Author: Press Room
ADVERTISEMENTA human trafficking organisation that smuggled Moroccan migrants into Spain and other EU countries was dismantled in southern Spain, government officials announced Sunday.Spanish authorities claim the organisation contacted Moroccan nationals wanting to migrate to Spain and flew them into Romania.Once in Romania, they travelled by land to Spain through other EU countries inside trucks or vans.The Spanish Civil Guard law enforcement agency said in a statement that the organisation made more than 50 trips to Spain during a two-year period, with groups between 20 and 50 migrants, who paid €3,000 per person.Four people were detained in the city of Cartagena…
The Government is proposing the biggest shake-up of the driver’s licence system in more than a decade. The raft of proposed changes include dropping one of the two practical tests required to get a full driver’s licence.Transport Minister Chris Bishop said getting a driver’s licence was an important part of participating in society but that data showed many drivers on their restricted were holding off on getting their full.”We’ve heard for a while now as a government that the system just hasn’t been working as efficiently as people would like, and that there are particularly young people out there who…
Police have thanked members of the public who came to the aid of a police officer caught up in an altercation in Feilding yesterday afternoon. Shortly after 2pm yesterday, a road policing officer was responding to a report of a group of people fighting on Lethbridge St.The situation began to calm down following the officer’s intervention when the arrival of another aggressive person “saw the incident flare up again, putting the officer in a potentially dangerous position”, Manawatū Area Commander Inspector Ross Grantham said.Other police staff were en route to the scene but were still minutes away.Grantham said several members…
A critic of Silicon Valley tech giants says governments and citizens need to take back control over the digital platforms that dominate modern life. Canadian journalist Paris Marx told Q+A he was advocating for “digital sovereignty” through the development of publicly-owned alternatives, as well as more regulation for tech titans like Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon.Marx said he was particularly worried about how dependent people were on these largely US technologies. He said: “I was writing about this even before the Trump moment happened, but I think it comes more into light now. Mark Zuckerberg is one of five big…
Free AF, the Kiwi beverage company known for its non-alcoholic cocktails, will introduce a taste of New Zealand to Coachella this weekend.More than 250,000 people are expected to attend the California music festival over two weekends, with a stacked line-up of acts such as Lady Gaga, Charli XCX, Travis Scott and Post Malone.Festival-goers will now be able to sip on the brand’s range of alcohol-free cocktails at The New Bar, Coachella’s exclusively non-alcoholic bars.Free AF founder Lisa King said the brand was “thrilled” to bring a taste of New Zealand’s “vibrant alcohol-free culture” to one of the world’s most iconic…
A man is due to appear in court tomorrow charged in relation to the homicide of a woman found dead in a car in Waiuku.A homicide investigation was launched yesterday after a woman’s body was discovered in a vehicle in the area around 5.40pm on Friday.A 50-year-old man is due to appear in the Pukekohe District Court on Monday charged with male assaults female, Detective Inspector Karen Bright said. Further charges cannot be ruled out.”Scene examinations at two locations in the area are ongoing as part of our enquiries,” she said. Police are not seeking anyone else in relation to…
Winston Peters has taken another veiled swing at the prime minister’s phone call to world leaders over US tariffs.The foreign minister and a cross-party delegation of MPs are in Hawai’i on the second leg of their tour of the Pacific.Peters told a gathering at the East-West Centre there had been unfortunate and misguided debate recently about how international trade works.He said military language was being used, including “trade war” and the “need to fight”, which he said at times came across as “hysterical” and “short-sighted”.From Tonga on Friday, Peters criticised Prime Minister Christopher Luxon for talking with world leaders about…
A man is speaking to police after a body was found in a vehicle in a carpark near a Northland service station this morning.Police were called to Station Rd at around 7.45am and found the man’s body in a vehicle in a carpark near Caltex in Kawakawa.Detective Inspector Rhys Johnston said a scene examination of the area is ongoing.”Police are speaking with a man in relation to the death, which is unexplained at this stage.”A post-mortem is expected to be conducted tomorrow.
Seven people have been arrested, six of them aged 15 and under, after two incidents in Palmerston North and Foxton overnight.Manawatū Area Commander Inspector Ross Grantham said police received a report of an aggravated robbery in the Square in Palmerston North at around 8.15pm.”One person received minor injuries and the group of offenders fled on foot with stolen items.”Police located the group on Featherston St but they evaded officers.A police dog team tracked the offenders to Mersey Tce where they were arrested, Grantham said.Four youths aged between 11 and 15 years old are due to appear in the Palmerston North…
With 18 months of war devastating Gaza’s health system, a Waikato doctor is doing all she can to help from afar. GP Dr Ruba Harfeil is part of a telehealth service that aims to take pressure off Gaza’s surviving health workers, by doing remote consults and sending medication to patients. For surviving Gazans, medical treatment is less of a priority than day-to-day survival, and staying in contact with patients comes with huge challenges, said Dr Harfeil.Israeli airstrikes have led to devastation and chaos in the Hamas-run strip.The majority of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed, according to satellite analysis, with…