Latest news with #PaulWilliams
1News
3 days ago
- Business
- 1News
Customs opens eGates to arrivals from 11 more countries
New Zealand Customs Service is allowing a further 11 countries with eligible passport holders to enter New Zealand using eGates. Several European countries now have access — as well as an initial group of countries from the Middle East — with the total list of countries eligible to 48. Arrivals from the United Arab Emirates, with 9381 touching down in New Zealand during the year to March 2025, was one of the countries now permitted to use the eGates. New Zealand Customs said the additional countries would help "make border processing systems more efficient, smart, and easy to use". The other newly selected countries were Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Vatican City, and Macau (a Special Administrative Region of China). ADVERTISEMENT Acting group manager of Border Operations Paul Williams said around 70% of arriving and departing passengers were processed through the eGates. "The use of eGates, along with other digital options such as completing a New Zealand Traveller Declaration digitally, will help reduce screening times in airport terminals, making it easier and faster for travellers to move through border security," said Williams. Williams said eGates enabled Customs frontline officers to focus on high-risk travellers and baggage "as well as boosting airport patrols to target illegal activities such as drug smuggling". In a trial period, Customs worked with Immigration New Zealand to ensure ePassports from the countries met the necessary border security and technological biometric requirements. EGates were first introduced in New Zealand in 2009 and were available to ePassport holders aged 10 years and older.
Times
27-05-2025
- Times
This fear of flying course costs just £89. Would it cure my phobia?
When I tell people what I do, and that I fly on average once a fortnight, they find it hard to believe that I'm a nervous flyer. Since a severe bout of turbulence on an overnight flight home from Orlando, Florida, with my husband and son in 2022, where lightning hit the wings and the crew were strapped in silently for almost the entire eight hours, I've developed what could be called a mild aversion at best and a dark-of-the-night fear at worst. My life feels as if it's been divided into before and after BA2036: I was never the biggest fan of mid-air bumps, but now going through an air pocket sends me into a full-blown panic. I'm not alone. Figures suggest that about one in four people have a fear of flying, centring on claustrophobia, technical issues such as the plane crashing, or turbulence. It doesn't help that turbulence is getting worse everywhere, particularly across the Atlantic, thanks to warming air, according to professor Paul Williams, an atmospheric scientist from the University of Reading. It hasn't put me off, yet — although our family summer holiday to France is entirely by train; read into that what you will — but I know I need help. I want to actually enjoy flying and, crucially, be able to sleep on overnight journeys rather than sit petrified for the duration, constantly checking the altimeter or the turbulence forecast on the website Turbli. I turned to easyJet, which has been running courses since 2012, helping more than 1,400 people with their fear of flying — and booked its 200th Fearless Flyer course. This being a budget airline, the course is mainly online modules (16 of them, between 4 and 20 minutes long), but the benefit is that you get access for life and can go back to them again and again. The cost of adding the experience flight is £294pp. In comparison, British Airways' all-day, in-person course is £399. EasyJet's tuition is broken up into three parts. The first five modules are an introduction to the psychological roots of a fear of flying, explaining the different triggers — claustrophobia, having a panic attack and, in my case, turbulence — as well as some pop psychology from the course leader, Lawrence Leyton, an expert in the psychology of fear and the host of Channel 4's Fear of Flying special. 'Focus on what you want rather than what you don't want,' he says. 'Say, 'I feel calm.' Your focus controls how you feel.' There are some visual effects and swirly pictures that demonstrate how our brains 'fill in the blanks' when we come across something unusual in the air and imagine the plane is crashing, as well as a comparison of a bottle of water sloshing round in a car doing 30mph and then in a plane during turbulence. There is also a reminder of how safe flying is: you're more likely to be killed by a donkey kick than in a plane crash. • What causes flight turbulence and how dangerous is it? The next few are from Richard Jones, an easyJet captain who has more than 16,500 flying hours with the airline. He runs through the technical side of aviation: what the noises are (brake fans, the power unit, cabin crew chimes) and how a plane actually stays up in the air. Then the last section is teaching coping mechanisms, such as deep breathing, the 'scratch it' technique where a bad memory is replaced with a good one, and tapping your body in certain places to feel calm. My issue is that I know all the technical stuff. I know what the plane noises mean, that security is tight and that turbulence