Author: Press Room

The end-of-year deadline is approaching, yet many European workers still haven’t decided how to use their remaining annual leave. A new survey by payment services company Mastercard on 20,000 people across 21 European countries shows nearly half (47%) still need to take between seven and 20 days off. Most people would like to use these days to travel to a new “dream” destination (40%), followed by 10% who want to attend a live show, and 9% who wish to enjoy outdoor activities or Christmas markets. So what’s holding them back? According to the research, the most common reason (23%) is…

The fractured political relationship between New Zealand and the Cook Islands has been dealt another major blow.Confidential documents leaked to 1News reveal the Cook Islands government was looking at new plans to seize tainted cryptocurrency worldwide. Experts say it amounted to state-sponsored hacking, and the move has set alarm bells ringing with the New Zealand Government. Last year in Rarotonga, a cryptocurrency bill, drafted by US company Drumcliffe, was tabled in the realm country’s parliament but rejected after Crown Law deemed it deeply flawed, unconstitutional and essentially validated criminal activities. Now, a similar bill, the Cook Islands Cryptocurrency (Ransomware Suppression)…

Published on 13/11/2025 – 13:33 GMT+1 The European Parliament approved on Thursday a package to simplify corporate sustainability reporting and weaken due diligence requirements. European People’s Party (EPP) teamed up with European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and far-right Patriots for Europe (PfE) to pass the law, after a vote on a slew of amendments. The bill is part of an EU push for simplification and aims to make sustainability reporting and due diligence obligations easier for European businesses. The Parliament’s version of the law now has to be negotiated with the member states before final approval. The legislature was rejected…

The Independent Police Conduct Authority’s report found serious misconduct at the highest levels of police over how they handled accusations of sexual offending by former deputy commissioner Jevon McSkimming. RNZ National Crime Correspondent Sam Sherwood reveals who some of the senior leaders are that we’ve been able to identify.The Independent Police Conduct Authority’s 135-page report, released yesterday, found serious misconduct at the highest levels of police, including former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster.Only two of the staff criticised in the report were named: Coster and former Deputy Commissioner Tania Kura.Jevon McSkimming met a woman nearly half his age and, weeks later,…

“Every euro above €10,000 will become illegal tender,” according to a post which has attracted more than 2.6 million views and which says that “cash will soon be contraband” under EU law. In reality, the EU hasn’t banned cash. It is, however, introducing a bloc-wide limit on how much you can pay in banknotes to a business, as part of a sweeping overhaul targeting money-laundering set to come into force in 2027. The regulation is part of the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering package, which — among other measures — sets a bloc-wide cap of €10,000 on cash payments in business transactions…

Kiwis looking to head overseas this summer are being urged to check their passport expiry dates, with the first of the re-issued 10-year passports expiring this month.The 10-year passport was reintroduced in November 2015 and, between now and December 31, a total of 26,420 passports are set to run out. Another 250,000 will then expire in the first half of 2026.The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), which issues passports, said it had been preparing for the surge in renewals by recruiting more staff and cross-training existing workers to handle peak periods.It said most applications were being dealt with within 10…

Published on 13/11/2025 – 11:45 GMT+1 France’s inaugural issuance of a “European defence bond” to raise €1 billion for the country’s defence companies was massively oversubscribed, with two-thirds of investors coming from outside its borders. The bonds, due to mature in five years, received strong support, with a final order book exceeding €3.8 billion — nearly four times the value on offer, France’s public sector investment bank (Bpirance) said in a statement. In a sign of growing pan-European support for the initiative, 66% of allocations went to investors outside France, including 22% from the Nordic countries and 20% from Southern…

Powerball has rolled over to Saturday night, where the jackpot will be a record-breaking $55 million – and must be won. The $55 million Powerball jackpot is the largest prize ever offered by Lotto NZ and was made available due to predicted strong ticket sales.Once the Powerball division one prize pool reaches $50 million, the game cannot jackpot over to another draw, so it becomes a must be won draw.In a must be won draw, if no-one wins Powerball first division, the prize pool rolls down to the next highest division with winners.”Lotto head office and our retailers are buzzing…

One person has died after their vehicle hit a tree near Wellsford, north of Auckland, early this morning.Police said the single-vehicle crash was reported on Waiteitei Rd shortly before 2am. “Sadly, the sole occupant died at the scene,” a police spokesperson said. Waiteitei Rd has been closed between Farmers Lime and Whangaripo Valley roads. The serious crash unit attended and police inquiries are underway. Second fatal crash A passenger in a vehicle that crashed south of Whangārei has also been killed.The single-vehicle crash occurred on Waiotira Road near Mangapai at 10.50pm yesterday.”Sadly, the passenger of the vehicle died despite medical…

A woman who accused former Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming of sexual offending remains before the court on charges of harassing another police officer and his wife.A damning report released this week by the Independent Police Conduct Authority found serious misconduct at the highest levels, including former Commissioner Andrew Coster, over how police responded to the allegations.The claims arose from an affair between McSkimming and the woman, who at the time was a junior non-sworn police employee.The woman was charged in May last year with causing harm by posting digital communication in relation to over 300 emails she allegedly sent to…