Author: Press Room

ADVERTISEMENTEmmanuel Macron has lashed out against Donald Trump’s decision to impose reciprocal tariffs on virtually every country, calling the move “brutal” and “unfounded” and proposing a temporary halt in future European investments in America.The pause, he said, should last “until we have clarified things with the United States.””What would be the message of having major European players start investing billions of euros in the American economy at the moment when they are hitting us?” Macron said during a meeting with French industry representatives.”We need to have collective solidarity.”During his speech, Macron did not hold back against Trump’s unprecedented initiative, which…

Staff in one of Nelson Hospital’s surgical wards say they killed around 30 wasps in one night earlier this week, and it isn’t an uncommon situation. It’s the latest unwelcome development for the hospital after eight senior doctors spoke out to 1News in recent days about ongoing staffing issues and the impacts they were having on patients. One nurse who didn’t want to be identified said there had been issues with wasps in wards 9 and 10 — both surgical wards. It had been an issue on and off for years and mainly occurred in the staff areas and patient…

ADVERTISEMENTThe chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee has criticised Pentagon “mid-level” leadership for what he said was a misguided plan to reduce the number of US troops based in Europe.”There are some who believe now is the time to reduce drastically our military footprint in Europe,” Senator Roger Wicker said at a hearing with US European Command and US Africa Command military leadership.”I’m troubled at those deeply misguided and dangerous views held by some mid-level bureaucrats within the Defence Department.”It was not immediately clear what “mid-level bureaucrats” Wicker was talking about but he warned that “they’ve been working to…

Polyfest’s 50th anniversary is lighting up Auckland’s Manukau Sports Bowl with a vibrant celebration of culture, food, and students performances this week. Local Democracy Reporting went backstage at a Diversity stage. From Tokelauan and Hawaiian items to Kiribati and Cambodian showcases, here’s what some of the students and leaders had to say.Tokelauan prideEden Enelio from McAuley High School beams backstage after performing with her school’s Tokelau group, calling it “overwhelming, but really fun”. (Source: LDR / Mary Afemata)Eden Enelio, cultural leader at McAuley High School, performed with her school’s Tokelau group.”That experience — it was overwhelming, but really fun,” she…

ADVERTISEMENTMEPs overwhelmingly backed today a proposal to delay new EU rules of corporate sustainability reporting and mandatory due diligence on the environmental and social impacts of trading partners, with the Greens joining a centrist alliance of social democrats, liberals and conservatives that they hope will strengthen the centre ground of EU politics.The ‘stop the clock’ measure proposed by the European Commission on 26 February was rushed through using an emergency legislative procedure on the grounds of an imminent threat to the competitiveness of European businesses, an issue that the president of the EU executive, Ursula von der Leyen, has made…

A Christchurch takeaway and restaurant business with sushi outlets under the Hachi Hachi brand has folded owing staff holiday pay and a hefty tax bill. The seven companies owned by Hachi Hachi founders and directors Titi Khemarangsan and Bundit Kijpalakorn were placed in voluntary liquidation on March 25. Initial liquidator reports for the businesses amounted collectively to a total estimated shortfall of $2.54 million, including $1.37m owed to Inland Revenue in income tax for employees’ wages (PAYE) and goods and service tax. This included nearly $130,000 in holiday pay owed to out-of-pocket staff. The liquidator noted Inland Revenue had begun…

A Hastings Civil Defence volunteer says she has learned a smorgasbord of skills she never would have under her own steam.Yvonne Lorkin joined the HB Civil Defence Emergency Management Group team 18 months ago and has trained in controlling the movement of people, rescuing people at ground level, operating a four-wheel drive, and recovering vehicles from rivers, to name just a few.“As a person in midlife, I’m so grateful to have the chance to learn new skills,” she said.“I feel privileged to be part of Civil Defence knowing what is expected of it and have huge respect for all team…

ADVERTISEMENTDespite repeated warnings that it would respond “firmly” and “quickly” to US tariffs, the EU is still finalising its countermeasures after Washington made good on its threats by imposing sweeping 20% tariffs on all imports from the bloc on Wednesday. “We are buying the space we need to negotiate with the Americans and we are looking at targeting our response in the most effective way possible,” an EU official said on Thursday, adding that this was being considered “both in the terms of how we impact on the US if necessary” and “in terms of saving our member states and our industry…

Parliament has unanimously agreed to allow all submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill to be added to the public record, after a last-minute motion was moved by ACT MP Todd Stephenson.Thousands of submissions were to be excluded from the record because staff did not have enough time to process them, raising concerns about cynicism when it comes to engaging with democracy.This afternoon, Stephenson sought leave to move a motion “without notice or debate”.”That the Justice Committee be authorised to table and release or return submissions on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, as if the bill were still…

EU presses on with digital laws despite opposition from the USADVERTISEMENTAt a time when disinformation and interference in democracies have proliferated globally, the EU’s Digital Services (DSA) and Digital Markets Acts (DMA) are designed to protect online freedom of expression and not to limit it, the European Commission Vice-President for technology and democracy has insisted in the face of US criticism.”When we look at our society or our economy in the European Union, we want to make sure that our digital environment is safe, fair, and democratic,” said Henna Virkkunen.Recently, both the DSA and DMA have faced criticism, notably from…