Latest news with #Edgar
The Sun
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
I'm 25 with a pensioner fiancé – people call us ‘disgusting' & my parents aren't happy but sparks flew as soon as we met
A WOMAN has revealed her relationship with a man 51 years her senior and says people have dubbed their romance 'disturbing' – including family members. Diana Montano wasn't looking for love when she met Edgar through a mutual friend. 5 5 But as she laid eyes on him, sparks flew. The 25-year-old, who hasn't been in a relationship with someone older before, was sceptical about how people would react; especially her family. And they weren't all too pleased when meeting the pensioner for the first time. But Diana doesn't care what anybody else thinks and says her relationship with Edgar is the most 'intimate and passionate' one she's ever been in. 'I've had some family members who don't agree and think I'm ruining my life,' said the licensed vocational nurse. 'But it doesn't bother me too much. 'I understand how my relationship may appear at first glance, but I know I am happy. 'I had originally planned to talk to my mum privately about it, but I ended up speaking to her when other family members were nearby. 'You could tell by her facial expressions she was not thrilled by the idea of it – but my aunt was so supportive. 'My dad had a similar reaction; I couldn't totally tell what he was thinking, but he wasn't very happy. I'm a fit gran & I fell in love with an AI bot despite having a boyfriend - but I was heartbroken when our chat vanished 'Luckily, my parents understand I am an adult who makes my own decisions. 'All they want is for me to be careful. 'My friends were definitely surprised when I told them, but they love Edgar. 'Sadly, online, it's a different story.' Online abuse Diana and Edgar have had their relationship called 'disturbing' and 'disgusting' by strangers. They've also been sent harsh criticism, such as: 'Your parents did a horrible job', 'This should be illegal' and 'I hope you die before him'. While the pair expected the onslaught of hate, and have learned to deal with it in their own way, they wish people wouldn't always assume the worst. Diana said: 'The comments are extreme, but they make us laugh. 'I've also had a lot of positive words, with people asking how they can find a relationship like ours and asking if Edgar has any brothers. 'For us, though, our age gap isn't the centre of our relationship. 'Yes, it's obvious, and we've had people stare at us in public. 'But everything with him feels so natural. 'Our conversations flow, he treats me with respect and he's actually so full of life.' 5 5 The pair's romance began when Edgar asked their mutual friend, whom he had previously dated, for Diana's number in July 2023. She said: 'He seemed like a gentleman and completely respectful. 'I didn't initially think I would end up getting into a relationship with him since he was so much older than me. 'But he was so handsome. 'My feelings grew after a few months and he told me he liked me from the first day we met and wanted to keep seeing me.' After a year of back and forth messaging, the pair flew to Hawaii and made things official. Diana, from San Diego, US, said: 'He confessed he wishes he was younger so I'd marry him. 'I said I'd marry him as he is now. 'We talked more about our feelings seriously after that and when we got back from our trip, I said yes to being his girlfriend. 'It's just a very exciting, passionate and happy dynamic. 'He makes me want to take care of him and be patient. 'Edgar brings out the best in me – and I bring out the best in him. Diana Montano 'Any fear I have of suddenly losing him is similar to the fear I have with others in my life. 'It doesn't have to do with his age, since he's extremely healthy and fit. 'I think of him more as a 50-year-old.' Edgar has recently taken on a skydive and regularly goes skiing, hiking and to the gym. Diana says he's more active than most people her age. With a zest for life, they go travelling every two months to explore the world. For now, though, they're taking in spending each moment together and hope to share their love story to inspire others – and break the stereotype. Diana added: 'It's a very healthy relationship, which is difficult to find at my age, as there are so many toxic people out there. 'I'm able to maintain my freedom and live life how I want. 'I feel more inclined to be my true self. 'Although we've both found happiness in each other, it's in spite of our ages. 'But if anyone is getting inspired by our relationship and desires a relationship with an age gap, be mindful that they can be tricky. 'I'm very lucky to have met Ed and that he's been such an amazing person to me, but it's not always that case in age gap relationships. 'People should always be attentive to how those they date act, because the risk of emotional, physical and financial abuse increases as your partner's age does. 'But I love being with someone who is mature, patient and understanding. 'I've met my soulmate; there's no one my age like him.' 5
ABC News
6 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Enduring life: What Shakespeare's King Lear can reveal about our political moment - ABC Religion & Ethics
