the chief executive of the Ministry of Health, Deputy Public Service Commissioner Heather Baggott has announced.Sonerson, currently the acting Director-General of Health, was transferred into the permanent role following the resignation of the previous Director-General, Dr Diana Sarfati, in February.Sarfati’s was the third major resignation in the sector during February, following Margie Apa as Health NZ chief executive and director of public health Dr…

A Queenstown councillor has been demoted from her committee roles after she blew the whistle on plans to discharge 12 million litres of treated effluent each day into the nearby Shotover River.The Queenstown Lakes District Council held an extraordinary meeting today over Niki Gladding’s positions in council and whether her actions were a breach of the organisation’s code of conduct.She would remain a councillor but has been removed as the deputy chair and member of the infrastructure committee, and member of the audit, finance and risk committee. Of the decision, Queenstown Lakes District Council Mayor Glyn Lewers said he was…

Borrowers refixing their home loans right now need rates to fall significantly to make waiting, or fixing shorter, a better option than locking in the cheaper two-year option.The big banks are all offering a rate of 4.99% for two-year fixes, while the one-year rate varies between 5.19% and 5.29%.ANZ economists said the two-year rate had fallen by 2.06% from its peak but the OCR had only been cut by 1.75%.The extra drop reflected the fact that wholesale interest rates had fallen in anticipation of further OCR cuts.They said that meant the two-year rate might not fall much further after future…

Queenstown Lakes District Council has issued a reminder for those disposing of batteries after a fire at Whakatipu Recycling Centre last week.The council said the incident was a “close call”, with the building placed at risk.”However, thanks to the swift response from facility staff and emergency services, all staff were evacuated, and the blaze was brought under control.”Initial investigations by Fire and Emergency New Zealand suggested the fire may have been caused by a battery being run over by a loader pushing material.The fire was the second in as many weeks following a similar incident at the Victoria Flats Landfill two…

A second person has been poisoned by the toxic algae in Lake Hood near Ashburton.National Public Health Service (NPHS) medical officer of health Dr Cheryl Brunton said the person was jet-skiing last week and fell into the lake several times.”This happened on the day that a public health warning was issued about a toxic algal bloom (cyanobacteria) in the lake.”Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora issued a health warning about the Canterbury lake on March 20.Toxins released by cyanobacteria can trigger asthma and hayfever symptoms, skin rashes, stomach upsets, and tingling around the mouth, headaches, breathing difficulties and visual problems.A…

Forecasters warned that further severe weather was on the way, with heavy rain to hit the Aegean islands, particularly the Cyclades, where a red warning was imposed until early Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENTA powerful storm lashed the Greek islands of Paros and Mykonos on Monday, triggering widespread flooding and prompting authorities to close schools and impose a ban on all traffic except emergency vehicles.Heavy rainfall in Paros’ main towns of Parikia and Naousa – both popular vacation spots – caused floodwaters that surged through streets, carrying cars and debris past whitewashed buildings.Authorities on Paros said 13 people stranded in the storm were…