Author: Press Room

Friends and family of a man who died before his successful appearance on The Chase went to air have gathered at a Manchester pub to watch the episode, just weeks after he died. Teacher Tim McCarthy, 64, who won a nail biting episode, had completed his ambition to compete on the quiz show before he died.He had been battling a long illness.The BBC reported his victory was “greeted with roars” by the crowd, who filled The Colliers pub in Greater Manchester.Before the episode aired, only his widow, Rachel McCarthy, along with his three children knew of his win.Chase host Bradley…

Tama Lundon, a member of New Zealand reggae group Herbs, has died.Former Herbs member Toni Fonoti announced Lundon’s death on Facebook on Wednesday, describing his former bandmate as an “amazing, humble person and genius musician”.Lundon was the original keyboard player for the band, which was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame in 2012.Fonoti said he met Lundon in the late 1970s at a bar in Auckland’s Onehunga where he was playing.“I asked him to join Herbs but he was happy where he was. Now 40 years later, Tama and Dilworth Karaka and all the other members have…

NZ Post services to the United States will resume for businesses due to a new commercial sending option – but other customers will need to wait. The postal service had temporarily suspended parcel services to the US because of confusion caused by the Trump administration’s tariff regime. NZ Post said it had now set up a commercial sending option allowing Kiwi businesses to resume sending parcels. Business owners had voiced concern about the suspension and impact it would have on their income. Jared Handcock,  NZ Post’s general manager of Export and International Solutions, said the sending option would be available for new and…

Council staffer Robert Hutchinson probably didn’t think he’d have to explain how the elderly could use a proposed playground at a Marlborough committee meeting.But a question from councillor Deborah Dalliessi left the parks and public spaces officer scrambling to explain how a balance beam was “for many ages”.The question came on Tuesday as the Marlborough District Council approved $488,000 from the $1.4m land subdivision reserve to build the new recreational space on Vickerman St in Grovetown.“I’m really interested [in] a good example of inviting intergenerational space into one … what do you have that is elder friendly?” Dalliessi asked.“No, it’s…

Wellington central city brew bar Fortune Favours is closing due to the cost-of-living crisis, its owners say. In a sudden announcement on Wednesday night, it said it was shutting its doors on Sunday after eight years of trading. In a post on social media it said the “cost of living crisis has proven too difficult” for it to navigate. “We’re 20 percent down on last year, which was already 25 percent down on the year before. “This is not sustainable.” It said Shannon Thorpe (the owner), Dale Cooper (head brewer) and the team thanked customers, community and all past and…

Election hoardings of three Auckland female candidates have been vandalised and graffitied with offensive and racist words.The three targets of the vandalism say it’s not just graffiti – it’s racist abuse, a financial burden, and a threat to democracy.Josephine Bartley, the incumbent councillor for Maungakiekie and one of only two female Samoans on Auckland’s governing body, said a hoarding on Captains Springs Rd was defaced with explicit abuse.”They’d written all over the sign, calling me a ‘fat, useless, plastic poly’.”Another one of her billboards on Trafalgar St was attacked just a day after it went up.”We put it up on…

The Reserve Bank has trimmed its forecast for house price growth, and says the fact that house prices aren’t rising as fast as expected is weighing on the economy.The central bank now expects house prices will fall 0.3% this calendar year. At the end of last year, it had expected 7% growth.Its monetary policy statement seemed to lament the fact that the market had not responded as quickly as expected to interest rate cuts. It said housing was a key component of household wealth and influenced household spending.”Annual house price growth has been lower than annual [Consumer Price Index] inflation…

By Amanda Gillies of RNZ  Red tape, high costs and tough rules have cruise companies turning their backs on New Zealand – and our cruise industry on the brink of sinking. In what has been called a devastating blow for tourism, the number of cruise ships docking in our ports is declining rapidly and industry insiders worry about the economic impact on the entire country. An industry leader and a travel journalist tell The Detail  New Zealand risks being left behind as the rest of the world embraces a thriving cruise sector post the Covid-19 pandemic. Globally, they say, cruising is…

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has requested official advice on “appropriate next steps” following Australia’s expulsion of Iran’s ambassador and move to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the expulsion yesterday after the country’s spy agency said it had “credible evidence” that the Iranian government directed at least two anti-Semitic attacks on Jewish premises in Sydney and Melbourne.”These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil.”Iran denied the allegations through its Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, who tried to link it to the challenges Australia…

New Zealand’s gender pay gap has narrowed to its lowest level on record – and one economist says some sectors have contributed more to the improvement than others.Stats NZ said today the gender pay gap was a median 5.2% in the June quarter, down from 8.2% a year earlier.That is the lowest level since the data began in 1998.It was the first significant annual decline since 2017.Stats NZ said there were larger increases in median hourly earnings from wages and salaries for women than for men.In the year ended June 2025, median hourly earnings from wages and salaries rose $1.44…