Author: Press Room

The writer and actor’s memoir, ‘I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest with You’, reveals that the woman who seemed to have “such fun” was privately having none at all, writes Jasper Rees.For five years from 2009, Miranda Hart gave her name to a sitcom about a gangly singleton that reached audiences touching 10 million. Its fans were so tickled by her confident use of old-school slapstick and user-friendly catchphrases (such fun)! that it was promoted from Radio 4 to BBC Two to BBC One. On the back of its phenomenal popularity, in 2014 Hart sold out the O2 Arena with her…

Anger and frustration is growing in Samoa, with locals fearing for their livelihoods and food source after the HMNZS Manawanui sank off the coast of Upolu over the weekend.Oil has reportedly been leaking from the New Zealand Navy survey ship which capsized after hitting a reef and catching on fire on Saturday evening.1News headed out to the site yesterday, where three containers were wedged on various parts of the reef. A light film of residual fuel could be seen glistening along the heavy swells as it trailed out of the Manawanui, bringing with it an overpowering smell of diesel.Village high…

A proposed reform of the European Peace Facility would make financial contributions voluntary, rather than mandatory, as they are now. ADVERTISEMENTEuropean Union officials and diplomats are exploring a new plan to bypass Hungary’s firmly held veto on military assistance for Ukraine, which has accrued an extraordinary backlog of €6.6 billion and become an enormous source of frustration in Brussels.The plan, still in the very early stages, will involve tweaking the European Peace Facility (EPF), the off-budget tool the bloc has been using to partially reimburse member states for the weapons and ammunition donated to Kyiv.The main idea on the table…

“The only thing not delivered by the truck is babies.” Straight-talking Road Transport Logistics (RTL) chief executive Shona Robertson (nee Dynes), of Tapanui, says her hefty involvement in the road freight industry has not been about seeking recognition. Rather, it was about surviving in a very tough industry that needed a voice. At the recent Transporting New Zealand annual meeting in Napier, Mrs Robertson was awarded the TrackIT Logistics Outstanding Contribution by a Woman in the Road Transport Industry award. Interim chief executive Dom Kalasih said Mrs Robertson oversaw the amalgamation of several South Island companies to create an innovative,…

One of the referees for the Christchurch mosque attacker’s firearms licence told police the terrorist was a “good outstanding young man” and a “nice person”.The inquest into the deaths of the 51 worshippers murdered at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre on March 15, 2019 has re-convened for its second phase.Deputy Chief Coroner Brigitte Windley is examining how the terrorist obtained his firearms licence.On Thursday, a former police vetting officer, who interviewed both of the referees put forward for his firearms licence application, gave evidence in the coroner’s court.Police have already accepted the two referees were not suitable as…

After their private meeting, Francis gave Zelenskyy a bronze plaque with an inscription reading, “Peace is a fragile flower”. ADVERTISEMENTUkrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Friday as he continues his tour of Europe to bolster support for a “victory plan”.During his conversation with the head of the Catholic Church, Zelenskyy and Francis reportedly discussed the state of the war, the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and well as how it could be brought to an end.Zelenskyy has been city-hopping across the continent to promote a proposal which he says “aims to create the right conditions…

A dog has been tasered after attacking a police dog during an arrest at a gang pad in South Auckland this evening. Auckland City Police shift commander Inspector Kerry Watson told 1News officers were carrying out patrols when they came across 10 Tribesmen gang members on motorcycles travelling north on the Waikato Expressway near Pōkeno around 6pm.”They were driving quite dangerously at speeds estimated to be 120-130km/h,” he said.More police resources, including a police helicopter, were sent out as backup.Watson said officers signalled the group to stop as they entered the Ōtara area, but the bikes “took off at high…

The head of a prestigious Waikato private school who went on extended leave amid claims of a toxic culture, has resigned.St Peter’s Cambridge has confirmed today its Head of School Marcus Blackburn has resigned and already been replaced by another headmaster.Trust Board chairman John Macaskill-Smith said in a statement to media that Jason Speedy, the headmaster of Hamilton’s private primary school Southwell, will start at St Peter’s at the beginning of next year.Blackburn went on extended leave in August citing family circumstances as the reason, but some parents and ex-teachers told RNZ there was a toxic culture at the school.In…

New Zealand households spent more than they earned in the June quarter, lost a combined $47 billion in net worth, and were servicing home loan interest costs at the highest level in at least a decade.Stats NZ’s latest household spending data paints a bleak picture of the financial state of many households.It shows that households spent $479 million more than their disposable income in the quarter.Seasonally adjusted, spending was up 1% to $60b, driven by spending on services and non-durable goods like groceries, partly offset by a decrease in spending on durable goods like motor vehicles.Net disposable income — the…

Organisational failure saw Environment Canterbury fail to reprimand the chairperson after he clocked almost 700 speeding incidents.That’s what the council are saying after chairperson Peter Scott, who has now stepped down, exceeded the speed limit in a council-provided car 678 times since January, with a top speed of 157km/h.In the fallout, ECan has been left to explain how Scott racked up so many speed limit breaches over nine months without any action taken.An ECan spokesperson said historically the monitoring reports were screened monthly and shared with managers “should their staff have any speeding recorded”.The issue was that the chairperson “doesn’t…