Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

India has established a Free Trade Agreement with four European nations.

The nation will lift most tariffs for Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey says the UK could benefit from a similar arrangement as the nation prepares for a post-Brexit future.

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Tonight on The Huddle, Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR and broadcaster Paddy Gower joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!

Kensington Palace posted a photo of Princess Kate and her family to celebrate Mother's Day in the UK- and several media outlets have since pulled the image amid concerns about possible photo manipulation. What do we think of this? What's going on with the royals?

The New Zealand Film Commission plans to invest $800,000 into a multi-million dollar feature film about Dame Jacinda Ardern. How do we feel about this? Will Kiwi audiences respond well?

A father who killed his child in a driveway accident has been charged by police with careless driving causing death. Isn't the death of a child bad enough?

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Freedom Furniture has posted a $9 million dollar loss, and is relying on Australian owner Greenlit Brands to support them financially.

The furniture and homeware retailer has 12 stores in New Zealand, including five in Auckland.

NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan says the 'recessionary environment', increased interest rates and transport delays created by the Red Sea terror attacks have impacted the company.

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The Government is set to re-introduce interest deductibility for landlords this April.

They'll also be able to claim 80 percent of interest expenses from next month, and 100 percent from April 2025.

ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says time will tell as to whether these proposed changes will benefit renters as well.

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Records have been smashed as Australians swelter through a weekend autumn heatwave.

Maximum temperatures in the heatwave-affected areas have been 10C to 16C above the March average.

Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says the increased temperatures come with a higher risk of dangerous bushfires.

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Over in the US, some proposed new legislation is putting TikTok back in the spotlight.

The new bill would force the app's partner company ByteDance to sell TikTok within six months or be banned from US app stores amid spyware concerns.

Tech commentator Paul Spain says lots of companies would love to have the power and influence that comes with owning the platform.

"Meta probably wouldn't be allowed to buy it because it would put them in a monopoly type of position, but there's others like Microsoft that would love to get in on this. I don't think there'll be a shortage of interest."

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The Finance Minister says the Government's thinking about what to do about problems in the media sector.

In the past few weeks there's been proposals made about Newshub's closure and cuts at TVNZ.

Nicola Willis says no decisions have been made about what will be done.

She says it's hardly a unique problem.

"It's not just New Zealand who's going through these big problems, this is a global phenomenon. And it's hard to find an example anywhere of a country that's managed to really get on top of it."

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Australia walked away with a series-winning victory over New Zealand at Christchurch's Hagley Oval.

The Aussies chased 279 to win before tea on the fourth day to take the series 2-nil.

Cricket commentator Andrew Alderson says the Black Caps 'choked' under the pressure of the series, to the benefit of Australia.

"The Australians are so confident and so used to being able to deal with level of pressure. And I don't think New Zealand quite had what it took in those circumstances."

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A plea for the Government to wake up to the reality of vaping among young people.

The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation says a 'black market' for vapes has sprung up in schools.

One workshop with year 7 and 8 students found 77 percent of them had tried it.

Chief Executive Letitia Harding says on the campaign trail, politicians liked to talk about different ways to tackle the problem.

"But as soon as they get into Government, trying to actually see the Minister of Health and talk to them with the expertise that we've got behind us in incredibly frustrating."

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A reminder every second counts when it comes to the effort of fighting fires.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand has criticised Auckland Transport for speed bumps, which it says slows firefighters on their way to jobs.

Professional Firefighters Union Auckland President Terry Bird says it doesn't have to be all or nothing.

"There's an opportunity to talk about how to design these speed management humps in a way that they aren't obstructing firefighters and slowing them down, there are fire appliance-friendly designs."

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