is safe and normal (although I am oddly reassured by a graphic showing a plane travelling on a motorway in the sky, which makes me feel much better). For me it's purely psychological. Each jerk in the air takes me back to that pitch-black night over the Atlantic, hearing the screams and prayers of other passengers and when I truly thought my family were dead. I find the coping mechanisms helpful too. Having watched the modules before my latest flight — a night service from Antalya, in Turkey, to Gatwick — I mawkishly tell myself before departure: I am calm. I will enjoy and relax on this flight. My usual routine would be to fret and imagine the plane nosediving into the ground during every bump. I remind myself of the words of the course director, Mark Wein, who had the idea for Fearless Flyer when he was terrified of turbulence: 'Trust the pilots. They know what they're doing — all you need to do is relax. You're not in control.' Unbelievably I even manage ten minutes' sleep. It's the calmest I've been in the air for a long time. Then came the experience flight. At 10am one sunny Saturday in May, about 80 nervous passengers met at Gatwick airport's North Terminal to check in for flight EZY8899. The 50-minute flight, destination Gatwick, would take us from Surrey to the English Channel and back again via Kent. • The secret to stress-free holidays? Fly from a small airport We'd all met briefly on a Zoom call a few days before, but hadn't heard each other's stories. I was surprised to meet many people like me — frequent flyers who work in the travel industry but hate take-offs, landings and turbulence. There was one just-married man who desperately wanted to go on his honeymoon. One woman hadn't flown for 20 years since she was pregnant with her daughter, but had booked a family holiday to Mallorca and wanted to prepare herself. Several had never flown before. A handful of passengers boarded the flight crying; two got off while the jet bridge was still attached. Then we were ready to go. The Airbus A320 reversed out of Gate 50 and taxied on to the apron, piloted by the easyJet captain Maria Pernia-Digings. Every noise and movement was so calmly narrated by captain Chris Foster — the tug being removed, the thrust of the engines, the bumps in the tarmac — that I want him on all of my flights. So far, so normal. Then we hammered down the runway, banked into the air . . . and immediately hit turbulence. There was a lot of deep breathing and crying — and not only from me. I looked back to see people tapping above their eyebrows and under their eyes, a coping mechanism we learnt on the course. Cabin crew — there were more on this flight than normal — immediately rushed to talk to passengers to reassure them. I practised some deep breathing, looked at the wing level against the horizon and muttered 'I am calm' a few times. Over the plane intercom, Wein told us over and over again that what we were experiencing was completely normal and safe. The aircraft was made to move; he urged us to imagine the plane was suspended in jelly. Then he told us to place our water bottles on the table and see how much they were moving (not much), which helped a bit. The plane levelled off and we flew out across the Channel and circled back via the White Cliffs of Dover. Once the seatbelt signs were turned off passengers were smiling and laughing, standing up in the aisles. It was almost a party atmosphere at9,000ft — much lower than the cruising altitude of a regular flight as we weren't going very far — and tragically, I felt a bit emotional watching it all. We landed back into Gatwick not even an hour after we'd left, to claps, cheers and Heather Small's Proud, holding our certificates confirming we're fearless flyers. Wein congratulated everybody and reminded us that 'the safest part of your day is now over'. Indeed. The real test, though, will be my flight to Orlando in a few weeks' Adams was a guest of easyJet, which has online-only Fearless Flyer courses from £89 ( Do you have a fear of flying — and has anything helped? Let us know in the comments
Scoop
26-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Customs Opens eGates To 11 More Countries And Territories
Press Release – New Zealand Customs Service Customs has now opened its eGates to 48 countries, in total, and will later this year enable further countries to use the gates, helping make border processing systems more efficient, smart, and easy to use. The New Zealand Customs Service is pleased to welcome eligible ePassport holders from a further 11 countries and territories to use its eGates as of today. Travellers from several European countries, including Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, and Vatican City, as well as Macau (a Special Administrative Region of China) and an initial group of Middle Eastern countries, including Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, are now able to use New Zealand's automated eGates nationwide. This follows a successful trial period, where Customs worked with Immigration New Zealand to ensure ePassports from these Visa-waiver countries met the necessary border security and technological biometric requirements. Customs has now opened its eGates to 48 countries, in total, and will later this year enable further countries to use the gates, helping make border processing systems more efficient, smart, and easy to use. Acting Group Manager Border Operations, Paul Williams, says around 70% percent of arriving and departing passengers are currently processed through eGates in New Zealand. 