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PlayStation Network offline in global outage

1Oct

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World News

PlayStation Network offline in global outage

Photo: AFP / RICHARD A. BROOKS The online gaming provider PlayStation Network is suffering a global outage. All services have been impacted since 2.21pm, according to the PlayStation Network status page, including account management, gaming and social, PlayStation Video and PlayStation Store. The outage means people are not able to sign in or create an account for the PlayStation Network, launch games, apps or network features, get PlayStation Video content or buy products in the PlayStation Store. Photo: Supplied PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and online platforms are affected. One PlayStation user RNZ spoke to said all game and store pages loaded blank and his console appeared unable to connect to the server. The PlayStation Network said it was wor...

Businesses cautiously optimistic as interest rates expected to fall further

1Oct

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Business

Businesses cautiously optimistic as interest rates expected to fall further

Photo: Unsplash/ Simon Kadula Business sentiment has improved sharply but is still pessimistic as firms struggle with lower sales, leading them to shed staff and hold back on investment. The Institute of Economic Research's September quarter business survey shows a net 5 percent of respondents think economic conditions will get worse in coming months, compared to a net 40 percent in the June survey. Firms reported a decline in their own trading with a net 31 percent of firms reported a fall their trading in the past quarter from 27 percent decline in the previous survey. The weakness was expected to ease in the coming quarter with a net 2 percent forecasting a drop in their own business from 13 percent in the previous quarter. NZIER principal economist Christina Leung said businesses wer...

Phillip Schofield on Cast Away: a reminder of everything he revealed during last year’s downfall

1Oct

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Life Style

Phillip Schofield on Cast Away: a reminder of everything he revealed during last year’s downfall

Phillip Schofield is back. In a ridiculously on-the-nose twist that effectively no one saw coming, the disgraced former This Morning presenter is going to be returning to screens tonight as part of a three part Cast Away special for Channel 5.“Now you know how I spent my summer,” Schofield wrote on Instagram last week, “Alone for 10 days. No food. No water. No crew. My story of survival, both on a desert island and off it. Cast Away starts Monday on @channel5 & My5 at 9pm.”His decision to return to screens has ruffled a lot of feathers. Schofield’s former colleague, Eamonn Holmes, has hit out at Schofield, saying he “deserves to be in exile” and “is addicted to fame.”Phillip Schofield on an island off the coast of Madagascar, on Channel 5’s Cast Away (Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited/Bur...

New Zealand groceries more expensive than Australia, UK and Ireland – research

1Oct

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Business

New Zealand groceries more expensive than Australia, UK and Ireland – research

Photo: 123RF A new study has confirmed what many New Zealand shoppers already believed - supermarket prices are higher here than overseas. Australian researchers compared the prices of common grocery items in leading supermarkets in Australia, the UK, Ireland and New Zealand. New Zealand was the most expensive place to buy the items, with the UK the cheapest. Researchers from Edith Cowan University compared the prices of some common supermarket staples, including fruit and vegetables, milk, cheese, chocolate, meat, bread, coffee and some toiletries. Here's the winning order on price alone: UK - on top with the lowest prices, with the cost of the groceries ranging between $314-$329 Ireland - next cheapest with prices ranging between $347-$383 Australia - in third with the price the groce...

Tough times for boutique companies, champion cheesemaker says

1Oct

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Business

Tough times for boutique companies, champion cheesemaker says

Photo: Supplied by Karikaas The market has never been tougher for a boutique cheesemaker, says Karikaas owner Di Hawkins. Di and Alan Hawkins have been making cheese out of their Loburn factory since 2004, when they bought the Karikaas cheese business from Dutch transplants Karin and Rients Rypma. Their Dutch and New Zealand cheeses have won many awards - including this year where they took out prizes for best Dutch cheese and best NZ original cheese. But after 20 years in the business, the market has never been tougher, she said. "Over that time the entrants to the New Zealand cheese market who've come and gone are probably 10 to one to those that have survived. "People come and they get started, and there's lots of enthusiasm, and then the reality and the work and combination of circu...

