Rise in kitchen fires has firefighters worried

January 11, 2026

There have been at least eight fatal house fires since July last year. VIKTOR CAP / 123RF

There are fears New Zealanders are becoming more complacent around fire safety at home, Fire and Emergency (FENZ) says.

The number of fatal house fires increased to 17 for the year ending June 2025, compared to 13 in the 12 months prior.

There have been at least eight fatal house fires since July last year.

FENZ risk reduction and investigations manager Pete Gallagher said there had been a concerning uptick in devastating blazes beginning in the kitchen.

“We saw a decline in this a few years ago and now it’s starting to rise back up again.,” he said.

“And that’s a real concern because pretty much everyone’s involved in the cooking process at some time in their life. And so it’s really important that they understand that that’s a high-risk activity and they need to be aware of the dangers it creates.”

FENZ said people over 65 were at greater risk.

“That’s possibly just due to not being able to react perhaps as quickly to the circumstances around them. Which is why it’s so important that everyone has a smoke alarm so that they get the early warning that something’s gone wrong and they can start making their way out of the house as early and as quickly as possible.”

Although it was difficult to pinpoint the reasons for an increase in cooking-related fires, Gallagher felt a “complacency attitude” had potentially crept in.

“Of course, as we come into the summer months and people are cooking outside, they’re cooking on barbecues. These are very high-heat items. The grill plate is often a lot hotter than the surface of a stove.

“And so we need to adjust our cooking habits a little bit and associate the risk to the surroundings from the cooking method we’re using.”

People cooking outside with a barbecue needed to ensure it was not pushed hard-up against the house, and allow an air gap.

FENZ urged people to visit the Check It’s Alright website before cooking on a campfire.

“We need to keep an eye on the weather conditions to make sure the wind doesn’t get up. And if it does, then it’s time to extinguish the fire and make sure it’s well out before we leave the camping area.”

Fires caused by lithium-powered batteries also remained an ongoing problem, Gallagher said. FENZ reported last year fires linked to lithium batteries had more than doubled in four years.

“These devices contain a huge amount of energy. And when that’s released, it can happen quite violently, causing a very rapid fire growth or rapid fire development.”

The summer period was particularly risky for lithium-powered devices, as they did not like being exposed to excessive heat.

“Just think about not leaving the cellphone sitting in the car in the hot sun, because that can cause the lithium battery to malfunction within the phone,” Gallagher said.

“Laptop, scooter, whatever the device is, that can cause a real significant fire very, very quickly.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Bluebridge cancels all Connemara sailings through to Tuesday

By Evening Report -

January 11, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

More sailings cancelled after mechanical issues. Supplied

Bluebridge has cancelled all of the Connemara sailings through to Tuesday.

A problem with the winch that controls the stern door led to 200 passengers being stuck for 15 hours on Thursday.

It said it has been working hard to establish a timeframe to fix the problem, but that is not yet clear.

Further cancellations were possible for next week, and Bluebridge would be contacting affected customers directly.

Bluebridge had apologised expressing disappointment for having a mechanical issue during peak travel period.

Some passengers had previously expressed frustration at the delays, but many praised the work of the crew to keep them comfortable and up to date with the situation.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

More than 80,000 impacted by Manage My Health breach in Northland

By Evening Report -

January 11, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

*This story has been updated to reflect that funding was available for general practitioners to provide consultation.

More than 70 percent of those impacted by the Manage My Health breach are based in Northland, according to Health NZ.

The ransomware group behind the attack, Kazu, demanded US$60,000 (NZD$105,000) after hundreds of thousands of medical files were stolen from the privately-operated patient portal, used by some general practices around New Zealand.

So far, Manage My Health has notified around half of the approximately 120,000 patients whose data has been stolen.

The breach was limited to 6-7 percent of 1.8 million registered users, within the ‘My Health Documents’ module only, according to Manage My Health.

A spokesperson for Health NZ said it was estimated that 86,000 people in Northland were impacted.

Health NZ said it would ensure support was available for those in the region.

*Alex Pimm, group director of operations for Northland, said funding was available for general practitioners to provide consultation.

He said it would be for those impacted to discuss their clinical information as well as for mental wellbeing support.

Those who are impacted by the data breach will also be provided with an 0800 number to call.

Pimm said Health NZ used Manage My Health in Northland to enable patients to access some documents – such as their hospital discharge summaries, clinic letters, and referral notifications.

“This system allows consumers, with or without a primary care provider, to access this important information,” he said.

“While Health NZ’s own data systems have not been compromised, any issue involving patient information is taken very seriously.”

Northland is the only area of the country where Health NZ uses Manage My Health to share information with patients.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

‘Ever since I was a young lad, Holdens were my passion’

By Evening Report -

January 11, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Hillsborough Holden Museum in New Plymouth has dozens of classics from the original family car the Holden 48-215 through to the muscly, Monaros of the 1970s.

“Ever since I was a young lad, Holdens were my passion. We started off with one, bought another, bought another, and now we’ve ended up with 50 in the museum,” Fabish told RNZ’s Summer Times.

“It’s a car that was manufactured in Australia, for Australia and New Zealand. They’re a beautiful family car. Ever since 1948 when the first one was built, you just fell in love with them,” he says.

He was saddened by the decision to cease manufacture almost ten years’ ago, he says.

“I think everybody that owned a Holden at the time were devastated about them closing, because, they just bought out one of the last models, the Gen F, and it was an absolutely beautiful family car. And then they turned around and no more.

“So, it was hard to comprehend that they could stop manufacturing a vehicle like that.”

Every vehicle in museum is in working order, he says.

“You can hop in and start it. Everything’s pristine, shiny, kept nice and clean for the public to view.”

One of his favourites in the collection is a classic 1980s Holden ute fully restored and repowered along with the GTSR W1.

“The fastest manufacturing car that come out of Australia. It’s the last model they brought out from HSV [Holden Special Vehicles] developing 636 horsepower, and it’s got most up-to-date technology in it, so it’s pretty cool.”

Fabish says he’s always on the lookout for generous donations to his citadel to all things Holden.

“An HT Monaro would be nice sitting in there. XU-1 Torana would be nice to have in there. We have had them in there before for a short time, but at the moment we’ve got no more room to take any loan cars.

“If anybody would like to donate something to the museum, hey, we will make room.”

The Hillsborough Holden Museum is open every weekend and public holidays 10am till 4pm and is open during the school holidays through to 26 January.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Clark condemns US withdrawal as ‘assault on international system of cooperation’

By Asia Pacific Report -

January 11, 2026

By Pretoria Gordon, RNZ News journalist

A former head of the United Nations Development Programme is concerned that US President Donald Trump may set a precedent for other countries.

The President has signed a memorandum ordering the withdrawal of the United States from 66 international organisations.

These include the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Democracy Fund, and nearly 30 other United Nations agencies.

Helen Clark, who was also New Zealand prime minister from 1999 to 2008, said it was a “very troubling” move.

“It is an assault on the international system of cooperation, which has been painstakingly built up over many, many decades,” she said.

Clark was concerned that other countries, which were like-minded with the current US administration, would also withdraw.

New Zealand unlikely
However, Clark did not expect New Zealand to be one of them, as the country had always stood for multilateralism.

