Author: Press Room

Sarajevo faced severe smog on Thursday, with flights cancelled as the city’s air quality index reached 225, the third highest in the world on the day. ADVERTISEMENTFlights were grounded and residents of Sarajevo were told to stay indoors on Thursday as a thick blanket of smog descended on the Bosnia and Herzegovina capital.According to the Swiss-based air quality monitoring company IQAir, Sarajevo’s air quality reached an extremely unhealthy level, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 225. This placed the city among the world’s most polluted for that day, ranking third globally.“This is unbearable. It’s suffocating, especially for those…

Commissioners have heard McDonald’s’ right of reply to grant consent to open a restaurant in Wānaka.Consent is being sought to open a 455 square metres restaurant with a drive-thru at the Wānaka-Luggate Highway, below Mt Iron.Queenstown Lakes District Council opened the proposal up for public submissions, and of the 366 submissions made, 339 were opposed, while 21 supported it.Many – including that from the Wao Aotearoa Charitable Trust – had concerns about the environmental and visual impacts of the restaurant on the town.”The proposed site is highly visible at the entrance of Wānaka and is adjacent to significant landscape features…

This article was originally published in Portuguese The Portuguese automotive manufacturing industry’s exports are predicted to fall in November and December, as demand for new cars slows across Europe. ADVERTISEMENTAutomotive manufactuting plants are closing in Germany and Belgium, with job cuts planned for major industry giants as well as managerial resignations, such as in the case of the Portuguese former CEO of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares.After facing disruption during the pandemic, the European automotive industry is once again in dire straits. Difficulties in the transition to electric cars, increased Chinese competition and decreasing sales are all contributing to the crisis. The Portuguese…

When Jennifer was diagnosed with chlamydia last year, she says it was “an embarrassing time”.Content warning: This article mentions consent issues.”Sexual health conversations are obviously not very normalised. They’re pretty taboo,” the 24-year-old said.But Jennifer, who’s using a fake name for privacy reasons, said talking about sex and relationships is not only healthy, but it can help people make informed decisions.”It can also normalise the whole idea of STIs… The amount of people that have had chlamydia or something like that, it’s so common and yet so uncomfortable to discuss.”The silent struggle around sexual healthMore than half of New Zealanders…

The leader of Italy’s right-wing Lega Party and Giorgia Meloni’s ally, Matteo Salvini, had been accused of kidnapping and dereliction of duty over his refusal to let a migrant rescue boat dock in Italy in 2019. ADVERTISEMENTA court in Sicily found Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini not guilty of kidnap for detaining 100 migrants aboard a humanitarian rescue ship in 2019 incident when he was interior minister. “I am happy. After three years, Lega has won, Italy has won. Defending the homeland is not a crime but a right. I will go forward with more determination than before,” Salvini…

Police are working to identify a man who was found dead on a Northland beach yesterday afternoon.The man was found on Mitimiti Beach by a member of the public at about 2.30pm yesterday.”As yet police have been unable to identify him, so we’re appealing for help from the public,” a spokesperson for Kaitaia police said.”If you have family or friends that fish in the area near Te Pua Pua Creek, or have any information which could help us identify the man, please get in touch via 105.”

This article was originally published in Polish Poland’s ambassador to Budapest has been recalled to Warsaw indefinitely after Hungary granted asylum to former Polish deputy justice minister, Marcin Romanowski. ADVERTISEMENTPoland’s ambassador to Budapest has been recalled to Warsaw indefinitely, a day after Hungary granted asylum to former Polish justice minister and current Law and Justice Party (PiS) lawmaker Marcin Romanowski, authorities said on Friday.Poland had earlier summoned Hungary’s ambassador to Warsaw.Romanowski is wanted in Poland for alleged corruption and misuse of public funds during his time as minister in the previous PiS government. On Thursday, Hungarian authorities announced they would be granting…

Three people have died in separate crashes in Canterbury yesterday evening. Two women died following a two-vehicle crash on State Highway 1, Greta Valley shortly before 7.15pm.Senior Sergeant Stephen McDaniel said the crash involved the two women’s Suzuki Swift that collided head-on with a large truck on a slight bend.Later in the evening, police said one person died following a crash in Albury, Mackenzie. “Police were called to the single vehicle crash on Cave-Albury Road just after 9.20pm,” a police spokesperson said. Five people have died on NZ roads in the last 24 hours. (Source: 1News)The serious crash unit conducted…

Two people have been arrested after eight firearms, ammunition, drugs, and items consistent with drug supply were seized in multiple locations around Otago. Otago Lakes Central Area Commander Inspector Paula Enoka said detectives carried out nine search warrants in Cromwell, Alexandra, Clyde, Hawea, Wānaka and Queenstown over December 17-19 as part of Operation Speargrass.”Quantities of the Class A, B, and C controlled drugs methamphetamine, MDMA, cocaine, magic mushrooms, and cannabis were seized during the operation,” she said. “Eight firearms were seized along with thousands of rounds of ammunition.”Two men, aged 34 and 35, have been arrested and remanded in custody…

Russian gas has pitted Slovakia’s Robert Fico against Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with the European Commission caught in between. ADVERTISEMENTRobert Fico, the prime minister of Slovakia, has escalated his long-running dispute with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, over his decision to completely halt the transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory after the end of 2024. Slovakia, a landlocked country, remains highly dependent on Russian gas, which it gets from Gazprom, the state-owned monopoly, through a pipeline throughout Ukraine.”If anyone is going to prevent the transit of gas to the territory of the Slovak Republic, if anyone is going to…