Bhumi Pednekar wraps `Daldal`: `We braved the Mumbai monsoons`

1Oct

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Entertainment, Movies

Bhumi Pednekar wraps `Daldal`: `We braved the Mumbai monsoons`

Actor Bhumi Pednekar has completed filming for her highly anticipated web series `Daldal`. Bhumi on Sunday took to Instagram story to share her thoughts on the year-long journey, describing the role as one of her most challenging to date. She wrote, "Hands down one of my most complex characters. Am nervous! Had the opportunity to work with such sublime actors and creators on the show. We braved the mumbai monsoons, shot in the toughest conditions and yet our spirits could never be dampened. Kudos to us all." Praising her team, Bhumi added, "Thank you Vikramix for constantly bringing me parts that challenge me & for constantly believing in me. Our third one together @abundantiaent @sureshtriveni. I just love you. This was that rare connect where I was like let`s free fall. You are a g...

India requires urgent investment in contraceptive spacing methods: Experts

1Oct

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Health

India requires urgent investment in contraceptive spacing methods: Experts

Adequately spaced pregnancies can boost maternal and child health outcomes. This will lead to better maternal and child health, reduced unintended or unplanned pregnancies, and greater economic stability for families. “India`s young population, with over 65 per cent under 35, requires urgent investment in contraceptive choices, especially spacing methods,” Poonam Muttreja, executive director of Population Foundation of India, said. According to NFHS 5 (2019-21), 4 per cent of India`s unmet contraceptive need is for spacing methods. “Expanding access to these options will improve health outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and enhance economic productivity by allowing women to better participate in the workforce,” Muttreja said. She called on improving the quality of care in family planni...

Live: Israel begins ground raids into Lebanon

1Oct

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World News

Live: Israel begins ground raids into Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in one of Beirut’s southern suburbs early on 1 October, 2024. Photo: AFP Israel's widely expected ground invasion of Lebanon appears to be getting under way as its military says troops had begun 'limited' raids against Hezbollah targets in the border area. The military said in a statement that its targets were located in villages close to the border that posed "an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel." It said the air force and artillery were supporting ground forces with "precise strikes." Local residents in the Lebanese border town of Aita al-Shaab reported heavy shelling and the sound of helicopters and drones overhead. Israel told the US it planned to launch a ground incursion into L...

The great New Zealand interest rate experiment and where it all went wrong

1Oct

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Business

The great New Zealand interest rate experiment and where it all went wrong

By Ian Verrender, ABC chief business correspondent Photo: RNZ Analysis - You have to hand it to the Kiwis. For such a tiny nation, stuck at the bottom of the South Pacific, it's a country that punches well above its weight. Take last Saturday night, for example, when the All Blacks yet again walloped the Wallabies in Wellington, keeping the elusive Bledisloe Cup locked away in the NZRU trophy cabinet. For Australia, it's been a 22-year drought. It's not just sport. A range of musicians, writers, filmmakers, artists and actors from the Land of the Long White Cloud strut the world stage. But there's another, perhaps more arcane, area where New Zealand has made the rest of the world sit up and take notice. When it comes to central banks, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) is somet...

Live: Lebanon residents warned to evacuate, Israel on verge of ground invasion

30Sep

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World News

Live: Lebanon residents warned to evacuate, Israel on verge of ground invasion

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in one of Beirut’s southern suburbs early on 1 October, 2024. Photo: AFP Lebanese have troops have pulled back from the border with Israel as a ground invasion by Israel looks imminent. Israeli strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs, a security source said, with a Reuters reporter witnessing a flash of light and a series of loud blasts about an hour after the Israeli military warned residents to evacuate areas near buildings it said contained Hezbollah infrastructure south of the Lebanese capital. Israel has told the US it plans to launch a ground incursion into Lebanon, multiple reports from the US say. And a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters the positioning of Israeli troops sugges...