“I do think New Zealand, and other like-minded countries, do need to be thinking about their positioning, because to say nothing when there is a comprehensive assault on the international system is not a good position to be in.”

Clark said the Framework Convention on Climate Change was ratified by the United States Senate back in 1992.

“It’s not clear that President Trump can simply withdraw from it, and this will no doubt be litigated within the United States.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Weather: Heat warnings as temperatures set to hit high-30s

By Evening Report -

January 11, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

File photo. RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

Hastings is forecast to hit 37C on Sunday, and neighbouring Napier an almost equally sweltering 36C, as a wave of heat – and heat warnings – spread across the country.

But several warnings for rain and strong winds are also in place, particularly in the South Island and Wellington.

Heat alerts, first introduced in 2021, were in place for various locations, including Whangārei, Whitianga, Tauranga, Whakatāne, Rotorua, Taupō, Gisborne, Napier, Blenheim, Kaikōura, Christchurch and Timaru.

Hastings however had the highest forecast peak of 37C in the afternoon, down one degree from the 38C forecasters previously predicted.

That would still exceed 2025’s peak 35.6 degrees, recorded in Kawerau on 7 December.

Hastings Deputy Mayor Michael Fowler said people should avoid spending too much time in the sun.

“Keep out of the heat, keep hydrated, look after your neighbours, look after your pets.”

The district council had taken measures to prepare for the heat. It had closed Te Mata Park and told staff and contractors to avoid work that could create sparks – but residents also needed to ensure they were prepared to deal with near record temperatures, he said.

“Hastings used to get very excited about a 35C heat. Well this is going to be more than that… People need to be absolutely vigilant about this and take it seriously.”

The top of the North Island – including Northland, Auckland, Bay of Plenty and the East Cape – would be “fine and warm” with “patchy morning fog and cloud about Auckland and Northland”, MetService said.

The lower half of the North Island would have “cloudy periods. Showers about the Tararua Range, and a few elsewhere in the evening. Northwest gales for Wellington and Wairarapa.”

“Avoid lighting outdoor fires or doing any activities that may cause sparks or heat, and ensure any previous fires are fully extinguished,” Fire and Emergency said in a warning on its website.

Despite the heat, several weather warnings were in place across the country.

Most of Westland, and Fiordland north of Doubtful Sound, were under orange-level heavy rain warnings until 9am Sunday, as were the Westland ranges and headwaters of the Canterbury lakes until 9pm.

Orange-level strong-wind warnings were in place overnight for much of inland and high-country Canterbury, and they took effect at 3am for Marlborough, and at 6am for much of the Wellington region, where severe gale northwesterlies gusting up to 120km/h in exposed places were forecast.

Thundery rain was possible in the Buller/Grey districts, while Westland and Fiordland could expect “rain with heavy falls and possible thunderstorms”.

Rain and scattered showers were forecast to fall in Canterbury, Otago and Southland, with possible thunderstorms in the Queenstown Lakes District.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Scotty Stevenson: ‘Club sport is withering on the vine’

By Evening Report -

January 11, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

Scotty Stevenson was just ten when he saw Keith Quinn commentating on the Rugby World Cup and thought it looked like a great job. Sixteen years after commentating his first rugby game for Sky Sport, the 48-year-old broadcaster and writer now covers cricket matches for TVNZ.

While the job of thinking on the spot to narrate live sporting action is a joy, he says, it’s also a big responsibility.

“These are people’s lives. This is their athletic career. And your voice is going to be attached to their good moments and their worst moments for eternity,” Stevenson tells RNZ’s Summer Weekends.

“I’ll never forget Stu Wilson’s kindness that day. He was a great wingman to have because I was bloody nervous” – Scotty Stevenson with the late All Blacks captain Stu Wilson after commentating his first rugby game in 2009.

Supplied

.

And no matter how prepared you are and what you’ve thought might happen, there will always be some surprise.

Firsts, Favourites and Funerals: Scotty Stevenson

Summer Weekends

An amazing catch, shot, or try is a great moment to be a part of as a commentator, he says, but over time he’s learned it’s best to shut his mouth when those big moments occur and let the crowd’s reaction “carry” the moment.

“If you’ve got some line in your head that you want to use to maybe sum up what you’ve just witnessed, there’s no point in banging on about that while everyone’s chatting on a couch at home or losing their gherkins in the crowd at the stadium.”

Scotty Stevenson says it was a “privilege” to co-write former rugby league player Shaun Johnson’s 2024 autobiography Perspective.

Supplied

Stevenson makes a distinction between “corporate” sport, which he says rugby and cricket have become and what he calls “true sport” – the kind that reveals something universal that everyone who watches and participates can share in.

“I love watching the struggle… It’s triumph over adversity, and sometimes it’s both at the same time. I really enjoy it. I love watching people try to figure it out.

“You’re trying to master a skill, you’re trying to master an opponent, you’re trying to master your own mind. You’re trying to push through pain, push through the hurt… There’s an awesome amount of pride and passion that goes into that.”

Scotty Stevenson has a moment as New Zealand shot putter Tom Walsh escapes disqualification from the final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Screenshot / TVNZ

Unfortunately, rugby and cricket have now become “corporate” sports, though, Stevenson says, which have become “skewed more towards the dollar than the soul of the game”.

The “completely unhinged” New Zealand media’s coverage of a Wellington nightclub altercation involving the English cricket captain during the recent Ashes cricket tournament is, for him, supporting evidence of this tonal shift.

“Everyone had bought into the marketing exercise and forgot that at heart there’s true sport and nuance and subtlety, and cricket is one of those sports that lends itself to that.”

Commentating sports game is a lot of fun and also a big responsibility, says Scotty Stevenson.

Supplied

Seeming disregard for the “long-term damage” of teenagers becoming sponsored athletes is something Stevenson finds concerning.

“I think we’ve lost our way when it comes to treating our kids as if they’re just a future employee of a big corporate sport.”

Instead, we should be helping kids to discover a sport that they love and can participate in for life, he says.

Sports clubs have the power to be “really important community hubs” where people of all ages can socialise, get active and, together, take a break from “the distractions and the noise of this world”.

“You don’t want [rugby] just to be a sport where a handful of kids get picked every year out of the best schools in the country, and they become professionals, and that’s it.

“To watch another rugby club die, or another cricket club dying… Sport at that level is withering on the vine. I think it’s beholden upon those who are involved in the big sports, the national sports organisations, to make sure that they stem this trend.”

Stevenson – who acquired the nickname ‘Sumo’ as a “chunky kid in Speedos” back at the Whangarei Heads Surf Lifesaving Club – says the commercialisation of rugby and cricket has come with a lot of “bollocks”.

Scotty Stevenson, here running in the 85-kilometre Old Ghost Ultra event, says he finds a “purity” in the sport of trail running.

Supplied

In contrast, the sport of trail running, through which he’s met a great community of people, has a “purity” to it.

This summer, though, some “very sore” ribs are slowing down the solo father of two, who just before New Year’s Eve took a fall while running on Central Otago’s Lake Dunstan Trail.