King Lear's life leading up to his death impresses on us that a life of endurance is likely to be our lot, too, at least for some of the time and to some extent. Our need to endure is not likely to be as dramatic as his was. He had to endure internecine conflict, misjudgement, abandonment by his daughters, a military conflict, and deepening madness. But it is hard for anyone to escape having to endure the irony which, every so often, comes at us from our blind side. The irony in Lear's tragedy is that despite his good intention in making public his daughters' inheritance, to ensure 'future strife / May be prevented now', his action brings it on. Civilians living in war zones — such as Gaza and Ukraine — certainly have a need to endure. In the play Edgar's father, Gloucester, has lost the will to live, having been blinded under torture, and Edgar presses him to hasten away to safety from a battle zone. 'Men must endure', he tells him, if an optimum outcome is to be reached: 'Ripeness is all.' Lear declares human life to be as cheap as that of a beast. The comparison sounds extreme, but it is understandable. Truth is said to be the first casualty in war, but the right to life for civilians is a better fit for that infamous distinction. From the earliest days of current wars, civilians have been killed and injured in large numbers. An open-air music festival, schools, hospitals, apartment blocks — they have all been hit. Scenes of distraught survivors grieving the death of loved ones continue as if they are a normal part of warfare. This is happening despite the fact that civilians have a right to protection under international law. Despite also the United Nations and aid agencies continuing to call on both sides to stop killing civilians and agree to a ceasefire and a negotiated settlement. These calls have gone unheeded for so long now that their meaning has worn thin. It feels like the wars are killing off the idea of a universal human rights morality on which the law is based. Goneril does not feel bound by morality. She excoriates her husband Albany as 'a milk-livered man' and 'a moral fool' for not supporting her in her determination to undermine Lear's power. Nor does Edmund feel bound by morality in plotting to get rid of his brother Edgar in order to become the next Earl of Gloucester. In the conflict between Hamas and Israel, there is something of Goneril and Edmund's hard-hearted ruthlessness. Even if some settlement can be brokered, severe damage has been done to the moral precept that civilians have a right to protection during war. In an article in the Financial Times , historian and philosopher Yuval Noah Harari wrote that the current US administration is also destroying acceptance of morality: According to the Trumpian world-view, considerations of justice, morality and international law are irrelevant, and the only thing that matters in international relations is power. This, too, sounds extreme. Yet it is understandable given the events that happened in the first six months of Trump's second presidency — a presidency that started with him signing a range of executive orders live on television with the performative flourish of a 'strongman' leader who sees his own power as paramount. US President Donald Trump signs executive orders during an indoor inauguration parade at Capital One Arena on 20 January 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images) As in Shakespeare's play, events have been happening fast in a way that is dramatic in an all-too-real sense and with a climax still to come. Among the events are summary heavy-handed arrests of undocumented migrants, with raids on their homes and workplaces in images reminiscent of a police state. There was also what comes across as an attempt to intimidate protesters demonstrating against the heavy-handed seizures, by misrepresenting the demonstration as insurrectionist and deploying the National Guard in support of law enforcement agencies. To the fore also is Russia's war of attrition in Ukraine and Europe's rush to build up its armaments. In his retort to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's plea for US support against Russia — 'You don't have the cards' — Trump illustrated his power-based approach to politics in which stronger countries dominate weaker ones. US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Oval Office at the White House on 28 February 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik / Getty Images) The extent to which Trump remains bound by the rule of law will be a measure of how far he is prepared to go in becoming a law unto himself. So far significant Supreme Court rulings have been in his favour. His singular power was highlighted by the 2024 ruling that found a president is entitled under the Constitution 'to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts'. The Court also ruled, in the birthright citizenship case, that judges in lower courts have limited authority to block the president's executive orders. The ramifications of this judgement remain to be seen, but they may greatly increase Trump's store of power. Perhaps the most insidious of his polices has been his administration's attacks on civil society institutions — particularly on universities as independent centres of learning. These attacks have the sound of opening salvos to bring the universities more under its control. It has opposed programmes that support diversity, equality and inclusion. And the fear is that the type of courses the universities will be allowed to offer, and their contents, will be vetted to fit an authoritarian right-wing ideology. 