Author: Press Room

Bucharest expelled Russia’s military attaché Victor Makovskiy and his deputy for violating the Vienna Convention, the foreign ministry told Euronews Romania. ADVERTISEMENTRussia’s military attaché to Bucharest and his deputy were declared personae non gratae in an unprecedented move by Romanian authorities on Wednesday.The military, air and naval attaché Victor Makovskiy and his deputy Evgeny Ignatiev were expelled for carrying out activities that contravened the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.“It is an exceptional measure. It is not a common measure. It is not a measure taken easily, and it is taken…

Central Hawke’s Bay Mayor Alex Walker says the Government is “short-sighted” for not including local councils in its four-year term proposal.The Government has agreed to introduce legislation that would enable a four-year term of Parliament, subject to a referendum.Walker said a move to four-year terms would be a great step to allowing the machine of both central and local government to be more efficient.”Over the last few years, the flip-flopping of policy direction has cost our communities dearly in lost opportunities and the lack of certainty in funding, in particular, for delivery of infrastructure,” she said.”For us in Central Hawke’s…

The world’s largest tourism festival kicked off in Berlin this week. But what are the latest trends for 2025? ADVERTISEMENTInternational tourism is expected to surpass 2024 levels, which saw a full recovery from pre-pandemic levels. The travel sector is experiencing a rise in sustainable bookings amid pushbacks in overtourism that is seeing several European countries, such as Spain and Italy, considering raising tourism taxes.But climate change is also having a major impact on travel, especially in the arctic region.Tens of thousands of tourism industry participants gathered this week at the world’s largest tourism trade fair, the ITB, in the German…

An Auckland man has been sentenced to six-months home detention after fraudulently submitting gambling grant applications – seeking a total of $73,000.The 24-year-old, Joshua Gilfedder, pleaded guilty in the Auckland District Court to three charges for accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose, using forged documents, and altering documents with intent to deceive.The charges were laid after an investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs. It found between April and July 2023, Gilfedder accessed Aotearoa Gaming Trust’s online grant application portal and “impersonated two community organisations” in four grant funding applications.Internal Affairs said he also forged documents to give…

The EU Commission has unveiled plans to borrow €150 billion to fund a major rearmament push. This joint borrowing proposal comes in the form of loans rather than grants—an idea largely rejected by so-called ‘frugal’ countries such as Germany and the Netherlands.

As Hospitality New Zealand chief executive Steve Armitage met hospitality operators in Dunedin this week, fatigue was obvious. “People have hung on and you can clearly see that in the way they are carrying themselves,” he said. But there was also a feeling that the bottom had been hit and things could only pick up. The return of tertiary students to the city was noted and such things provided optimism until disposable income increased, he said. The South had a strong voice in the sector and frustrations on a variety of issues were aired, including the Dunedin City Council’s local…

A judge has found thick brown sludge, which flowed into Waikato coastal waters, was the result of unlawful runoff from mining waste.Taharoa Ironsands Limited was convicted and fined $105,000 in the Hamilton District Court on Wednesday, for the unlawful outflow of sediment-laden water into the coastal marine area in January 2023.Waikato Regional Council took the case to court after members of the public complained about “a thick brown sludge” flowing out of pipes into the Tasman Sea.The council investigated and found that, over a two-day period, approximately 1.8 million litres of sediment-laden water ran into the foreshore and coastal marine…

“Better late than never” is a phrase that could save you at the office or on a date, but in politics, a leader’s tardiness can spark anything from mild irritation to full-blown diplomatic tensions – and might have played a role in the latest White House show. ADVERTISEMENT“This is going to be great television. I will say that,” was Donald Trump’s takeaway following his intense exchange with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House’s Oval Office last week.The dramatic war of words played out in front of the cameras before the whole world made for a historic display of ill…

A Horowhenua District councillor working remotely from Scotland has hit back at critics calling for his resignation, arguing that his attendance is better than some of his colleagues.Rogan Boyle has been in the role for nearly half a year – five of those months from the other side of the world.”The issue is he’s now been doing this since October. We’re now here in March and it doesn’t look like that is going to change,” Horowhenua District Mayor Bernie Wanden said.”He’s supporting his partner, I believe, who is on a student exchange.”Standing orders allowed Boyle to work remotely from Scotland,…

Europe’s coal-age, industrial dinosaurs are getting fitted-out for the future. Take the Czech Republic, for example: The Prague government has promised to phase-out coal-fired power generation by the year 2033. ADVERTISEMENTOperators of many ancient coal-fired power plants are on-board. The conversion has already begun at the Opatovice lignite-fired power plant. Opatovice will have completed its coal phase-out by 2030 at the latest (perhaps even earlier). The conversion will be to natural gas. This is controversial, since natural gas is also a fossil fuel. To slow down climate change, the economy must be decarbonised. That’s the scientific consensus. The European Union’s objective…