“Halfway down, I was trying to enact a ninja role, and I suddenly remembered I’m not a ninja, and then my shoulder remembered it, too. For some reason, my ribcage took most of the punishment. It was a long run back after that.”

Scotty Stevenson played:

‘Run to You’ by Bryan Adams:

The first two cassettes Stevenson ever bought – in one transaction at the Auckland music store Marbecks – were the self-titled debut of teen singer Tiffany and Bryan Adams’ “cracking” album Reckless.

Its big radio hit ‘Summer of 69’ is a great song, he says, and ‘Heaven’ is “so romantic”, but ‘Run to You’ is the most nostalgic.

“Memories flood back of little youthful crushes that you had and first kisses… and it’s a belter.”

‘Lone Star Song’ by Grant Lee Buffalo:

Stevenson was 16 when he packed the CD of Grant Lee Buffalo’s 1994 album Mighty Joe Moon and travelled for the first time to his mother’s birth country of South Africa. What followed was a “very formative” year at a pioneering multiracial high school specialising in outdoor education.

“Africa never leaves you. Africa gets in your nostrils, and it gets in your blood, and it stays with you between your toes when you leave. I just met the most extraordinary group of people that year and had this quite amazing experience… This CD I had with me that year, and I just adore it.”

‘Love Is Stronger than Death’ by The The:

“I love their album Dusk, and I just think this is just a beautiful song.”

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Former PM Helen Clark criticises Trump for pulling US out of international organisations

By Evening Report -

January 11, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

Helen Clark said the US pulling out of 66 international organisations was a “troubling move”. AFP / Kena Betancur

A former head of the United Nations Development Programme is concerned that Donald Trump may set a precedent for other countries.

The President has signed a memorandum ordering the withdrawal of the United States from 66 international organisations.

These include the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Democracy Fund, and nearly 30 other United Nations agencies.

Helen Clark, who was also the Prime Minister from 1999 to 2008, said it was a very troubling move.

“It is an assault on the international system of cooperation, which has been painstakingly built up over many, many decades,” she said.

Clark was concerned that other countries, which were like-minded with the current United States administration, would also withdraw.

However, Clark did not expect New Zealand to be one of them, as the country had always stood for multilateralism.

Clark said the Framework Convention on Climate Change was ratified by the United States Senate back in 1992.

“It’s not clear that President Trump can simply withdraw from it, and this will no doubt be litigated within the United States.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Drivers report chipped windscreens from Transmission Gully roadworks

By Evening Report -

January 11, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

Dave Vercoe’s chipped windscreen after driving on Transmission Gully. Dave Vercoe

Some people driving on Transmission Gully on State Highway 1 are reporting getting chipped windscreens from roadworks being done on the road.

People have taken to social media posting photos of the chipped windscreens, noting that the stones had flicked off other vehicles, or that the chips had happened once they’d left the roadworks speed restriction zone.

Dave Vercoe was one of those whose windscreen was damaged after leaving the restricted speed area.

“Literally within about 100 meters, of course a stone flicked up from a car in front of me, not their fault, and smacked into my windscreen.”

Vercoe told RNZ that everyone had been following the 30km/h speed restrictions, but there was a lot of loose chip on the road the day his windscreen was damaged.

“You could hear all the stones bouncing underneath your car.”

Vercoe said he has taken an alternative route since, but will likely revert back to Transmission Gully next week.

In a statement, the Transport Agency said there were temporary lower speed limits in place on Transmission Gully where new chipseal has been laid to avoid stone chip damage to vehicles and also to protect the new road surface.

“Drivers are asked to follow the advertised temporary speed limit in place and to also consider using State Highway 59 to avoid the roadworks on Transmission Gully.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Tennis: Top seed Elina Svitolina to meet Xinyu Wang in ASB Classic women’s final

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

Elina Svitolina celebrates a point against Iva Jovic in her semifinal. Alan Lee / www.photosport.nz

Ukrainian number one seed Elina Svitolina is into the ASB Classic final for the second time after beating American Iva Jovic in straight sets.

Svitolina won the first set 7-6 in a tiebreak, before putting on a commanding display to win the second set 6-2.

“It’s nice to get a straight sets win, yesterday was a big battle,” Svitolina told Sky Sports, referencing her three set quarterfinal victory over British qualifier Sonay Kartal on Friday.

“In the first set Iva was playing really well and I had to really fight back and dig deep and try to find my level, and I’m very happy I could finish this match in two sets to save some energy for the final.”

Svitolina last made the ASB Classic final in 2024, where she lost in three sets to American Coco Gauff.

In the other semifinal, Chinese seventh seed Xinyu Wang won an enthralling three-set match over fourth-seeded Filipino Alex Eala.

Xinyu Wang celebrates her ASB Classic semifinal win. Alan Lee/Photosport

Eala, 23, served for the match at 5-3 in the second set, but was unable to deliver the decisive blow and allowed her rival to creep back into contention.

Wang, 24, seemed to be cruising in the first set, when she broke her opponent’s serve twice for a 5-2 lead. Incredibly, Eala broke back, then broke again… and again, winning six straight games to take the set 7-6.

The Filipino again fell behind in the second with an early break, but went on another run, taking four straight games to serve for the match at 5-3.

This time, the Chinese fought back, breaking to stave off defeat and breaking again to take the set 7-5.

The match crept past two hours, as Wang took her momentum into the third and deciding set, breaking serve for an early 4-0 advantage. Eala began to labour and needed a medical timeout, as her back seized up, but she was able to return to the court and promptly held serve to stem the bleeding.

Wang held serve to close within a game of victory, but Eala overcame a double fault to hold, broke to stay in the contest and held to love, as Wang began to flag.

Eala could not complete the comeback though, as Wang took full toll of her first matchpoint to advance to the championship round with a 5-7 7-5 6-4 win in 2h 48m.

“It was a crazy battle from the start to the end,” Wang told Sky Sport. “She’s an absolute fighter and, to be honest, I feel more pressure when I’m 5-0 up.

“Really happy that I got through this one today and through to my first-ever final.”

Wang has played in one previous WTA final, losing to Czech Marketa Vondrousova at Berlin last June. She has made two previous appearances at Auckland, losing to compatriot Xiyu Wang in the second round two years ago.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Popular Auckland hot springs gets name change to Kaipātiki

By Asia Pacific Report -

January 10, 2026

By Pokere Paewai, RNZ Māori issues reporter

As 2025 ticked over into 2026, New Zealand’s popular Parakai Springs near Helensville officially became Kaipātiki Hot Springs, the traditional indigenous name for the area which reflects the whakapapa of tangata whenua Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara.

The change comes as Te Poari o Kaipātiki ki Kaipara assumes management of the hot springs. The governors of Te Poari are appointed by Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara and Auckland Council in equal numbers.

Te Poari chairperson Mihi Blair said Kaipātiki literally translates to the abundance of pātiki, flounder, which the Kaipara area is quite famous for.

The area was prized by Ngāti Whātua tūpuna for its abundance of healing, thermal waters, she said.

“The wai was always used for recovery for all our wounded warriors during cold and warm days, and also the abundance across the wetlands and the swamps and tidal areas was always rich with kai, manu, eel tuna, and lots of kuharu and, you know pātiki, of course.”

