Author: Press Room

ADVERTISEMENT Europe is well-known for its fresh produce, from San Marzano tomatoes to sweet Belgian pears. But how much fruit and vegetables does the European Union harvest, and which countries produce the largest quantities? The EU produced 62.2 million tonnes of vegetables in 2024, according to recent Eurostat data. This marks a 6% increase from the 58.8 million tonnes harvested in 2023.  Spain is the top vegetable producer, at 14.8 million tonnes, up from 13.5 million tonnes in 2023. It has been the top producer of vegetables for the past 10 years. Spain is closely followed by Italy, at 13.9 million…

A 23-year-old man has been charged after handling himself into police following the serious assault and robbery of two elderly tourists outside a supermarket in Auckland’s Hobsonville last week.Police received a report of a person stealing a bag and assaulting two people in front of Woolworths Hobsonville at around 9am last Wednesday.Yesterday, police appealed to the public for information identifying a man who was captured in surveillance images. In an update this morning, Waitematā West Area Investigations Manager Detective Senior Sergeant Ryan Bunting said a 23-year-old man handed himself in to the Henderson Police Station and has subsequently been charged…

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including possible changes to our driver licensing system, Lil Nas X charged over LA incident, and cheese dreams might be real?The AA has called for bold action to address youth road safety – including a mandatory 60 hours of supervised driving – as the Government prepares to announce final decisions on its planned changes.Fire has badly damaged a shop in Takanini, south of Auckland. A strike on a southern Gaza hospital has killed at least 20 people. Erin Patterson will be sentenced in a couple of weeks, after an emotional pre-sentence hearing heard from…

Published on 27/08/2025 – 12:50 GMT+2 ADVERTISEMENT Social media users are sharing a video online that they claim shows a historic church being transported via trailer in Norway. One particularly viral post on X simply says that the church is being relocated in Norway, and attaches the video of the impressive feat below. It’s been seen hundreds of thousands of times and shared hundreds of times too, with many users questioning whether the footage has been AI-generated, and some others making xenophobic comments that the church was being moved to make way for mosques. However, the video is totally authentic,…

Homeowners are sounding the alarm about a construction company who they say took tens of thousands of dollars before its director disappeared.RNZ has spoken to six of Enzed Construction’s former clients who said they were cutting their losses after paying money upfront for work that was done poorly, or not at all.Documents shared with RNZ show payments to Enzed Construction and its director Hemi Arapeta Tiopira – known as James – exceed $60,000.Dealings with the company earlier this year – in Wellington, Lower Hutt and Waipukurau – had led to police reports, Dispute Tribunal claims, and several complaints to an…

ADVERTISEMENT This past weekend, Ursula von der Leyen did something she rarely does: she wrote an op-ed defending one of her signature policies. “Solid if imperfect” was how the president of the European Commission chose to describe the trade deal that she personally struck with Donald Trump in late July. It was a partial admission of defeat, acknowledging the discontent caused by the painful 15% tariff imposed on the vast majority of EU products bound for America. The remainder of the column, published in several European newspapers, was devoted to highlighting the agreement’s greatest – and perhaps sole – benefit:…

A leading Australian criminal psychologist says he is concerned for the wellbeing of the children of fugitive Tom Phillips and fears they may have suffered irreversible psychological harm.Phillips and his three children Jayda, Maverick, and Ember, went missing from Marokopa in December 2021.Despite multiple police operations, pleas, sightings, and rewards offered to find them, there has been no success. They are currently in their fourth winter in hiding.Dr Tim Watson-Munro, an Australian criminal psychology expert, said that after such a long time away, the kids may need to “be deprogrammed” when they are eventually found. “It’s been a long time…

Vape stores setting up inside booze shops “only exacerbates the harm from both”, say opponents, but the vaping industry says liquor store age restrictions would likely limit exposure to young people.Communities Against Alcohol Harm (CAAH), which assists groups to oppose alcohol licences, says several south Auckland liquor stores have been allowed to sell vapes in the same premises in the past year.Recent off-licence renewal applications, which include variations to operate a vape shop, showed that small sections of bottle shops were being sectioned off and turned into a vape store.Bottle shops approved by the District Licensing committee (DLC) to sell…

French dairy giant Lactalis is set to pay Fonterra another $375 million for its global consumer business – which includes brands like Mainland and Anchor – bringing the total sale value to $4.22 billion.It comes after Fonterra said it had resolved a licence dispute with Bega Cheese in Australia.The settlement means Bega licences held by Fonterra’s Australia business will be included in the divestment.On Friday, it was announced Lactalis would purchase major brands from Fonterra, such as Anchor and Mainland, but the Bega licences weren’t included at the time due to the dispute. Prior to the dispute being resolved, the…

South Auckland is losing doctors, lawyers and leaders because barriers keep blocking young people from reaching their potential.That was the challenge issued by Dr Timoti Te Moke, who told locals the focus should not be on congratulating him for becoming a doctor but on the wasted potential of others.“I grew up here in Māngere with 19 other guys. I’m the only one that’s not in prison or dead,” he said.“A lot of them were smarter than me, better leaders than me. People call me an outlier, but what we should be lamenting is the loss of 19 other doctors, 19…