'History is written by the victors', it is said. It may well be the Trump regime will insist on a particular version that suits its ideology to the exclusion of others. If it does, this would be a far cry from the liberal university education that Cardinal John Henry Newman saw as foundational for the development of the individual and society. The glasses and personal items of Cardinal John Henry Newman lay on his writing desk in his living quarters on 11 August 2010 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong / Getty Images) Newman believed the university should provide an education in the classics for all students, in addition to providing education in the professions. Classical education is not just about acquiring additional knowledge. It is about assimilating knowledge and understanding to enlarge the mind and become better able to reason clearly. Such an education enables a person to evaluate critically different systems of thought and practice, including liberalism. Perceptively, Newman observed that among other benefits comes a certain freedom: 'you must be above your knowledge, not under it, or it will oppress you'. If we are to have an active right to a quality of life beyond having to endure adversity, it is imperative to have freedom and to be educated to understand and appreciate its benefits. The appeal that far-right parties have for many people lies partly in the impression they give that the party alone know how to rule in everyone's best interests. There is impatience, too, with the slow workings of a parliamentary democracy and a hankering for a simple clarity enforced by a rigid hard-right government. Their appeal lies also from cutting out what they judge to be liberal excesses. But the life force is not easily confined. The appeal of the Fool to Lear, and to us, lies in his irreverent words and antics. We see him as the person who punctures holes in the pretensions of dogmatists to let in more of the life they want to exclude. Participants at the 'No Kings' protest in New York City on 14 June 2025. (Photo by Jenna Greene / WWD via Getty Images) The 'No Kings' demonstrations against Trump's policies in cities and towns across the United States marked the first major resurgence in support for democratic rights. Lear, too, was resurgent. In his initial defiance of his daughters' treatment of him, he demonstrates his freedom to respond along with his right to be treated honestly and not exploited. Our ill treatment by others brings out in us a demand that they redress the wrong they have done. Lear's travails cut to the bone in showing that our feeling of having rights counts, and that it cannot be easily dismissed. Moreover, from his remorse upon realising he wrongly excluded Cordelia from a share of his kingdom when failing to recognise her honesty, he shows that he knows other people have rights too. Unlike her sisters, she eschewed the sycophant's 'glib and oily art' and spoke sincerely about the love she had for her father in words he misjudged as inadequate. At the same time, circumstances can be complicated, making it hard to see exactly where justice lies. In Lear's case he is partly responsible for his own downfall. There is vanity, or at least insecurity, in seeking declarations of love from his daughters. And, as is often the case, we can be emotionally needy and complex in how we behave without being aware of it at the time. To recognise this, and make allowances for it, is part of a human response. Lear shows us his humanity in recognising he made a mistake and that he needs to learn from his regret. Striking his head with his hand, he reprimands himself for letting his 'folly in' and his 'dear judgement out!' Greg Hicks as King Lear and Kathryn Hunter as the Fool in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of 'King Lear', directed by David Farr at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, on 25 February 2010. (Photo by robbie jack / Corbis via Getty Images) But Lear's story is first and foremost a tragedy. Reduced to wandering grief-stricken on a heath in a 'pitiless storm', he descends into insanity and death. I imagine him crestfallen and anguished at having to bear the irony that his attempt to do good only unleashed pent-up desires and antagonisms. I imagine him no longer a king with a crown and throne, but an ordinary man defeated by circumstances and now aware, as never before, of how little control we have over the consequences of our actions. Franz Kafka in his novels evokes something of the fear and dread at being hostage to forces over which we have little or no control. An atmosphere that became all-too-real in the totalitarian states of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union with their surveillance of citizens and imprisonment or worse for those they deemed a threat to their rule. There is an ominous feeling now of being swept up in a momentum towards a world divided into competing power blocs. A feeling, too, of a weakened liberal Europe being left behind in a struggle to keep its espousal of human rights relevant. The felt existence of forces stronger than us is augmented by living enmeshed in the tech-mediated world of the internet — a world we are increasingly dependent on. For all its benefits, it raises fears about what it may be doing to human agency. We can easily imagine authoritarian rulers making use of it for invasive surveillance of the population. Developments in artificial intelligence are set to draw us further and deeper into a tech-mediated world. Already some kind of trans-human experience of life is being envisioned. It may well be that we expect too much from asserting that people have human rights. Their roots lie in the idea of natural rights — an idea with a long history dating back at least to the Middle Ages. In support of the idea, it is argued that from our primary natural inclination to continue to exist comes a right to life. But rights are not physical features or qualities of people in the same obvious