Te Poari o Kaipātiki ki Kaipara chairperson Mihi Blair . . . her whānau have a close history with Kaipātiki. Image: Te Poari o Kaipātiki ki Kaipara/RNZ

How Kaipātiki became Parakai
Blair said her whānau have a close history with Kaipātiki. In the early 1900s there was some confusion because there were two places called Kaipātiki in Auckland, one in Kaipara and one in Birkenhead, she said.

“So the mail used to get misdelivered quite a bit.”

“There was a community meeting held in the rohe of Kaipara and it was actually my great, great grandmother, Annie Emma Hamilton from Ngāti Maniapoto, who rightly got up and said, why don’t we just change Kaipara and switch it over and turn it to Parakai.

“So that decision itself has had a massive historical impact. It was a decision made on practicality, quite solutions focused she was, but it changed history. So from a whānau point of view, it’s something that we held dearly.”

It was a natural decision to return the name Kaipātiki to the area, she said.

“I was born and raised in the Kaipara area in Helensville and so from Ngāti Whātua, there was no stories being told in our rohe, within our playgrounds, within our schools and that.

“So we’re really taking this kōrero really seriously for the Kaipara area and we want to ensure that we bring not only our own uri along, but we also want to bring the community along that journey.”

Sharing the history
Blair said since 2011 when Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara and the Crown agreed to a settlement, the iwi has been focused on sharing the history of the area.

The Parakai Recreation Reserve, which surrounds the springs, had already been renamed Kaipātiki Reserve so it was a natural decision to rename the springs at the conclusion of the previous lease on 31 December 2025, she said.

Blair thanked the previous lease holders Parakai Springs Limited for their contribution to the economic growth of the area over the past three decades.

Te Poari o Kaipātiki ki Kaipara will now assume management of the springs in partnership with Belgravia Leisure, who also work in partnership with Rotorua iwi Ngāti Whakaue running the Wai Ariki Hot Springs, she said.

“[Belgravia] will bring in their expertise and they’ve done a really amazing job of supporting and ensuring that all our kaimahi there have been onboarded successfully and that actually the pools have remained open over this busy summer period.

“We had a very high, high influx of those who attended in the new year. So, you know, whānau going there to use the pools, having BBQs. So the only difference that actually happened was the name change.”

Blair said Te Poari are looking forward to seeing what could be developed and making sure the community was well involved in the design and the future of the pools.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Tennis: China’s Xinyu Wang advances to ASB Classic women’s final

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

Xinyu Wang celebrates her ASB Classic semifinal win. Alan Lee/Photosport

Chinese seventh seed Xinyu Wang has booked a spot in the ASB Classic women’s final with an enthralling three-set win over fourth-seeded Filipino Alex Eala in Auckland.

Eala, 23, served for the match at 5-3 in the second set, but was unable to deliver the decisive blow and allowed her rival to creep back into contention.

The Filipino again fell behind in the second with an early break, but went on another run, taking four straight games to serve for the match at 5-3.

This time, the Chinese fought back, breaking to stave off defeat and breaking again to take the set 7-5.

Wang held serve to close within a game of victory, but Eala overcame a double fault to hold, broke to stay in the contest and held to love, as Wang began to flag.

Eala could not complete the comeback though, as Wang took full toll of her first matchpoint to advance to the championship round with a 5-7 7-5 6-4 win in 2h 48m.

“It was a crazy battle from the start to the end,” Wang told Sky Sport. “She’s an absolute fighter and, to be honest, I feel more pressure when I’m 5-0 up.

“Really happy that I got through this one today and through to my first-ever final.”

She will now face the winner of the second semifinal between top seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and American Iva Jovic.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

NGOs warn of catastrophic impact in Gaza – Penny Wong doesn’t care

By Asia Pacific Report -

January 10, 2026

The Australian government remains silent on Israel banning 37 international aid organisations in Gaza, despite warnings from humanitarian groups. Stephanie Tran reports.

By Stephanie Tran of Michael West Media

Under new registration requirements introduced by Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, NGOs have been required to submit lists of their Palestinian employees for review and to refrain from criticism of Israel.

A number of NGOs did not comply with the requirement to disclose the identities of their Palestinian staff, citing safety concerns amid reports that Israel has deliberately targeted and killed aid workers in Gaza.

As a result, the registrations of 37 international NGOs lapsed on 31 December 2025. The organisations will be required to withdraw by 1 March 2026 if their registrations are not renewed.

Journalist Stephanie Tran . . . “More than 500 humanitarian workers have been killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023.” Image: Michael West Media

The aid ban comes as Israel has passed laws prohibiting the supply of water and electricity to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

Michael West Media wrote to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) seeking clarification on Australia’s position regarding Israel’s suspension of humanitarian organisations operating in Gaza.

The questions included whether Australia intended to publicly condemn Israel’s decision to ban aid organisations; how the government assessed the move’s compatibility with international humanitarian law, including Israel’s obligations under the Geneva Conventions; and whether Australia would join or support diplomatic statements or measures alongside other countries calling for the ban to be lifted.

DFAT declined to provide a comment on the record, while Minister Wong did not respond to the request for comment.

In correspondence with MWM, DFAT instead provided a statement “for use in reporting, not for attribution”. In their response, the Department referred to a previous joint statement signed by Minister Wong calling on Israel to allow aid into Gaza.

International condemnation rises
The refusal to comment comes as the UN Secretary-General, multiple governments and at least 53 international NGOs have publicly condemned Israel’s suspension of 37 aid organisations from operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, warning it will severely restrict humanitarian access to Gaza and breach Israel’s obligations under international law.

The foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement condemning the aid ban, warning that

One in three healthcare facilities in Gaza will close if INGOs operations are stopped.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on Israel to reverse the measures, warning it “will further exacerbate the humanitarian crisis facing Palestinians”.

On Monday, seven European countries denounced Israel’s policies as incompatible with humanitarian principles and obligations under international law.

In a joint letter, 53 international aid organisations called the ban “a deliberate policy choice with foreseeable consequences”.

“More than 500 humanitarian workers have been killed since 7 October 2023. INGOs cannot transfer sensitive personal data to a party to the conflict since this would breach humanitarian principles, duty of care and data protection obligations,” the letter stated.

NGOs in limbo
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), one of the largest medical providers operating in Gaza, said it remained in a state of uncertainty.

“Our registration expired as of the 31st of December,” said Ashley Killeen, director of engagement at Médecins Sans Frontières Australia and New Zealand. “We are still trying to have dialogue with Israeli authorities to try and maintain some type of access.”

“At this point in time, we are still continuing to try and negotiate and stay in Gaza. It’s a fragile moment.”

Killeen said claims that MSF had failed to comply with the new registration process were inaccurate.

“We’ve fully engaged in the process announced in July, we submitted the majority of the required information,” she said.

However, Killeen said MSF was unwilling to comply with the requirement to provide the identities of its Palestinian staff due to safety concerns. She stated that

Providing the names of our staff is an ethical red line that we’re not willing to cross.

“Fifteen of our colleagues have been killed since the start of this war by Israeli forces. We have an obligation to safeguard the rights of our staff, and that is why we’re not willing to provide the staff list of our Palestinian colleagues in Gaza.”

