Author: Press Room

Jacob Elordi has played his fair share of heartthrobs and outsiders. But his latest role, a surgeon captured during World War II and forced to build the Thai-Burma Death Railway, might just be the one that stays with him the longest.Australia Correspondent Aziz Al Sa’afin sat down with Elordi and the cast of Narrow Road to the Deep North ahead of its release on April 18. The Narrow Road to the Deep North tells the story of prisoners of war forced to build the Thai-Burma Death Railway. (Source: 1News)Elordi starred as Dorrigo Evans in the six-part Australian mini-series based on…

A paralysed Kawerau man who needs 24/7 support was so frustrated by an ACC policy change that he took a stand that cost him dearly, meaning hospital for him, and the pound for his cherished dog. Gill Higgins reports’I just want my own carers back’: Watch this story on TVNZ+. It was 30 years ago that Dave* was paralysed after a cliff dive that went wrong. It was just two weeks after his 21st birthday. Since then, Dave has been totally reliant on his care team. He admits to bouts of depression but says two things have made a big…

Easter is a time for family, hot cross buns, and if you’re not careful, forgetting that the shops might be closed.As the long weekend approaches, several rules govern which businesses can and cannot open on certain days.There are no specific rules that impact trading on Saturday, and Easter Monday is also unaffected – it’s an ordinary public holiday.However special restrictions affect Good Friday and Easter Sunday.Under the Shop Trading Hours Act 1990, there are three-and-a-half days each year that most businesses must cease trading – they are restricted trading days.These are Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Day and Anzac Day…

By Keiller MacDuff of RNZ Tens of thousands of people could be in line for compensation from KiwiRail, after a Commerce Commission investigation found it misled customers and may have breached the Consumer Guarantees Act in the aftermath of 2023’s catastrophic ferry cancellations. The commission launched an investigation following complaints from people who had been refused compensation after cancelled sailings of both the Kaitaki and Kaiārahi ferries – which stretched over weeks and months – including the cost of accommodation, flights and even having to abandon cars on either side of the Cook Strait. The commission investigated three incidents: A loss of…

Lorde has announced she’ll soon be releasing her first new single in four years, titled What Was That.The Kiwi singer-songwriter, whose real name is Ella Yelich O’Connor, posted on her social media revealing her new single would be “out soon”.The post was a headshot-style photo of Lorde wearing a red shirt with a dripping wet face. It was taken by New York-based photographer Talia Chetrit.The singer sent followers a voice note on April 15 where she said: “I just wanted to say hi, because everything is about to change. These are the last moments where it’s just us, which is…

Mark Lundy is scheduled to appear before the Parole Board on Thursday – the third time he has been able to plead his case for release from prison for the August 2000 murders of his wife and daughter in Palmerston North.The 66-year-old has served more than 23 years in jail since he was arrested for the murders in early 2001.But he has maintained his innocence, insisting he did not kill his wife Christine, 38, and daughter Amber, 9, in the family home.Lundy was found guilty at a trial in Palmerston North in 2002 and, again, after the Privy Council quashed…

The country’s biggest bank is forecasting the Reserve Bank will need to cut the official cash rate (OCR) deeper for longer to support a stumbling economic recovery. ANZ Bank was previously picking the OCR cuts to end in July, but now expects further 25 basis point cuts in each of August and October as insurance. “The economic recovery, while certainly well underway, is looking a bit more stop-start than our current forecasts imply,” ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner said. She said the current uncertainty surrounding global trade and the effect on world growth were further headwinds for New Zealand’s recovery. “The economy…

Tens of thousands of people could be in line for compensation from KiwiRail, after a Commerce Commission investigation found it misled customers and may have breached the Consumer Guarantees Act in the aftermath of 2023’s catastrophic ferry cancellations.The commission launched an investigation following complaints from people who had been refused compensation after cancelled sailings of both the Kaitaki and Kaiārahi ferries – which stretched over weeks and months – including the cost of accommodation, flights and even having to abandon cars on either side of the Cook Strait.The commission investigated three incidents: At the time, KiwiRail denied compensation requests and…

ADVERTISEMENTAt least three civilians have been injured following Russian drone attacks on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa. The attack started fires and caused extensive damage to local infrastructure with a church and pharmacy among the damaged buildings, regional authorities reported. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 97 drones early Tuesday morning, of which 57 were shot down.The drone attack against Odesa was followed by the shelling of the port city of Kherson on Wednesday morning. The strike resulted in one fatality and at least three injuries, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Services. Last week, the Russian military received international condemnation…

ADVERTISEMENTIran has confirmed that the next round of nuclear talks with the United States this weekend will be held in Rome after earlier confusion over the location of the negotiations.Officials initially identified Rome as hosting the negotiations, only for Iran to insist early on Tuesday that they would return to Oman.An Iranian state TV announcement said Oman will again mediate the talks on Saturday in Rome. Oman’s foreign minister served as an interlocutor between the two sides at talks last weekend in the capital Muscat. The stakes of the negotiations couldn’t be higher for the two nations closing in on…