way that our body has visible parts. They do not have an empirical foundation. In his book After Virtue , Alastair MacIntyre argues that we cannot demonstrate or intuit an objective basis for the existence of rights independently of wishes for them, even though we have enshrined them in legally binding agreements and conventions. Nor for him are rights self-evident. From their lack of philosophical justification, he calls them 'fictions'. Throughout history people's actual behaviour has flown in the face of recognising that everyone has rights by virtue of their human nature. We have only to think of slavery and the withholding of civil rights from Black people in the American South, or of the struggle for women to have equality rights. If rights were an intrinsic part of our nature, we would expect them to have been recognised and heeded a lot more than has been evident. Protesters holding signs during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, DC, on 28 August 1963. (Photo by Marion S. Trikosko / Universal History Archive / Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Does it matter that rights don't have an empirical basis? In one sense, not a whole lot. Rather than being something we possess of our nature, rights are more like security and developmental measures we feel we need or desire, and that over the centuries people have fought to have recognised. This understanding of rights as measures that codify moral feelings can seem a good enough justification. But in another sense the lack of an empirical foundation, or of a philosophical proof of their existence, does matter. It leaves rights hanging in the air without a compelling moral authority to make people feel they have to abide by them. At the same time, the call for rights to be recognised universally came out of particularly strong and widely shared feelings in the aftermath of the Second World War. And I would argue, as David Hume does in his Treatise on Human Nature , that feelings and emotions are the source of our morality. Depending on the nature of particular actions and conditions, we experience towards them either 'agreeable' or 'uneasy' moral feeling, or a feeling that provides a sense of 'pleasure' or 'pain'. Feelings for Hume are also active in moral arguments and reasoning such that our judgements are never purely rational: 'Morality is more properly felt than judged.' At the same time, reasoning and intelligence remain vital — in particular, their cultivation through a broad-minded education such as the one Newman advocated. For Hume, by using our reason we can educate ourselves about the behaviours and conditions that arouse our feelings, and from doing this our feelings may change or be supported. Portrait of David Hume (1711-1776) by Allan Ramsay from 1766, found in the collection of National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. (Photo by Fine Art Images / Heritage Images / Getty Images) Hume believed we naturally recognise other people to be human like ourselves, and that it is natural for us to feel compassion for strangers in their suffering. Edgar shows the primacy he gives to feelings in understanding morality. When the blind Gloucester asks him 'what are you?', Edgar tells him that, though he has borne 'Fortune's blows', he has learned from 'feeling sorrows' to be still a person 'pregnant with good pity'. Then he adds: 'Give me your hand'. It is Edgar, too, who in his concluding words towards the end of the play calls on people to speak openly about how they feel as a means of helping to avoid tragedy. Lear and Gloucester have a feeling for social justice. An unexpected turn of events exposes them to the harshness of nature, especially to the dire conditions in which people have to live. It makes both of them aware of their privileged status compared to the poor of the realm. They recognise the disparity between the justice that is supposed to reside in 'the heavens' and the injustice the poor suffer in having to endure continuous hardship. Lear faults himself for having taken 'too little care' of their plight. And Gloucester reproaches the 'lust-dieted man … that will not see / Because he does not feel'. Gloucester shows also that he believes 'distribution should undo excess, / And each man have enough'. We can read into their words not just the rootedness of morality in what it means to be human, but also that morality is an active force that drives improvements in social and political conditions. Geoffrey Freshwater as Earl of Gloucester and Charles Aitken as Edgar in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of 'King Lear', at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, on 25 February 2010. (Photo by robbie jack / Corbis via Getty Images) But as the basis for morality, feelings and emotions have their own shortcomings. They show morals to be relative to us as individuals, and also to the moral expectancies in our society or culture insofar as we agree or disagree with them. This leaves open the likelihood that we will differ from other people in both how we feel about an issue and in the strength of our feeling toward it. We differ emotionally in particular over whether abortion and doctor assisted dying should be provided for in legislation, or not. We differ also over whether the conditions prescribed for a just war have been met, such as the war having a just cause, and whether a response to an attack is proportionate or excessive. The relativity of morals to feelings shows the difficulty of firmly establishing a universally acceptable moral system with respect for human life at its centre. Yet we can look on