Saturday, May 2

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Watch live: President Joe Biden tells US it’s time to ‘pass the torch’ to Kamala Harris
World News

Watch live: President Joe Biden tells US it’s time to ‘pass the torch’ to Kamala Harris

By Bernd Debusmann Jr, BBC News, White House US President Joe Biden will tell Americans it's time to "pass the torch to a new generation" in a televised address from the White House explaining his historic decision to step aside as the Democratic candidate in this November's election. The Oval Office address marks his first public remarks since the 21 July announcement, which paved the way for Vice-President Kamala Harris to become the presumptive nominee. Biden will also say his decision to withdraw "is the best way to unite our nation" ahead of November's election. Biden is also expected to lay out his plans to "finish the job for the American people" before the end of his term in January next year. Harris, who earlier this week secured the support of a majority of Democratic delegates...
Rents falling for first time in nearly two years, data shows
Business

Rents falling for first time in nearly two years, data shows

The national median rental price is $645 a week. Photo: Unsplash / Tom Rumble Rental prices have fallen for the first time since 2022, figures from Trade Me show . Trade Me's latest Rental Price Index revealed a slight decrease in rents, with the national median dropping $5 month-on-month to $645 a week. Trade Me's property sales director Gavin Lloyd said it was the first monthly fall since September 2022. And he said rents may yet fall further. "We know that with the number of Kiwis leaving the country, there is less demand for rentals, particularly among young professionals. "As a result, we might see further drops in rental prices as we move further into the winter months, especially given that the latest inflation figures are falling faster than expected." However, rents in Northlan...
Union Budget 2024: `Advanced treatments are still expensive`
Health

Union Budget 2024: `Advanced treatments are still expensive`

The Union Budget 2024 was announced earlier today and saw quite a few advancements that will shape the future of India. While experts dissect the many different areas that will see a significant impact, its impact on healthcare is promising, especially for cancer treatment, believe healthcare experts.  With a boost to healthcare, India`s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, announced that three cancer medicines Trastuzumab deruxtecan, Osimertinib and Durvalumab have been fully exempted from custom duty for cancer patients. Further, there will also be changes in basic customs duty on X-Ray tubes and flat panel detectors for domestic X-ray machines`s production.  With such important changes, mid-day.com spoke to India`s healthcare experts to get their reactions. Reny Varghese, CAO, Zynova...
Olympics 2024: Swift fall-out over spygate controversy
World News

Olympics 2024: Swift fall-out over spygate controversy

The fall-out has been swift as the Olympics spy-gate" controversy deepened. Photo: AFP It is the drone heard around the world. New Zealand has found itself at the centre of one of the major international storylines of the Paris Olympic Games days out from the opening, as the "spy-gate" controversy deepened. The scandal kicked off when it was revealed that a rogue support staffer with Canada's women's football team had flown a drone over the Football Ferns training as part of a scouting mission. Following internal investigations, the Canadian Olympic Committee confirmed the staffer had also filmed a second, earlier Ferns training session. The fall-out has been swift. Canada head coach Bev Priestman has stood herself down from overseeing Friday's opening match against New Zealand, while J...
Why keeping your house on the market could be expensive
Business

Why keeping your house on the market could be expensive

In a falling market, setting a price that is too high can mean that some sellers will end up worse off, says a property economist. File photo. Photo: 123RF Waikato woman Helen - whom RNZ has agreed not to identify - has recently spent six months trying to sell her home. While she received a couple of offers, they were well below what she was willing to consider, and eventually she decided to withdraw the property from the market. "It's really quiet, really frustrating. Anything in that slightly higher price point - we were trying to sell around $1.1 million - there's nothing [happening]. From my perspective, it's the fact that we worked really hard to get into this house and build our home - for us to turn around and get a couple of offers that were so low they weren't quite a joke but ...
Olympics 2024 drone spying: Canada coach Bev Priestman stands down from Football Ferns match
World News

Olympics 2024 drone spying: Canada coach Bev Priestman stands down from Football Ferns match

