Author: Press Room

The city’s mayor said that videos of police using violence against pro-Palestinian protesters “looked serious”. ADVERTISEMENTDutch authorities said they were looking into reports of police violence against pro-Palestinian protesters in Amsterdam, after a rally on Wednesday evening was forcibly broken up by officers. The city’s Mayor Femke Halsema said that images and videos of police using violence against protesters circulating on social media “look serious”.In one video, which has not been independently verified by Euronews, police are shown beating protesters with batons and shouting at them as they broke up a demonstration banned by authorities in the city’s Dam Square.Amsterdam…

Southland wants to turbocharge the aquaculture industry to give the region’s economy a boost.Regional Development Minister Shane Jones announced a $2.2 million Government loan to expand operations at a growing facility in Bluff’s Ocean Beach.The company grows pāua in 280 purpose-built tanks, mainly focused on cocktail-size abalone, in the seaside town’s former meat works.The building also houses other aquaculture-related businesses — one specialises in seaweed for cows to reduce methane from their burps, while another is whitebait.The consistent temperature of the southern sea water makes Bluff a prime location for these different seafood businesses.Ocean Beach managing director Blair Wolfgram told…

The bill is set to enter into force at the end of 2025, but has now to be renegotiated with member states. A right wing majority pushed for amendments to weaken the provisions, in a contested vote. ADVERTISEMENTThe European Parliament voted on Thursday to postpone and amend provisions of its ‘deforestation law’, an EU regulation that imposes due diligence obligations on all traders importing specified raw materials into Europe.Under the proposed law, beef products, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and wood, and their derivative products must not come from deforested land, and importers must guarantee full traceability.The legislation was proposed by…

The Inland Revenue department has doubled the size of its team responsible for chasing down overseas-based student loan debt and is taking more legal action in both New Zealand and Australia.Overdue student loan debt has grown to a record $2.37 billion dollars – with $2.2b of that owed by overseas borrowers – most of whom are based in Australia.Only 29% of all overseas student-loan borrowers met their repayment obligations in the past 12 months.Inland Revenue was allocated $116m in this year’s Budget to bolster compliance and enforcement, with some of that ring-fenced specifically for overdue student loan debt. The rest…

Military vehicles and tech made by France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are being used in Sudan’s civil war, Amnesty International says. ADVERTISEMENTArmoured vehicles made by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and equipped with French military technology are being used in Sudan’s civil war by paramilitary forces, in a likely violation of a UN arms embargo, Amnesty International said on Thursday.The rights group said in a report that it had identified the UAE-made armoured personnel carriers in various parts of Sudan — including the Darfur region — where they were used by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in…

Blood stains found at a Christchurch house matched the profiles of real estate agent Yanfei Bao and the man accused of her murder, the High Court has heard.Chinese national Tingjun Cao is standing trial for killing Bao at the Hornby property in July last year.ESR forensic scientist Wendy Janes told the court the blood was not visible to the human eye but luminol testing revealed stains on walls, curtains, doors and carpet that matched their DNA profiles.Luminol is a chemical compound that emits a blue fluorescent light when it reacts with blood. Bao had arranged to meet a buyer at…

Members of the King’s Counsel, some of New Zealand’s most senior legal minds, say the Treaty Principles Bill “seeks to rewrite the Treaty itself” and are calling on the prime minister and the coalition to “act responsibly now and abandon” it.More than 40 KCs have written to the prime minister and attorney-general outlining their “grave concerns” about the substance of the Treaty Principles Bill and its wider implications for the country’s constitutional arrangements.The bill is set to have its first reading in the House on Thursday, and has led to nationwide protests, with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon himself calling it…

One of the South Island’s largest high schools will close an administration block tomorrow after engineers found it could be at risk in an earthquake.The board of Burnside High School in Christchurch made the decision after receiving a draft seismic assessment showing the block was rated at 15% of the new build standard (NBS), below the minimum requirement.Board presiding member Chris Dann said “while they appreciated that this was very short notice, the board’s priority was the safety of students and staff.”This closure will not impact student timetables or classrooms. Thursday is a designated staff-only day and this gives us…

Former and incoming President Donald Trump has previously implied that he could run for the White House again in 2028. ADVERTISEMENTAfter securing a second term in the 2024 election, some of Donald Trump’s supporters and opponents have floated the possibility of the President-elect could run for a third term in four years time.The claims – and fears in the case of Trump’s detractors – stem from comments of his own in which he hinted about returning for the 2028 vote.However, Trump cannot run for a third term as president in 2028 because the US Constitution explicitly forbids it.The 22nd Amendment…

One in three retail workers feel unsafe heading into the peak Christmas shopping season. That’s according to a new safety report surveying almost 400 New Zealand and Australian workers. The research commissioned by tech company Motorola Solutions found their top three concerns were shoplifting, hostile customers and smash and grabs. Motorola Solutions director Dan Leppos told Checkpoint the influx of foot traffic in retail areas over the Christmas period leads to stress. “We all tend to leave Christmas shopping pretty late, car park can get pretty full, people are on edge trying to get things done and then you go in there…