Author: Press Room

Parents in Sweden can now transfer paid parental leave days to people who are not a legal guardian, including grandparents and friends. ADVERTISEMENTSweden was the first country to introduce paid parental leave also to fathers in 1974.Today, fathers take around 30 per cent of the paid parental leave, according to the Swedish Social Insurance Agency.Now, 50 years later, grandparents in Sweden can be paid to take care of their grandchildren. The Swedish government’s parental leave reform implemented on 1 July allows for the transfer of paid parental leave days to relatives or friends.A better work-life balance and promotion of gender equalitySweden’s…

More jobs may be cut by Alliance Group just two weeks after it shut its two public retail butcher shops at Oamaru and Timaru. Workers at the Alliance’s Smithfield works have been called to attend a meeting in Timaru today. In an email circulated to Alliance staff, and sighted by the Otago Daily Times yesterday, Alliance Group chief executive Willie Wiese asked those who had contact with Smithfield staff to “avoid speculation about the meeting”. Mr Wiese said more information would be announced today. All workers, including those at present in the offseason, have been called to an 11am meeting at Caroline…

A patched Nomads gang member was arrested after running into dense bush and scaling a tree in a last-ditch effort to evade police in Auckland. Counties Manukau South area prevention manager Inspector Matt Hoyes said police received a report of a family harm incident outside a bar in Drury, witnessed by members of the public at around 6pm yesterday. Hoyes said the vehicle the man left in was later seen near Ramarama. “The vehicle was followed to Pratts Road, where the man ran from the car into dense bush nearby.”The police Eagle helicopter and a dog unit were sent to…

A number of firefighters have contained a “deep-seated” fire in an industrial building in central Christchurch this morning. An earlier emergency alert for people in the Sydenham, Addington and Spreydon areas to stay inside, close their windows and doors and not to use air conditioning has now been lifted as the smoke drift has “sufficiently dissipated”. “We continue to ask that people affected by the smoke drift to keep their windows and doors shut,” FENZ said in a post to social media. In an update just after 4pm, FENZ said operations have “downscaled”, with some crews released and only one…

Peter Scott has resigned as Environment Canterbury chairperson after facing mounting pressure over his behaviour.Councillor Scott’s resignation will take effect tomorrow, Friday, with deputy chairperson Craig Pauling to step in as acting chair until the October 23 council meeting.”By stepping down as chair, I expect the focus to shift from me to the work we need to do to deliver for the environment and the people of Waitaha.”Last week, he was in the news after it was revealed he had been clocked speeding 678 times since January by his council car’s GPS tracking system.It included one instance of driving at…

This article was originally published in Spanish The European Court of Justice has backed former European Parliament president Antonio Tajani’s decision not to recognise Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont as an MEP, ruling that Tajani “merely did what he was required to do.” ADVERTISEMENTThe EU’s top court has definitively rejected Carles Puigdemont’s action to recognise both his and Antonio Comín’s status as MEPs in the 2019 elections, putting the future of Comín, who was re-elected in the 2024 vote and is yet to take up his seat, in jeopardy. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) upheld the decision of the then-president…

The Government is eyeing an integration between NIWA and MetService in an effort to streamline the national weather forecasting system.While more work is needed before the change will take place, Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins said “we have agreed in-principle to NIWA acquiring the MetService”.She added MetService will retain its role as New Zealand’s authorised meteorologist, “subject to further work being completed”.”We have asked officials at the Treasury and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to work with the MetService and NIWA to provide implementation details as soon as possible.””Having a strong weather forecasting system which…

With church attendance in decline and child abuse scandals still live, the pontiff has arrived in Luxembourg to try and raise morale. ADVERTISEMENTPope Francis arrived to a rainy Luxembourg on Thursday, as he starts his tour through the heart of Europe to try to reinvigorate a Catholic flock that is dwindling in the face of secular trends and abuse scandals.Francis met with the country’s Grand Duke, Prime Minister Luc Frieden and other government officials. He called on Europe to be a beacon of hope in wartime and a welcoming home for migrants, and cited Luxembourg’s position as a geographic crossroads…

New resources and support for teachers to lift maths achievement will be paid for by cutting back a programme that helps them learn te reo Māori.Education Minister Erica Stanford said $30 million was needed for maths workbooks, guidance, and lesson plans for the 2025 school year, which had to be sourced from somewhere.Stanford said just 22% of Year 8 students were at the expected standard for maths.However, that figure came from testing pupils against the new maths curriculum and not the curriculum they were currently using. The achievement rate for Year 8 students under the current curriculum was 42%.”Just 45%…

The revision of Moscow’s nuclear doctrine, announced on Wednesday, seemed to significantly lower the threshold for the possible use of Russia’s nuclear arsenal. ADVERTISEMENTA revision of the Kremlin’s nuclear doctrine is actively intended to discourage Western countries from supporting an attack on Russia, Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday. Peskov said that the changes made in the doctrine should be considered a “warning” to Ukraine’s allies, threatening that attacks on Russia would have “consequences”.The changes made on Wednesday during a meeting of Russia’s Security Council confirmed that any attack on Russia supported by a nuclear power would be…