Author: Press Room

IT workers – threatened with large-scale job cuts at Health NZ – are hoping for a reprieve, after the health minister revealed he has asked officials to think again.The agency had proposed to axe almost half its more than 2000 digital and data roles, and scrap or defer 136 IT projects, including upgrades to booking systems and radiology.In a speech on Friday to the Business NZ Health Forum, Health Minister Simeon Brown said the health infrastructure investment pipeline was one of his “key priorities”.Digital infrastructure was “fragmented”, with about 6000 applications and 100 digital networks, he said.”That equates to roughly…

The EU “cannot afford complacency” and must ensure it is ready to face new health crises, the bloc’s Crisis Preparedness Commissioner told Euronews to mark the fifth anniversary of COVID being declared a pandemic. ADVERTISEMENTThe start of the pandemic was categorised by countries worldwide, including EU member states, scrambling and at times competing to secure what they needed to face the global health emergency and protect their health systems from collapse.Five years later, the EU is better prepared to face such a crisis but more needs to be done notably in how we approach stockpiling, Hadja Lahbib told Euronews in…

New Zealand’s housing market might have turned a corner, but it is still a tough time to be a seller.While activity and prices are picking up, there is large amount of stock on the market, and it is keeping a lid on prices.In January, the Real Estate Institute reported a “days to sell” measure of 54 nation-wide and 56 in Auckland, compared to 37 in January 2022.That month, there were 3774 sales nation-wide and 8904 new listings. The number of available houses for sale was up almost 19% on a year earlier.In November, clear of the holiday period, there were…

Russia and Ukraine traded fire ahead of crunch talks on ending the war between Ukrainian and US officials in Saudi Arabia. ADVERTISEMENTAt least three people have been killed — two in Moscow and one in the Donetsk region — and multiple injured as Russia and Ukraine traded fire ahead of talks on ending the war in Saudi Arabia. Ukraine launched a “massive” drone attack on Moscow overnight, according to local officials. The governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov, said two people — including a 50-year-old man — were killed in Moscow in the attack. He said the casualties were…

A company involved in supplying school lunches has gone into liquidation.Deloitte New Zealand, who has been appointed liquidator, said Libelle Group was contracted by Compass Group to deliver approximately 125,000 meals daily as part of the Government’s Ka Ora, Ka Ako Healthy School Lunches programme.”The Liquidators are undertaking a full and urgent review of all of Libelle’s operations, with our immediate focus being working with Libelle’s employees and affected stakeholders to ascertain the way forward, including ensuring students around New Zealand continue to receive their school lunches,” said David Webb of Deloitte New Zealand. Libelle Group is a member of…

As armed forces across Europe remain stretched and defence budgets constrained, could European nations reinstate compulsory military service? NATO allies are considering conscription. ADVERTISEMENTAfter the Cold War, European countries systematically downsized their armies, with key players such as France suspending conscription and seeing a corresponding fall in the size of its armed forces – by 38% from the 1990s till today.Only Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Norway, Switzerland, and Turkey never suspended conscription.  “Now, the more urgent thing is essentially having enough troops to hold the line, not necessarily to fight the Russians, but to send a strong deterrence…

Disgraced Kiwi businessman Ron Brierley has today been arrested and charged with fresh offences of possessing child abuse material.Brierley, now 87, was arrested by New South Wales Police in Sydney on Tuesday and charged with three counts of possessing child abuse material.Police confirmed the arrest of an 87-year-old man at his Point Piper home in a statement which did not name Brierley.”He was refused bail to appear before Waverly Local Court today where he was granted conditional bail to reappear on Tuesday, March 25, 2025,” NSW Police told 1News in a statement.The Wellington-born multi-millionaire had been a chairman and director…

On Tuesday the Commission will present a new proposal for a Critical Medicines Act, a priority the executive set for the outset of its mandate. ADVERTISEMENTHow can the EU fix the dramatic shortages of vital medicines which put patients at risk? The European Commission will on Tuesday present its ”Critical Medicines Act” to address shortages of antibiotics, insulin, and painkillers (among others), reduce dependency on Asia and improve supply chain resilience across Europe.The bloc depends on Asia for 60–80% of its supply, leaving it vulnerable to disruptions. Some countries have suggested integrating medicine shortages into EU defence spending, seeing them…

The controversial closure of Mount Maunganui’s Links Ave will remain, but its closure times will be reduced.At a city delivery committee meeting on Monday, Tauranga city councillors voted to reduce the times people can be penalised for using the street incorrectly.Councillors discussed at length what the best hours would be for the safety of children at Mount Maunganui Intermediate, which has an entrance on the street.One councillor wanted more community engagement to reach a long-term solution because the Links Ave closure led to “low trust” in the council.The eastern end of Links Ave in Mount Maunganui has been closed with…

The protests have been falsely depicted as anti-migrant as part of a coordinated disinformation campaign. ADVERTISEMENTA video circulating widely on social media falsely claims to show recent mass demonstrations in Greece over the number of irregular migrants and refugees arriving in the country. One of the posts the Euroverify team detected has been viewed at least 1.2 million times on X and was artificially amplified by several bot-like accounts.We verified the video and found it in fact shows a 28 February protest near the Syntagma square in central Athens to mark two years since a deadly rail disaster in which two…