Delivering 1 in 3 babies
MSF has operated in Gaza since 1989 and supports six hospitals and two field hospitals.

“We deliver one in three babies in Gaza. I don’t know what their solution would be if MSF were not allowed to operate,” Killeen said.

“The entire health system is decimated. Banning the little aid and services that’s available for those people in there is horrific.”

“We’re not finished yet; there’s a lot more to do.”

In the ER of Al-Rantisi hospital in Gaza City, our teams help 300 children receive medical care each day.

🎥 Dr Jennifer Hulse explains our vital services and what it would mean for Palestinians if Israel stops us from… pic.twitter.com/GENl2PnIyR

— MSF International (@MSF) January 9, 2026

ActionAid Australia has also warned that deregistration would severely undermine its ability to operate.

“Being de-registered will severely restrict our ability to bring food, medical supplies and other relief into Gaza, scale operations, and respond at the huge level of humanitarian need,” said Michelle Higelin, ActionAid Australia’s executive director.

“This action by the government of Israel undermines not just ActionAid,

but the entire humanitarian response architecture.

ActionAid has delivered humanitarian assistance and medical support to more than 650,000 displaced people over the past two years.

Impact ‘not abstract’
“The impact is not abstract — it is borne by families already surviving day to day,” Higelin said. “For people in Gaza, this decision will mean less water and food, little or no sanitation, reduced shelter and medical support and increasing exposure to health risks.”

Higelin warned that pregnant women would be particularly affected by the aid ban.

“As we support one of the only functioning maternity hospitals in Gaza, we are particularly concerned about the impacts on pregnant women who are already giving birth in unsterile conditions”

ActionAid reiterated MSF’s concerns regarding the disclosure of the identities of their Palestinian staff.

“We cannot comply with requirements that compel us to hand over sensitive personal data of Palestinian staff and their families or accept political and ideological conditions unrelated to humanitarian work,” Higelin said.

“No humanitarian organisation should be forced to choose between protecting its staff and continuing lifesaving assistance.”

Violation of international humanitarian law
Under international humanitarian law, occupying powers are obliged to ensure the provision of life saving aid to civilians in conflict zones. The 4th Geneva Convention and customary international law require that humanitarian assistance be allowed to reach civilians without undue obstruction.

The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute has warned that deliberate obstruction of humanitarian assistance, resulting in hunger and widespread suffering, constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes.

Amnesty International Australia has characterised Israel’s broader blockade and systematic obstruction of aid as not only a violation of humanitarian law but as potentially amounting to crimes against humanity, citing provisions of the Geneva Conventions that require occupying powers to ensure the food and medical supplies of the population are met unconditionally.

“It’s an obligation under international law to provide humanitarian aid. Israel has an obligation to allow aid into Gaza,” said Killeen.

Killeen said MSF was urging the Australian government to do more than reiterate general support for aid access.

International law?
“What we would hope for from our government is that they continue to uphold the principles of international humanitarian law, and in doing so, they would advocate for the rights of organisations like MSF to continue providing aid to people in Gaza,” she said.

Higelin said the moment demanded decisive action from the Australian government.

“This is a watershed moment: one that will make or break the future of civic space and humanitarian assistance in Palestine, which Israel has been occupying unlawfully for decades.

“We urge UN agencies and donor governments, including Australia, to use all available leverage to secure the reversal of this decision. Independent, principled humanitarian operations must be protected to ensure civilians can receive the assistance they urgently need.

“Lives depend upon it.”

Stephanie Tran is a journalist with a passion for uncovering stories that hold power to account. With a background in both law and journalism, she has worked at The Guardian and as a paralegal, where she assisted Crikey’s defence team in the high-profile defamation case brought by Lachlan Murdoch. Her reporting has been recognised nationally, earning her the 2021 Democracy’s Watchdogs Award for Student Investigative Reporting and a nomination for the 2021 Walkley Student Journalist of the Year Award.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Athletics star Sam Ruthe guides young Tamahau Hicks to Colgate Games victory

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

Sam Ruthe and Tamahau Hicks celebrate their 1500m performane at Tauranga. Facebook/Emily Kay

Disappointment turned to delight for a 12-year-old visually impaired athlete Tamahau Hicks, when running sensation Sam Ruthe came to his rescue at the Colgate Games in Tauranga on Saturday.

The disappointment came when Tamahau’s regular running guide contacted his family to say he was ill and couldn’t accompany Tamahau over the 1500 metres at the event, which has attracted thousands of North Island youngsters for the three-day meeting.

Tamahau, who runs for the Te Aroha Athletics Club and Achilles Tauranga Moana, suffered a traumatic brain injury in an accident, when he was three-and-a-half, affecting his vision and spatial awareness.

Because of that, he needs a guide to run alongside him in races.

“We rushed around trying to find someone and when I couldn’t, I stuck out a post on Run Aotearoa,” Tamahau’s mum, Emily Kay, said.

Andrea Neal from Tauranga Athletics saw the Facebook post and got in touch.

Initially, an official was to guide Tamahau, but 30 minutes before the race, there was another development.

“Andrea came and found us, and said, ‘Hey, Sam Ruthe has volunteered to become a host guide for the race’.

“We were very excited. I know Tamahau was, when he found out Sam was going to be his guide.

“All the other kids were excited they would be in the same race as Sam Ruthe too.”

Ruthe is the rising track star of New Zealand athletics. He was 15, when he became [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/545352/watch-teen-runner-sam-ruthe-breaks-record-sub-four-minute-mile the youngest runner to break four minutes for the mile last March.

Since turning 16, he has shattered the long-standing secondary schools 1500 metre record and claimed new U20 and U19 national marks over 1000 metres last weekend, with his time being the world’s best for his age.

Emily Kay couldn’t speak highly enough of Ruthe.

“It was really incredible,” she said. “He was really good, he told Tamahau, ‘Don’t go out too hard, we’ll go hard in the last lap’, and that is exactly what they did.

“They just stuck to the same pace right throughout the race until right at the end. It was amazing and the whole crowd was cheering.”

They proved a winning combination.

“He broke his personal best by about 40 seconds and he came first in the para race. It was pretty awesome.”

Ruthe was also great with the other kids in the race, posing for photos with them for ages after the race.

There was one funny moment in the race, as Ruthe, in his enthusiasm, went ahead of Tamahau and had to be reminded that his partner had to cross the finish-line first.

Emily Kay said Tamahau would have had to withdraw, if he hadn’t found a guide.

“Not only did he get a guide, he got Sam Ruthe.

“It was an epic day.”

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

The psychology behind New Year’s resolutions

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

What is the science behind setting a New Year’s resolution? SIRA JANTARARUNGSAN / 123RF

New Year’s resolutions may trigger mixed feelings, but when done correctly, they can improve our motivation and have an overall positive impact.

UK science writer David Robson has looked into the psychology behind a successful New Year’s resolution.

It’s something he takes seriously and believes it’s a positive way to start the year.

He told Summer Weekends that, like many he had a “checkered history” with keeping his resolutions, but over the years, he had become better.