the relativity as facilitating a space for discussion and debate that is part of human experience. We can also see the relativity making us rightly suspicious of moral absolutes as solutions to complex issues. Hume believed no person or nation could be 'utterly deprived' of moral feelings. No doubt this is true for most people. But not for everyone or in all circumstances. From Hannah Arendt's study of the Nazi functionary Adolph Eichmann we have learned how easily evil can become widespread and banal. Malign feelings and intentions are on one side of an age-old struggle between good and evil. But where discussion of differences on issues can lead to argument and the shoring up of entrenched positions, some images can deeply move us and provide a non-partisan sense of moral worth beyond argument. Among them is Raphael's painting The Sistine Madonna . 'The Sistine Madonna' (circa 1513–1514) by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino. (Photo by Bildagentur-online/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) In his essay on the painting, Vasily Grossman describes how moved he was on seeing the painting in Moscow's Puskin museum in 1955. He was struck by its fusion of immortality as a work of art with the iconic significance of a mother holding her child in her arms — an image immediately and universally recognisable. The young mother has a beauty 'closely tied to earthly life. It is democratic, human and humane beauty.' He describes the look on the face of both mother and child as 'calm and sad'. It also shows apprehension about their future in a violent and uncertain world. Grossman, a war correspondent with the Red Army, entered Treblinka in September 1944. And, on leaving the Pushkin museum, it came to him that among the faces of the many people who stepped down from the freight wagons to see armed guards directing them along was the look Raphael had painted on the faces of the mother and child. Ultimately for Grossman, the image shows a mother's soul to be 'something inaccessible to human consciousness'. But what the image does make accessible is a sense of how vulnerable human beings are, regardless of ethnicity, religion or politics. It shows how necessary our need is for Edgar's helping hand to guide us away from danger and towards a quality of life beyond endurance of adversity. Manus Charleton writes essays and fiction. A former lecturer in ethics and politics at the Atlantic Technological University Sligo, he is the author of Ethics for Social Care in Ireland: Philosophy and Practice.
Techday NZ
21-07-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Wise urges New Zealand MPs to end NZD $667m FX fee losses
Wise has urged Parliament to address what it describes as misleading bank fees on foreign transactions, claiming these are costing New Zealanders hundreds of millions of New Zealand dollars each year. The call was made as part of Wise's submission to Parliament's Finance and Expenditure Select Committee on the Financial Markets Conduct Amendment Bill 2025, which is currently under consideration. Wise contends that changes are needed to protect both consumers and businesses who are affected each time a currency conversion takes place, whether through sending money overseas, shopping online, travelling abroad, or operating businesses internationally. Hidden costs Research commissioned by Wise from Edgar, Dunn & Company indicated that New Zealanders lost a total of NZD $667 million to hidden foreign exchange (FX) payment fees in 2023. According to projections, this figure is set to increase to NZD $991 million by 2029 if current practices continue. Wise argues that these losses are primarily due to banks advertising "fee-free" international transactions while actual costs are concealed via inflated exchange rates. Tristan Dakin, Country Manager ANZ at Wise, stated: "New Zealanders think they're getting a good deal because they see 'no fees' or 'zero commission'. But the real cost is hidden in the exchange rate mark-up, which can be vastly different to the rate you find on Google. By ensuring more transparency, parliament can put millions back into the wallets of consumers, while removing barriers for small businesses that want to expand internationally." Regulatory context New Zealand currently has no specific legal requirements in place to tackle the problem of hidden FX costs in cross-border banking and payments. However, Wise's submission follows growing discussions in both local and international contexts about the need to enhance competition and transparency. Last year, the New Zealand Commerce Commission noted there "appears to be room to improve competition" in this area, and the G20 is already working towards making international payments more affordable, faster, and more transparent worldwide. Dakin also commented: "What the banks are doing right now is unfair, misleading, and is somehow perfectly legal. That needs to change, or they will continue to take an unfair share from Kiwi consumers and businesses. With the Financial Markets Conduct Amendment Bill 2025 and the growing international calls for reform, it's only a matter of time before governments all around the world take action on misleading FX fees." He added: "New Zealand has an incredible opportunity to set an example for the rest of the world. These proposed reforms offer a practical, low-cost solution that would help Kiwis make better choices and save money, while driving competition and innovation in the space." Proposed measures Wise's submission recommends several changes be included in the Bill. First, they suggest that all banks and financial