Canada's head coach, and the former head of Football New Zealand, Bev Priestman. Photo: AFP The Canadian women's football team head coach - and former head of NZ Football - will stand down for the match against the Football Ferns. It came as a second drone incident was revealed by the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC). NZOC said Team Canada confirmed a second incident took place on 19 July, three days before the latest drone was caught by the Football Ferns. Both incidents occurred in St Etienne where the two teams were due to play. Canada's assistant coach and an analyst have been kicked out of the Olympic squad after New Zealand said its team had their training session disrupted by a drone flown by a staff member of their Group A opponents. Head coach Bev Priestman also removed her...
Plunging EV sales push NZ charger manufacturer to look to Australia
Business

Plunging EV sales push NZ charger manufacturer to look to Australia

It's been a tough year for NZ's EV market, with scrapped government subsidies for electric vehicles and the end of exemptions from road user charges. File photo. Photo: 123RF A New Zealand manufacturer of EV chargers says it is switching its focus to the Australian market, partly because of New Zealand's plunging EV sales. Evnex is a Christchurch-based manufacturer of EV chargers for homes and businesses. Founder Ed Harvey says with Australian sales on the rise, the company can raise capital more easily across the Tasman. He said Australian government subsidies have helped their EV sales overtake New Zealand's sales, which have fallen from 27 percent of new cars last year to 8 percent so far this year. So far Evnex has around 6000 chargers in New Zealand and 1000 in Australia, but Harve...
Australian surfer Kai McKenzie’s leg washes up after shark attack
World News

Australian surfer Kai McKenzie’s leg washes up after shark attack

Kai McKenzie, 23, was surfing near Port Macquarie in New South Wales when a 3m great white shark bit him. Photo: GoFundMe/supplied By Hannah Ritchie, BBC News, Sydney The severed leg of a surfer who was attacked by a shark has washed up on an Australian beach, with doctors now racing to see if it can be reattached. Kai McKenzie, 23, was surfing near Port Macquarie in New South Wales on Tuesday, when a 3m great white shark bit him. He managed to catch a wave into shore, where an off-duty police officer used a makeshift tourniquet to stem his bleeding, according to authorities. His leg washed up a short time later and was put on ice by locals before being taken to hospital, where a medical team is now assessing surgery options. McKenzie - who is a sponsored surfer - remains in a serious b...
Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers – and why it matters
Business

Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers – and why it matters

The Electricity Authority blames "tight supply conditions" for high prices. Photo: RNZ/befunky There is a warning that high wholesale power prices could push more small electricity retailers out of business - and hit businesses and households in the pocket. Electric Kiwi said this week it would not accept any new customers for the time being. Chief executive Luke Blincoe said the wholesale market had "completely blown up" and wholesale prices were now above retail prices. While the company had hedging - a sort of insurance against future price rises - that helped to spread the impact of that for its existing customers, it could not afford the cost of taking on new hedging arrangements for new customers. "When we made the decision a week ago the wholesale market had gone up 48 percent in...
Ali Fazal roped in as lead with Samantha Prabhu in Raj & DK’s ‘Rakht Brahmand`
Entertainment, Movies

Ali Fazal roped in as lead with Samantha Prabhu in Raj & DK’s ‘Rakht Brahmand`

Following the success of his beloved character of Guddu Pandit in ‘Mirzapur 3’, actor Ali Fazal is set to join the cast of ‘Rakht Brahmand’ as the lead opposite Samantha Ruth Prabhu. The ensemble cast also includes Aditya Roy Kapoor, and Wamiqa Gabbi in key roles. The period drama/fantasy series ‘Rakht Brahmand’ is helmed by the visionary duo Raj & and DK, while the series will be directed by Rahi Anil Barve of ‘Tumbbad’ fame.  This will be the next major project for Ali following the anticipation of the release of Anurag Basu’s ‘Metro In Dino’, ‘Lahore 1947’ produced by Aamir Khan, and ‘Thug Life’ being directed by Mani Ratnam. A source revealed, “The project is a marvellous vision of Raj & DK, it’s definitely a step forward in its genre of fantasy drama. The cast has finally al...