“In general, I’m pretty good at keeping my resolutions, and I think that’s partly now because I do know about the psychology of, you know, self control and willpower”

It’s OK to fall off the wagon

Robson said one of the most important steps was to not “catastrophise” the times when we fell off the wagon.

He said occasionally stepping out of line did not have to undo days of hard work

“This is something that psychologists call the ‘what the hell effect’.

“It’s this quite toxic tendency that we have that, once we break a resolution, we just give up entirely.”

He said this happened because people felt they had proven to themselves that they lacked the willpower to commit to a goal, therefore losing all hope and giving up entirely.

Do we set ourselves up to fail?

There was also a tendency to set goals that were easy to give up on, a habit that stemmed from a very self-critical culture.

Robson said the amount of pressure manufactured by media, lifestyle magazines, social media and television could encourage people to feel poorly about themselves.

“It’s kind of setting these standards for what it means to be beautiful or what it means to be successful.”

This meant resolutions could then become a product of the surrounding culture.

“A lot of the time, we’re not really thinking about what we want in life, but we’re doing these things because we have those goals kind of imposed on us.”

He said psychological research had shown goals that stem from societal pressure were not only bad for our mental health, but made it harder to keep a resolution, whereas goals chosen purely using our own autonomy were easier to keep, as they mattered more to us.

The magic of the new year

Although some may feel there was no need to wait for the new year to set a resolution, Robson agreed there was some magic in setting them during this time.

He said this desire was based on the psychological phenomenon of how we processed our autobiographical memories.

“What psychologists have found is that we actually do tend to look at our life as a series of chapters that are very often based around big life events.”

Significant life events, like graduating or getting married, acted as landmarks of a life journey, but Robson said research had shown that, within the bigger chapters, people also created smaller “chapter headings” and the new year was one of them.

“Research shows us that, when people do make new goals on those key moments, like the first of the year, they do tend to have more motivation.

“The brain is always looking for this organisational principle, a way to chunk that data into meaningful sections.”

Bigger or smaller scale resolutions?

Overall balance was key, but Robson said it all came down to personal preference and knowing how to manage your resolutions

“I think there is this kind of sweetspot between something that’s so mundane, you quickly forget about it and something that’s so ambitious, it feels unmanageable.”

With bigger goals, it was better to break it down into smaller ‘sub goals’.

“If you do want to write your novel over the course of 2026, I think it’s essential that you make a plan for how you’re going to go about that, because you’re really then creating these little stepping stones that feel far less daunting to achieve.”

Should resolutions be a secret?

Robson said telling people could be helpful, as it created a sense of accountability that made sticking to goals easier.

“I know some people are going to be quite pessimistic and gloomy, and they’re just going to sap some of that excitement away from it, but I think, if you do have people who can be your cheerleaders, then it’s great to share it with them.”

Psychological tricks to achieving resolutions

Robson said his own resolution for the year was to run a marathon and he had prepared some tricks to make sure it happened. One of them was what he referred to as ‘temptation bundling”.

“That is just making sure that, when something starts to feel like a grind, you have some kind of pleasure that you experience alongside that. In my case, it’ll be listening to really great audio books, as I go about my training.”

He also said the more specific the goal, the easier it would be to stick to it.

For example, with a popular resolution like losing weight or getting fit, it was better to set a target weight and have a workout plan, so the task did not feel vague and daunting..

“Just make it measurable, because that way, it’s easier to keep track of your progress and, when you do meet that goal, you get that dopamine kick that leaves you feeling motivated.”

‘Monetising insecurities’

Robson said one things to be wary of was the tendency to commercialise people’s insecurities during this time of year.

“You’ll always read in a new magazine about a particular kind of exercise that’s going to have these magic properties for you or you’ll start seeing new photos of a particular muscle group that you’re meant to be developing.”

He said it was important to protect ourselves from this kind of targeted marketing, and make goals that were based on our personal improvement and journey.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Two dead, one missing in water incidents across New Zealand

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

Akaroa is a town located south-east of Christchurch. supplied

Two people have died in the water on Saturday afternoon.

Emergency services in the Bay of Plenty were called to an area off Poripori Road in Lower Kaimai, where a person had been taken out of the water.

CPR was carried out, but they couldn’t be revived.

In the South Island, the Akaroa harbourmaster pulled a person from the water, but they also died.

Drummond Wharf was cordoned off, while emergency services worked at the scene and the death will be referred to the coroner.

Meanwhile, a swimmer is missing in the Waikato River.

Police say they were called to the area near Graham Island at Hamilton at about 3,30pm Saturday, after reports of a struggling swimmer being swept downstream.

Emergency services were searching the area.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Many Manage My Health security breach victims in Northland

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

*This story has been updated to reflect that funding was available for general practitioners to provide consultation.

Many of those impacted by the Manage My Health breach are based in Northland, according to Health New Zealand.

Hackers, known as ‘Kazu’, took hundreds of thousands of files from the country’s largest patient health information portal at the end of last year.

So far, Manage My Health has notified about half of the 125,000 whose data has been stolen.

Health New Zealand said it would ensure support was available for those in Northland.

*Alex Pimm, group director of operations for Northland, said funding was available for general practitioners to provide consultation.

He said those impacted should discuss their clinical information, as well as for mental wellbeing support.

Those impacted by the data breach would also be provided with an 0800 number to call.

The cyber incident was limited to 6-7 percent of 1.8 million registered users, within the ‘My Health Documents’ module only, according to Manage My Health.

The data relates to a range of medical practices, including approximately 45 Northland-based GP practices out of approximately 355 GP practices across New Zealand.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Person drowns in Akaroa

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

Akaroa is a town located south-east of Christchurch. supplied

A person has drowned in Akaroa, south-east of Christchurch, this afternoon.

Police said staff were notified at about 1.15pm Saturday that a person had been pulled from the water by the harbourmaster.

A police spokesperson said CPR was administered, but the person could not be revived.

Drummond Wharf is currently cordoned off, while emergency services work at the scene.

The death will be referred to the coroner.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for January 10, 2026

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on January 10, 2026.

Ian Powell: The Nicolás Maduro kidnapping, US imperialist expansion and implications for New Zealand
ANALYSIS: By Ian Powell There is much to understand from the dramatic kidnapping — abduction is perhaps a better word — of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores last weekend by the United States armed forces, combined with the military attack on the country’s capital Caracas. This understanding is greatly helped by

As the Arctic warms up, the race to control the region is growing ever hotter
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Klaus Dodds, Interim Dean, Faculty of Science & Technology, Middlesex University Donald Trump and his senior officials insist that Greenland must become part of the US. This is for national security purposes, they say, maintaining that Denmark, of which Greenland is a constituent part, is not investing

Four ways to understand what’s going on with the US, Denmark and Greenland
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Manners, Professor, Department of Political Science, Lund University Shutterstock/Michal Balada European countries, and Denmark in particular, are scrambling to respond to threats from US officials over the future of Greenland. Having successfully taken out the leadership of Venezuela in a raid on January 3, an emboldened

As authors abandon Adelaide Writers’ Week after cancelling of Randa Abdel-Fattah, is free speech in tatters?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne The decision by the Adelaide Festival Board to exclude Palestinian Australian author and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah from Adelaide Writers’ Week on the grounds of “cultural sensitivity” is based on a dangerously broad and vague