service providers should be required to display the full cost of a transfer upfront, showing both fixed fees and exchange rate mark-ups. Wise also calls for a ban on advertising that implies transfers are "fee-free" when costs are actually embedded in the exchange rate. It believes that standardising how prices are displayed would make it easier for consumers and businesses to compare service providers effectively, and that key terms like "mid-market exchange rate" should be clearly defined to maintain consistency across the sector. The G20 has also cited the importance of enhancing cross-border payments, arguing that faster, cheaper, more transparent and more inclusive services would benefit citizens and economies worldwide by supporting economic growth, trade, development, and financial inclusion. Wise referenced this international perspective to highlight the relevance of its recommendations in the New Zealand context. Committee consideration The Financial Markets Conduct Amendment Bill 2025 remains before the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee, which is expected to report later in the year. Wise, supported by the data from its commissioned research, is urging policymakers to act in order to address what it sees as a lack of transparency and competition in cross-border payments. The company's submission is part of a wider movement across several jurisdictions to regulate and clarify the costs of international money transfers and currency exchanges, amid projections of growing sums lost to hidden fees in the years ahead.
Scoop
21-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Wise Urges Parliament To Act On Misleading Foreign Transaction Fees That Cost Kiwis Hundreds Of Millions Each Year
As the Financial Markets Conduct Amendment Bill 2025 moves through parliament, Wise highlights the full scale of the problem to MPs Wellington: Wise is calling for more transparency and fairness on foreign transactions, as New Zealand consumers and businesses continue to be ripped off by hidden fees. In a submission to Parliament's Finance and Expenditure Select Committee on the Financial Markets Conduct Amendment Bill 2025, Wise explains how banks claim to provide 'fee-free' cross currency services while hiding true costs behind inflated transfer rates. According to research by Edgar, Dunn & Company, commissioned by Wise, New Zealand consumers lost a total of NZD 667 million due to hidden FX payment fees in 2023, with this figure projected to increase to NZD 991 million by 2029.1 Tristan Dakin, Country Manager ANZ at Wise says: 'New Zealanders think they're getting a good deal because they see 'no fees' or 'zero commission'. But the real cost is hidden in the exchange rate mark-up, which can be vastly different to the rate you find on Google. By ensuring more transparency, parliament can put millions back into the wallets of consumers, while removing barriers for small businesses that want to expand internationally.' Growing push to tackle hidden FX While there are no current laws in place in New Zealand to address the issue, momentum for change is growing. Last year, the NZ Commerce Commission said there 'appears to be room to improve competition' in the space. And internationally, the G20 is acting on its roadmap for making international payments cheaper, faster, and more transparent. Dakin adds: 'What the banks are doing right now is unfair, misleading, and is somehow perfectly legal. That needs to change, or they will continue to take an unfair share from Kiwi consumers and businesses. With the Financial Markets Conduct Amendment Bill 2025 and the growing international calls for reform, it's only a matter of time before governments all around the world take action on misleading FX fees. New Zealand has an incredible opportunity to set an example for the rest of the world. These proposed reforms offer a practical, low-cost solution that would help Kiwis make better choices and save money, while driving competition and innovation in the space', says Dakin. The Bill is currently before Parliament's Finance and Expenditure Committee which is due to report on 19 October. Wise is calling for the following changes: Require banks and financial service providers to show the full cost of a transfer upfront, including both fixed fees and exchange rate markups. Ban advertising that claims transfers are 'fee-free' when a fee is hidden in the exchange rate. Standardise how pricing is shown, so people can compare providers easily. Define key terms like 'mid-market exchange rate' to ensure consistency. 1 The 2023 hidden fee data from Edgar, Dunn, and Company (EDC) were calculated based on the exchange rate margin offered by the largest banks in New Zealand when their customers move money from the country. Fee data from 2024 to 2029 are projected based on expected GDP growth of New Zealand. About Wise: Wise is a global technology company, building the best way to move and manage the world's money. Wise has more than 400,000 active New Zealand customers. With Wise Account and Wise Business, people and businesses can hold 40 currencies, move money between countries and spend money abroad. Large companies and banks use Wise technology too; an entirely new network for the world's money. One of the world's fastest growing, profitable tech companies, Wise launched in 2011 and is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker, WISE. In fiscal year 2025, Wise supported around 14.8 million personal customers and 700,000 business customers, processing approximately £145.2 billion in cross-border transactions, and saving customers an estimated £2 billion.