'As we open New Zealand's eGates to more countries, even more travellers will have the option of a self-service route through both arrivals and departures. We welcome the new passport holders and encourage them to give our eGates a try,' says Mr Williams. 'The use of eGates, along with other digital options such as completing a New Zealand Traveller Declaration digitally, will help reduce screening times in airport terminals, making it easier and faster for travellers to move through border security.' He adds that eGates use sophisticated biometric software and information from ePassports to carry out necessary checks within seconds, enabling Customs frontline officers to place increased focus on high-risk travellers and baggage, as well as boosting airport patrols to target illegal activities such as drug smuggling. Notes: eGates first opened for use in New Zealand in 2009 eGate access is now available to ePassport holders aged 10 years and older from the 48 countries and territories listed below:
Scoop
26-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Customs Opens eGates To 11 More Countries And Territories
The New Zealand Customs Service is pleased to welcome eligible ePassport holders from a further 11 countries and territories to use its eGates as of today. Travellers from several European countries, including Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, and Vatican City, as well as Macau (a Special Administrative Region of China) and an initial group of Middle Eastern countries, including Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, are now able to use New Zealand's automated eGates nationwide. This follows a successful trial period, where Customs worked with Immigration New Zealand to ensure ePassports from these Visa-waiver countries met the necessary border security and technological biometric requirements. Customs has now opened its eGates to 48 countries, in total, and will later this year enable further countries to use the gates, helping make border processing systems more efficient, smart, and easy to use. Acting Group Manager Border Operations, Paul Williams, says around 70% percent of arriving and departing passengers are currently processed through eGates in New Zealand. 'As we open New Zealand's eGates to more countries, even more travellers will have the option of a self-service route through both arrivals and departures. We welcome the new passport holders and encourage them to give our eGates a try,' says Mr Williams. 'The use of eGates, along with other digital options such as completing a New Zealand Traveller Declaration digitally, will help reduce screening times in airport terminals, making it easier and faster for travellers to move through border security.' He adds that eGates use sophisticated biometric software and information from ePassports to carry out necessary checks within seconds, enabling Customs frontline officers to place increased focus on high-risk travellers and baggage, as well as boosting airport patrols to target illegal activities such as drug smuggling. Notes: eGates first opened for use in New Zealand in 2009 eGate access is now available to ePassport holders aged 10 years and older from the 48 countries and territories listed below:
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Roger Nichols, Grammy-Nominated Co-Writer of ‘We've Only Just Begun,' Dies at 84
Roger Nichols, best-known for co-writing such Carpenters hits as 'We've Only Just Begun,' 'Rainy Days and Mondays' and 'I Won't Last a Day Without You' with lyricist Paul Williams, died on May 17. He was 84. Williams confirmed Nichols' death in an extended, and deeply affectionate, post on Instagram. Williams didn't list a cause of death, though he reported the basic circumstances of the death. 'Roger Nichols passed away peacefully four days ago, at home with his beautiful family …his wife Terry and the daughters he was so proud of, Claire and Caitlin at his side.' (See full text of Williams Instagram post below.) More from Billboard Gone But Not Forgotten: Musicians We Lost in 2025 Julión Álvarez Postpones Stadium Show in Texas After Not Being Able to Enter the U.S. 7 Things We Learned From Talking to EDC Las Vegas 2025 Performers Nichols signed as an artist to A&M Records in 1968, a year before Karen and Richard Carpenter were signed to the Los Angeles-based label. His debut album Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends was produced by Tommy LiPuma, engineered by Bruce Botnick, and featured session contributions from Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman and Lenny Waronker. Although the album failed to crack the Billboard 200, A&M co-founder Herb Alpert thought there was something there and recommended that Nichols be hired by A&M's publishing company as a staff songwriter. It was during this period that he was introduced to Williams. That was a characteristically astute call on Alpert's part. Williams and Nichols were one of the hottest pop songwriting teams of the early 1970s. Williams and Nichols took off as songwriters in the fall of 1970, when they had two songs in the top 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time. On the charts dated Oct. 17 and 24, Carpenters' version of 'We've Only Just Begun,' a ballad which had originated as 'soft-sell' commercial for Crocker-Citizens National Bank, was in the top five (on its way to a No. 2 peak). Three Dog Night's 'Out in the Country' was holding at its No. 15 peak. The Carpenters smash, an instant standard, was lushly romantic. The Three Dog Night hit was a fresh-sounding mix of pop, rock and folk. Having two simultaneous hits by two different acts in two different styles caught the industry's attention. 