Author: Press Room

ADVERTISEMENTCDU leader and Germany’s incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz has officially announced which members of his party will hold ministerial posts. The following names were presented in the party’s headquarters, the Konrad Adenauer House, in Berlin.Thorsten Frei, Head of the Federal ChancelleryFrei is the CDU’s first Parliamentary Secretary. The 51-year-old from the constituency of Schwarzwald-Baar and Oberes Kinzigtal in Baden-Württemberg is considered a close confidant of Merz and has vehemently defended his policies in the past.Dr Johann Wadephul, Federal Minister for Foreign AffairsThe 62-year-old career politician has long been considered a possible Foreign Minister. Wadephul comes from Schleswig-Holstein and is the…

Nearly six years on from when work first started on the capital’s Golden Mile upgrade ground has broken, even though construction contracts are still not signed for the whole project.Earlier this year, Wellington City Council said construction would start in April on the $116 million plan to change Courtenay Place.It has now been confirmed that will start on May 4, with changes to the intersection of Cambridge and Kent Terraces, where work was expected to take eight months before moving to Courtenay Place.The project will see cars banned from 7am to 7pm on Courtenay Place, along with widened footpaths and…

Key diary datesMonday 28 April – Exchange of views between Commission competition chief Teresa Ribera and EU Parliament’s internal markets committee on the Digital Markets Act.Tuesday 29 – Wednesday 30 April – European People’s Party Congress in Valencia Spain.Wednesday 30 April – Executive Vice-President Ribera gives keynote address at Global Competition Law Centre annual conference in Brussels.In spotlightADVERTISEMENTWhen MEPs “exchange views” with the Commission’s competition chief Teresa Ribera later today on the Digital Markets Act (DMA) they will spotlight an uncomfortable perception that the EU’s flagship digital regulation is susceptible to political influence.Last week the EU executive ordered Apple and…

Police are monitoring cryptocurrency ATMs as criminals exploit the growing technology for nefarious purposes. Funding terrorism, aiding illegal firearms purchases and money laundering are just some of the threats the systems have been used for, and our top watchdog said similar plots have already been stopped on our shores.More than 200 cryptocurrency ATMs now operate nationwide, with machines appearing at dairies, malls and petrol stations across the country.1News spoke to several dairy owners, many not wanting to be identified, who confirmed the machines are being increasingly used. One Wellington dairy owner reported the cryptocurrency machine was being visited at least…

More sea snakes could show up on New Zealand beaches in the future as climate change increases the likelihood of storms bringing them to our shores, the Department of Conservation says.A yellow-bellied sea snake was spotted at Omaha Beach north of Auckland yesterday but, when DOC rangers arrived, it appeared to have been killed by a dog and “hit with something”.Sea snakes generally live in warmer tropical waters to the north of the country, says DOC marine science advisor Karen Middlemiss.”When you get storm events up there that are driving the oceans south, then they can get sort of flipped…

ADVERTISEMENTClaims have emerged that “fake asylum seekers” are being shipped into Polish cities, as part of a wider anti-migrant disinformation campaign.Posts like these on X have been circulating widely, showing videos of a group of people dragging suitcases along a street in Kraków at night. The captions published with the video read: “Fake asylum seekers are dumped in Kraków, Poland, at night, when Poles are sleeping.”They accuse some unnamed authorities of being “sneaky” and wanting to destroy Poland, as well as the rest of Europe.We put a still from the video through a reverse image search, which led us to a…

Kim Kardashian thought she was going to be raped and killed when criminals broke into her bedroom in central Paris, tied her up and stole more than US$6 million in jewellery.More than eight years later, 10 people will go on trial in Paris over the robbery, abduction and kidnapping of the media personality and the concierge of the residence where she was staying during Paris Fashion Week the night of October 2, 2016.Kardashian’s lawyers said she will testify in person at the trial starting Monday and scheduled to run through May 23.”Ms Kardashian is reserving her testimony for the court…

A timber worker who had two fingers cut off his right hand said he is learning anew how to play the guitar and trumpet.Major manufacturer Claymark has agreed to undertake $481,000 worth of safety measures after a worker got hurt at a machine that lacked a guard two years ago.This is through an enforceable undertaking agreement with WorkSafe that is an alternative to prosecution.The unnamed worker, 51, said he had three surgeries and remained hopeful about getting prosthetic fingers in future.”Everyday tasks I once took for granted like writing, showering, even holding objects, now require patience and adaptation,” he was…

ADVERTISEMENTThe EU’s external border and coast guard agency is regularly challenged by human rights groups for not doing enough to save lives at sea. In a conversation with Euronews, the agency’s chief discussed why safeguarding fundamental rights in key in Frontex’s mission, and how to deal with EU member states violating these rights.This episode also takes you to Poland, where the Three Seas Initiative Summit is starting, bringing together the leaders of 13 EU member states situated between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Seas. Finally, research shows that European leaders may be overestimating citizens’ trust in new technologies.Radio Schuman is hosted and…

The Government has allocated $53 million in the 2025 Budget to pay for teacher registrations and practising certificates, the Education Minister announced today. In a pre-Budget announcement Education Minister Erica Stanford said the Government has committed funding of $53 million from Budget 2025 to cover fees through to 2028, including any increases the Teaching Council may implement through their current fee review. Speaking from Boulcott School in Wellington, Stanford acknowledged the vast number of changes made to the curriculum over the past year, and thanked teachers for their “ongoing hard work, dedication, professionalism and the passion they have for teaching”.…