Author: Press Room

With a slowdown in demand for EVs, hundreds sit idle in a busy Belgian port’s car park, waiting for buyers and drivers. ADVERTISEMENTUp to three million electric vehicles are shuttled from cargo ships onto trucks every year at the western Belgian port of Zeebrugge.With one in every four vehicles now electric, Zeebrugge’s port operator has had to change the landscape to accommodate the precious cargo. This includes constructing a dozen wind turbines on the quayside; on-site battery recharging options; quality control and a ruthless hunt for the slightest defect to deliver ready-to-use cars to customers.”This is the future,” said Anne…

A juvenile pygmy blue whale stranded under a wharf on Kawau Island in the Hauraki Gulf has been freed.The stranding under a private Schoolhouse Bay Wharf was first reported this morning, a spokesperson for the Department of Conservation (DOC) said.DOC staff, iwi representatives, and technical experts were on-site throughout the day to assess the situation.The whale, measuring 14 to 15 metres in length, was freed at 6pm after the wharf was removed around mid-afternoon.”The whale was guided out of the channel and was last seen swimming well in deeper waters,” the spokesperson said.A juvenile pygmy blue whale stranded under a…

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s approval rating has hit a new low of just 18%, according to a recent survey. In Europe, he is not alone. ADVERTISEMENTGerman Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s popularity ratings are some of the lowest ever recorded by a German leader at just 18%, according to a survey published in September by Infratest Dimap. By contrast, long-standing Chancellor Angela Merkel largely enjoyed a median confidence rating of 76% over her 16-year term — with her lowest-ever approval rating dropping to 46% following her open-border policies during the 2016 refugee crisis. Scholz, who is the head of a deeply divided…

From ‘Opportunity’, to ‘Curiosity’, to ‘Perseverance’, Vandi Verma has driven them all.They’re all rovers that have been sent to Mars in the last 20 years to help NASA learn more about the red planet.Verma is here in New Zealand to talk to universities and schools all about her job.”It’s kind of like a video game, we put on our 3D goggles, and so you can virtually feel like you’re on Mars.”She’s touring the country accompanied by a life-sized replica of Opportunity built by students at the University of Auckland.”We started with just the very basic schematics”, said engineering student Koen…

Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed on Tuesday it had regained control of the village of Snagost. Prior to that, Zelenskyy said reality differed from “Russian state propaganda”. ADVERTISEMENTRussia’s Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that it has retaken control of Snagost, a village in its western Kursk region on the border with Ukraine.Footage released by the Ministry purportedly showed fights for the Russian settlement, which had been captured by the Ukrainian army during the incursion of Kursk, launched on 6 August. In his nightly address on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about the situation on the ground in Kursk, which he…

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Paul Goldsmith says Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is a “hugely important part of our culture”.Goldsmith was sporting a Māori Language Week pin on his lapel at today’s post-Cabinet media conference.”I think it’s a good opportunity for everybody to — if they’re interested — take stock in learning something new. I’m going to try and learn a whakataukī (proverb) a day over the week,” he said.”I’ve got one today which is ‘okea ururoatia’ which is ‘fight like a shark’, which is what we have to do every day in this place.”Asked why a shark,…

An Auckland woman has been prosecuted and banned from keeping animals for five years after birds in her care were found plucked and decorated with coloured pens.Warning: This article contains content that could be disturbing to some people.The SPCA said the treatment led to infections, scabs, trauma, and painful wounds for the doves. The woman told inspectors she was looking after the birds for a friend over seven days, though “she was unable to provide contact details” for the friend. She also claimed it was “beautiful” to colour the doves.The woman pleaded guilty and in sentencing a disqualification order was…

From journalists to diplomats, MEPs to reality TV stars, Euronews takes a peek behind the CVs at the 27 senior officials likely to lead the EU executive for the next five years. ADVERTISEMENTEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has spent weeks attempting to assemble her top team for a second term in office — but who are the 26 lieutenants likely to serve under her?Finding a roster of candidates to serve in the EU executive — one from each member state — has offered its fair share of political intrigue, including last-minute U-turns and shock resignations.On Monday, France’s incumbent…

Representatives from the New Zealand Council of Sikh Affairs attended the tangi for Kīngi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, where they shared the te reo Māori translation of the opening verses of the Japji Sahib.It’s the first Sikh scripture to ever be translated into te reo, they said. NZ Council of Sikh Affairs’ general secretary Gurtej Singh said the Japji Sahib is a Sikh prayer written by Guru Nanak and is one of the foundational texts of the Sikh faith.It has 38 stanzas and the concluding Saloka, which covers philosophical teachings on spirituality, ethical conduct and the path to salvation,…

It’s not where you’d expect to find storytime — in a neonatal intensive care unit against a backdrop of tubes, beeps and delicate equipment. But it’s where new mum Rima Kairua softly reads to her daughter Mariana. Mariana has been at Middlemore’s Kidz First Children’s Hospital in South Auckland for more than 100 days and is doing well. Kairua, along with other parents at the hospital, is using reading to help soothe her daughter.Reading books to premature babies is gaining international momentum. Research shows it not only helps with development, but also calms and reduces stress for parents and babies.The…