Author: Press Room

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ  Long-running New Zealand current affairs magazine North & South will stop printing for the time being. In a statement, a representative said the decision had been made to hold the print production of the magazine temporarily to focus on developing a “robust digital presence for the brand with every intention to be back early in 2025”. “On the back of flat advertising sales and increasing pressure from advertisers, we have decided it’s time to get serious about the digital offering for North & South. “There is a lot of equity in the North & South masthead but it is without…

Over the past 10 years, the average new first-home mortgage has increased from about $300,000 to more than $550,000, Reserve Bank data shows.On a mortgage rate of 5.99%, that is $1520 a fortnight over 30 years, compared to $829 on 2014’s numbers. That increased debt means recent buyers are likely to be carrying much higher debt servicing costs into the future, even as home loan interest rates fall.At the same time, the average household income has increased from just over $90,000 to about $130,000. New loans to other owner-occupiers increased from less than $140,000 on average in 2014 to $310,740.Data…

In an exclusive interview with Euronews, Dmytro Lubinets,Ukraine’s Commissioner for Human Rights talked about the almost 20,000 Ukrainian children who have been deported to Russia by force since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. ADVERTISEMENTSince the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly taken by Russian authorities. So far, Kyiv has managed to bring back only around 1,000. Ukraine’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, recently addressed the European Parliament to denounce this war crime. Many of these children have had their identities changed and are being enlisted into the Russian…

A man has been arrested after allegedly presenting a firearm towards someone in Auckland yesterday.Police seized a loaded 3D printed firearm and a makeshift taser in connection with the incident.Police were responding to a family harm incident when they were flagged down by a man on Te Irirangi Dr at around 6.20am yesterday.Inspector Rakana Cook said the victim told police he was drinking with a group at the Manukau Velodrome when one person presented a firearm towards him before leaving in a BMW.”The police Eagle helicopter was in the area and located five vehicles at the velodrome, one of which…

Members of the European Parliament benefit from parliamentary immunity, but that doesn’t mean they are completely invulnerable to legal proceedings. ADVERTISEMENTCertain members of the European Parliament have come under increasing scrutiny over the past couple of years for a range of alleged misconduct.Hungarian investigators are looking into allegations that Italian MEP Ilaria Salis attacked right-wing activists, for example, while various MEPs and parliamentary officials are under the microscope for their alleged involvement in the so-called Qatargate corruption scandal.Allegations also abound that various MEPs received cash from a Kremlin-backed network to spread Russian propaganda in Europe as part of the Russiagate…

The trial of the man accused of murdering Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao has been adjourned for the day as proceedings head for a penultimate week.Justice Lisa Preston this morning released the jury because one of its members was unwell.It is hoped the continuation of evidence would resume tomorrow, Preston said.”It is important he goes home, gets well, looks after himself,” she said.”Particularly when you work so closely together in your jury room and in breaks.”After jurors were dismissed, a matter was then heard in chambers.Bao, 44, vanished on 19 July 2023, and her remains were found in a…

The COP29 climate summit is midway through now and negotiators are trying to hammer out a deal that might be worth hundreds of billions of dollars. ADVERTISEMENTSeveral experts have said one trillion dollars a year or more is needed both to compensate for such damages and to pay for a clean-energy transition that most countries can’t afford on their own.But the previous goal of $100 billion annually until 2025 was only met two years ago. Now, the “new collective quantified goal” aims for at least ten times that, according to the UN’s trade and development organisation, or UNCTAD. “The goal…

BNZ offers tips to small and medium-sized enterprises: How to go electricElectrification is good for business. It means lower energy costs, greater business resilience and energy independence, and it’s good for environmental and human health.If your business decides to flick the switch, BNZ’s Head of Sustainable Finance, Alex West, has some tips for making the transition and powering the change with renewable energy.How an SME can make it work as an enterprise“A business should start by mapping out all the considerations for switching to electric, and then do a cost-benefit analysis,” says West. This includes looking at what can be…

The New Zealand Defence Force says the removal of fuel from HMNZS Manawanui will begin next month.Pacific 7 Limited and Bay Underwater Services NZ Ltd have been engaged by the defence force to remove, recover and dispose safely of fuel and other pollutants that are on board the vessel.The NZ Navy vessel sank on a coral reef off the coast of Upolu after running aground and catching fire on October 6. All 75 of its passengers and crew safely evacuated.Equipment will leave on a salvage vessel next week, with an estimated sailing time of up to 11 days.The NZDF Senior…

A missing man who fell into the Manawatū River while walking his dog and failed to resurface over the weekend is a serving member of the New Zealand Army.Emergency services were called to Ahimate Reserve in Palmerston North at around 1.35pm on November 16.A search for the man began immediately — involving police search and rescue staff, a water rescue boat, kayaks, drones, a helicopter and other volunteers.Police Dive Squad members scanned sections of the river using sonar yesterday while a defence force drone provided aerial coverage of the river.No items of interest have been located and the search effort…