The Irish Sun
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
I'm 25 & my man is 76 – trolls say our ‘disturbing' relationship ‘should be illegal' & ‘his grandkids need a Pre-nup'
A YOUNG woman has found herself on the receiving end of a barrage of abuse after showing off her age gap relationship. Diana Montano, 25, is dating an older man 51 years 2 A 25-year-old has shared an insight into her relationship with her partner who is 51 years her senior Credit: tiktok/@diana_edgar7 2 But Diana Montano, 25, has received a harsh reaction from nasty trolls who think her relationship with Edgar, 76, "should be illegal" Credit: tiktok/@diana_edgar7 Not only this, but haters have criticised Diana and 76-year-old Edgar's relationship, with many saying it 'should be illegal.' And that's not all, as keyboard warriors have gone as far to accuse the 25-year-old of being a ' Posting on social media, Diana, who often shares As they stood in front of Edgar's car collection, which includes a silver Porsche, the couple danced together and shared a sweet kiss. Read more on relationships Diana, who moved out of her family home at the age of 18 and is now incredibly 'independent,' flicked her hair and pouted for the camera, whilst Edgar confidently smiled. Alongside the short video, Diana penned: 'Date night ❤️.' In other clips, Diana has opened up about her However, after hearing about how 'how he treats' Diana, her mother has now met him and 'is accepting' of their pairing. Most read in Fabulous Diana explained that her parents have given her the 'freedom' to make her own decisions and while her father hasn't yet met Edgar in person, he doesn't have 'too much of a judgement' and 'trusts' Diana's decision. Diana's short but sweet TikTok clip, which was posted under the username @ I'm 20 and my man is 63 - people say he looks like Shrek and I must be in it for the money, but I'd still love him if he was a cleaner Not only this, but it's also amassed 902,200 likes, 7,825 comments and 260,200 shares. But social media users were left totally divided by Diana and Edgar's A-list age gap relationships that have stood the test of time Kris Jenner & Corey Gamble - 25 years The Kardashian matriarch, 69, met her younger man, 44, at a mutual friend's 40th birthday party in Ibiza. They've been together since August 2014. Sam & Aaron Taylor-Johnson - 23 years The director, 57, and actor, 34, reportedly met at a film audition in 2009, and were married by 2012. The pair share two daughters and Sam has two children from a previous marriage. Rosie-Huntington-Whiteley & Jason Statham - 20 years The model, 37, started dating actor Jason, 57, in 2010. They were wed in 2016 and have since welcomed a son and a daughter together. Catherine Zeta-Jones & Michael Douglas - 25 years Catherine, 55, was introduced to Michael, 80, a film festival in 1996 and engaged three years later. Shortly after their engagement, the couple welcomed a son and married in 2000. While some thought their relationship was 'beautiful,' at the same time, keyboard warriors were out in full force and didn't hold back from expressing their thoughts. One user beamed: 'Such a beautiful couple!' A second chimed in: 'Love this for you! My best relationship was with a much older man.' His grandkids gotta talk to him about a Pre-nup TikTok user Whilst someone else gushed: 'He probably treats her better than anyone her age.. do you queen.' However, not everyone was as kind, as one person said: 'This is low key disturbing.' Another added: 'His grandkids gotta talk to him about a Pre-nup.' Not only did many say the age gap 'feels illegal,' but someone else commented: 'It Whilst one user claimed: '110% in it for the money.' Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club