Albanese bows to relentless pressure for Bondi royal commission but scepticism remains
SPECIAL REPORT: By David Robie Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has finally bowed to pressure from the Murdoch News Corp’s relentless media campaign and advocacy by political critics and victim’s families to announce a royal commission of inquiry into “antisemitism and social cohesion”. The commission advocates were seeking his political downfall over last month’s Bondi

Former French Foreign Legion soldier key suspect in Vanuatu VT49m heist
By Doddy Morris in Port Vila The Vanuatu Police Force (VPF) has confirmed that the prime suspect in a Port Vila armed robbery is a former member of the French Foreign Legion, who served around 2019. Allegations had circulated on social media for the past four days, but yesterday it was officially confirmed that the

Former NZ mayoral hopeful arrested at Venezuela solidarity protest
RNZ News Three people, including former Wellington mayoral hopeful Graham Bloxham, have been arrested at a Venezuela solidarity protest in New Zealand’s capital. Around 100 people were rallying against the US military action earlier this week outside New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) on Lambton Quay. During the event Bloxham, who was

View from The Hill: Albanese’s backflip on royal commission is a humiliating own goal
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Prime Minister Anthony Albanese prides himself with being in tune with the public mood. But in holding out for weeks against a royal commission into antisemitism he misjudged that mood, making Thursday’s backdown on his hardline opposition a humiliation for

How to protect yourself from bushfire smoke
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brian Oliver, Professor, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney The distinctive smell of smoke in summer is often all you need to know there is a bushfire burning. Even if the fire is many kilometres away, the drop in air quality can be harmful for

The battle over sharing Wellington’s bike trails

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

Mountain-bikers say Wellington’s Matairangi/Mount Victoria trails provide a unique environment of “world class” riding just a stone’s throw from the central city, but a recent spate of vandalism has underlined community discontent over the growing network of trails on the hill.

The local residents’ association president said some people avoided the area, because of concerns over safety.

On almost any clear day in the Wellington suburb, mountain-bikers thread their way through a network of trails in the green belt that stands just a short climb from the central city’s party district of Courtenay Place.

The hill is criss-crossed by a maze of some 25.5km of trails and paths, used by walkers, runners, mountain-bikers and sightseers.

The trails have been designated as either walker-priority shared trails, walker-only or bike-only trails.

The green belt tracks were damaged and blocked off in December. Wellington City Council

[H] Trails range from beginner to highly technical riding

Mountain-bike racer Iley Nunns, 18, started riding in Matairangi as a part of Wellington Off-Road Department (WORD) youth rides, when she was 10 years old.

In 2025, she represented New Zealand at the UCI Enduro World Champs in Switzerland.

She said the riding on the hill was “world class”.

“Mt Vic can get very challenging, because of the roots and the clay,” she said. “It can get very slippery in the wet, but it’s so good, because you just learn those really good technical skills, which have helped me a lot in races around the world, because I have a unique set of skills that people from [other parts of the country] might not have.”

“It’s good for my own training – as well as the WORD kids – because of the progression the trails offer. There’s jump tracks and there’s tech tracks, and they all progress, so you can start off on the easiest track, move your way up and have lots of fun.”

Mountain-biking in the area began almost as soon as the first wave of off-road bicycles hit the country’s stores in the late 1980s and early ’90s.

The early bike trails formed almost organically – albeit with a little help from the spades and saws of early devotees – but as the sport grew, trail-building groups became more active in the area, forming bermed corners, drops and jumps, and working with the council to keep their handiwork and fun intact.

Mountain-bike racer Iley Nunns competing at the 2025 UCI Enduro World Championships in Switzerland. Supplied

Man formally warned by police following trail vandalism

Not everyone was happy with mountain-bikers’ presence in the area.

In early December, locals reported mountain-bike trail-marking signs torn down, holes dug out in riding lines, and logs and stumps strewn across tracks.

Later in the month, police confirmed a man had been formally warned “for endangering life or safety by criminal nuisance”, after admitting to vandalising the mountain-bike trails.

Residents fearful of ‘people crashing around on bikes’

Mount Victoria Residents Association president Ellen Blake said her group had heard concerns from locals and walkers in the area as far back as the early 2000s.

She said residents worried about close shaves with riders and the impact of bike trails on the area’s ecology.

“A lot of different people use the park in a different way, but we were hearing quite a lot of concerns from people who walked up there, and felt threatened or frightened by mountain-bike activity,” she said.

Mount Victoria Residents’ Association president Ellen Blake says some residents feel threatened by the presence of riders among walking tracks on Mount Victoria. Supplied

“Some of it was about the damage that was done to the tracks [and] just from people walking up there being frightened by people whooshing out of tracks.”

Blake said some members avoided the area because of it.

“Who should be giving way is what I want to know. Is it the people on the bike or the people walking?

“Normally, in traffic situations, it’s the person in charge of the vehicle that needs to be in control of it, and to manage their speed there and how they behave. We’ve flipped the presumptions up there, I think.

“We’re not on the road. We go to the park to get away from that.

“People go up there because it’s all nice green and bushy, and they like to hear the birds and see the sights. It shouldn’t be that people have to watch out for people crashing around on bikes.”

She said her group had asked the council to ensure that mountain-bike-only trails were equally matched by trails designated for walkers.

“We’ve got the mountain bikers fighting their corner and everybody else on the other side. We haven’t got a solution.

“What we’ve got is 12 mountain-bike-only tracks and no other option for other people.”

Vicky Robertson flanked by volunteers, as they plant native trees along the Hatatai side of Mt Victoria. Supplied

Room for everyone

Matairangi Trail Group’s Vicky Robertson said the group co-ordinated their volunteers with the council’s input to maintain mountain-bike trails – and cross over points with other tracks – as well as picking up rubbish and planting native trees in the area.

She said GPS measurements of the area showed nearly 15km of the 25.5km trail network were designated walker-priority, with another 2.5km of tracks as walking-only.

“I would say there’s room for everyone up there,” she said. “There is a small group of dog-walkers up there, who are off-leash.

“There’s a small group of walkers who are aggressive, there’s a small group of teenage mountain-bikers who aren’t respectful to others, so I think – on our part – there’s a part of an education and respect piece that needs to be done, particularly with our younger people.”

“WORD does a fantastic job of this and I think, if we can build on what we’re doing with the young people up there, that would really help,” Robertson said.

Vicky Robertson says volunteers have planted up to 8700 native trees in the area over the last five years. Supplied

Young riders learning trail etiquette

WORD national operations manager Nicola Johnson said the charity’s instructors taught more than 1000 young riders each year and often used the Mount Victoria trails for their group classes.

She said they encouraged their young riders to participate in maintaining local trails and to learn proper trail etiquette.

“If you’re standing still or walking, and someone’s coming towards you at high speed, it can be terrifying and I completely get how walkers can feel in that space.

“It has got better in terms of how the mountain-bike trails are a little bit more directed away from the walking trails. The signage has got better.

“I think there might be a little bit more work to do in that space, just to make sure that walkers are safe and also riders are safe. You want everyone to have a good time up there, it’s such a special place.”