'We've Only Just Begun' went on to receive two Grammy nominations – for song of the year and best contemporary song — at the first live Grammy telecast in March 1971. (It lost both awards to Paul Simon's 'Bridge Over Troubled Water.') The Carpenters' recording of the song was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. Williams and Nichols continued writing songs for the Carpenters, including 'Rainy Days and Mondays,' a superb and remarkably adult ballad which reached No. 2 (it took Carole King's letter-perfect 'It's Too Late' to keep it out of the top spot), 'Let Me Be the One' (another first-rate ballad that the duo never got around to releasing as a single), and 'I Won't Last a Day Without You,' a 1972 album track that was finally released as a single in 1974, when it climbed to No. 11. Barbra Streisand covered 'I Won't Last a Day Without You' on her ButterFly album later in 1974. On her following album, Lazy Afternoon, she recorded another Williams-Nichols song, 'I Never Had It So Good.' Both of those albums went gold. Art Garfunkel recorded a tender Williams-Nichols song, 'Traveling Boy,' for his first solo album, 1973's Angel Clare, which made the top 10 on the Billboard 200. The song was released as the third single from the album, and bubbled under the Hot 100. Nichols also had some successes with other collaborators. He teamed with William Lane to write 'Times of Your Life,' which Paul Anka recorded in 1975. Like 'We've Only Just Begun,' this song was also adapted from a popular TV commercial – for Kodak. Anka's recording reached No 7 on the Hot 100 in February 1976. Nichols retired soon afterwards, but his songs live on. R.E.M. covered 'Out in the Country' as a B-side for their 2003 single 'Bad Day.' Rumer covered 'Traveling Boy' on her 2012 album Boys Don't Cry. Nichols was honored during Florida Chapter Presents The Recording Academy Honors 2006 at Loews Miami Beach Hotel in Miami. He was nominated for the Songwriters Hall of Fame on Nov. 12, for the class that will be inducted on June 12. He wasn't elected (the competition is fierce every year), but the ballot listed the five songs that are probably his most famous and enduring: 'We've Only Just Begun,' 'Rainy Days and Mondays,' 'I Won't Last a Day Without You,' 'Out in the Country,' 'Times of Your Life' In a comment on Williams' Instagram post, Nichols' daughter Claire wrote, 'My mom, Terri, and my sisters, Caroline and Caitlin, are all so proud of the man he was, and are in awe of the legacy he leaves.' Here's the full text of Williams' Instagram post announcing Nichols' death. 'The first song, Roger Nichols and I wrote was called 'it's hard to say goodbye. '… Sadly, we hit the nail on the head. Roger Nichols passed away peacefully four days ago, at home with his beautiful family …his wife Terry and the daughters he was so proud of, Claire and Caitlin at his side. They were his dream come true. His greatest joy'Roger was my writing partner and my music school… a collaboratorfor years and a friend for life. I was an out of work actor looking for a career in music when I was signed by A&M records publishing. They were looking for a lyricist for Roger Nichols. An industrial strength, lucky break that changed my life.'We wrote almost every day for several years. He was as disciplined as he was talented. I had the attention span of a sea otter… I was ready for a break after three hours and Roger would plunge ahead for another four or five. The words were born of the beauty in his completed melodies.I wrote what I heard, note for note…word for word. The lyrics waiting in the emotion already in his music. He made it easy.'After many wonderful productive years, I wanted us to write songs for movies. He had another dream. He said I wanna go fishing … wanna go back to Montana. He smiled and said something about having a family and maybe making a home by a nice little river… it was clear that he was already gone. A few years ago, I visited him and met Terry and the girls at the house by the river …and I knew he found his dream.'One last story. Roger was really excited when his daughter Caitlin was getting married last September. He chuckled and asked, 'can you picture me wheeling down the aisle in my wheelchair, holding my daughter's hand?''Of course, I said yes then …. and right now Roger, I can picture thousands of proud dads and their beautiful daughters that walked down the aisle to your gorgeous music or danced their father and daughter dance to We've only just begun… picture them standing and applauding what you brought to their lives and to mine. You brought love and beauty into this world, and we will never forget gratitude with much love… Paul' Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