“I don’t think it’s unmanageable, [but] I think there are some pinch points for sure – at entrances and exits of trails – and that’s something that we encourage our instructors and our kids to move to the side of the trail, and let people get by,” Johnson said.

Sixteen-year-old mountain-bike racer Kiera Vlaar started out doing WORD courses. This year, she took out three victories in the U17s of this year’s IXS downhill cup series in Europe.

She said she loved the accessibility of riding so close to the city, and how she and her friends could get “loads of laps” riding in the compact area.

She said she did encounter people – often tourists looking for Lord of the Rings filming locations – walking on the mountain-bike tracks.

“It does get quite busy at times,” Vlaar said. “You get on the brakes really quickly and tell them that riders are coming down these tracks, and it’s going to put you in a bit of a difficult situation, if they don’t see you and you don’t see them.”

Wellington City Council told RNZ it kept track of how many people used the hill’s 12 bike-priority trails with track counters.

It said major improvements had been made in the past decade, but there were still opportunities for improvement, and the council liaised with locals, restoration groups, trail runners and bike riders – along with the council’s own accessibility focus group – on this.

In recent years, tracks had been widened or – in the case of the Hataitai to City Walkway – resurfaced to improve safety, and signage improved to signal whether a track was walker or bike-priority.

Intersection alignments had been improved to remove crossing points, slow riders and improve sight-lines, it said.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Stan Wawrinka gets Melbourne wildcard but Kyrgios to play doubles only

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

Stan Wawrinka has withdrawn from the ASB Classic. PHOTOSPORT

Three-time Grand Slam tennis champion Stan Wawrinka has pulled out of the ASB Classic men’s tournament.

The veteran has told organisers he can’t play now that his Switzerland team have made the semifinals of the United Cup in Sydney.

The Swiss team play Belgium today, while the United States face Poland in the other semi.

The final will be on Sunday, with the Auckland men’s tournament starting Monday.

Wawrinka, who has played in the Auckland tournament twice, was one of the big drawcards this year.

The 40-year-old announced last year that he would hang up his racquet at the end of 2026, ending a 24-year pro career.

His withdrawal means changes to the schedule, with two former Auckland champions elevated to the main draw.

2024 winner Alejandro Tabilo from Chile was meant to play New Zealand wildcard Isaac Becroft in qualifying on Saturday, but has now gained a wildcard into the main draw.

Alejandro Tabilo celebrates his win at the 2024 ASB Classic. Andrew Cornaga/Photosport

Roberto Bautista Agut, who won in 2016 and 2018, also enters the main draw. Like Wawrinka and defending champion Gael Monfils, Spaniard Bautista Agut is likely in his final year of top level competition.

French veteran Adrian Mannarino, a former Auckland finalist, has also been promoted to the main draw.

“These things happen, unfortunately,” ASB Classic tournament director Nicolas Lamperin said. “It is good that Stan has been playing so strongly, but on the other side of things, it can come with unexpected clashes with schedules, if they progress through build-up tournaments.

“We lose Stan, which is disappointing, but now we have two former champions guaranteed of being in the first round.”

Wawrinka beat Rafa Nadal to win the 2014 Australian Open, and also won the 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open, beating Novak Djokovic both times.

Wawrinka has also been granted a wildcard to play in the Australian Open, with other wildcards going to Australians Jordan Thompson and Chris O’Connell, AFP reported.

The wildcard decisions followed Nick Kyrgios’ advice that he was not ready to play singles after injury, but he would feature in the doubles draw.

2022 Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios made his comeback after an injury-ravaged three years in Brisbane this week, but lost in the opening round to American Aleksandar Kovacevic.

Despite being in the running for a wildcard at his home Grand Slam starting on 18 January, the Australian showman said he was not ready.

“After some good conversations with TA [Tennis Australia], I’ve made the call to focus on doubles for this year’s Australian Open,” he said on Instagram.

“I’m fit and back on court, but five-setters are a different beast and I’m not quite ready to go the distance yet.”

Australian Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the Australian Open singles. GLYN KIRK

The defeat to Kovacevic was his first singles ATP Tour match since last March and he conceded afterwards that he would never be the player he once was.

Kyrgios, who has tumbled to 670 in the rankings, after reaching a high of 13 in 2016, said he was happy to give the opportunity to someone else.

“This tournament means everything to me, but I’d rather give my spot to someone who’s ready to make their moment count,” Kyrgios said.

While giving singles a miss, Kyrgios will play doubles with fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis.

He previously committed to playing singles at the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, which begins on Tuesday.

– RNZ/AFP

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Hamilton mum-and-daughter busking duo delights TikTok

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

After deciding to take a road trip to their ancestral land in Whangārei this summer, Jessie and Ally (aka Miss Ally) had the “bright idea” of busking along the way.

They kicked off at the Ngāruawāhia markets on 20 December, and on Ally’s suggestion, posted a clip of the performance on the TikTok account @mumandmebusking, waking up the next day to over 2,000 followers.

“It feels really heartwarming to see someone enjoy my singing,” Ally tells Morning Report.

On Christmas Eve in Huntly, Jessie and Ally sang ‘No Scrubs’ and were given some caramel corn. Their covers of Chappel Roan’s ‘Pink Pony Club’, Alanis Morrissette’s ‘Ironic’, Connie Francis’s ‘Pretty Little Baby’ and ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain?’ (House of Shem version) have also proved popular.

Although Ally has been singing her whole life, she only became a busker about a month ago. Now the chatty eight-year-old is educating her international TikTok followers on this “really nice” way of performing as she learns what it’s like to be famous.

“Usually [people] come up to me and they’ll be like, ‘Oh my gosh, are you guys mumandmebusking? We’re like ‘yes’, and they’re like, ‘Oh, can we have a selfie?!’

“It feels really heartwarming to see someone enjoy my singing.”

Ally says she really loved visiting her great-grandparents’ resting place in Whangārei recently, and it’s been “very special to have time with my mum and do something we both enjoy”.

After visiting Whangārei, the pair have now hit the road again and in the next few weeks, will busk around Hamilton, Tauranga and Mount Maunganui.

In the hope of reaching 10,000 TikTok followers, Ally and Jessie are now posting daily videos of their summer singing adventure.

Funds raised will mostly go towards overseas travel, Jesse says, but Ally is also “paying forward” some of it – this week delivering a gift to a Whangārei woman who’d served them breakfast – and enjoying a little spending money.

“She loves skincare. She’s a normal eight-year-old. She’ll buy herself a lip gloss.”

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Ian Powell: The Nicolás Maduro kidnapping, US imperialist expansion and implications for New Zealand

By Asia Pacific Report -

January 10, 2026

ANALYSIS: By Ian Powell

There is much to understand from the dramatic kidnapping — abduction is perhaps a better word — of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores last weekend by the United States armed forces, combined with the military attack on the country’s capital Caracas.

This understanding is greatly helped by the comments of the US’s first elected insurrectionist and convicted felon (fraud and sexual assault) President, Donald Trump, at and following his inauguration for his second term nearly 12 months ago.

Trump singled out the 25th US president, William McKinley, who was first elected 1896 but assassinated early into his second term, for praise. Some of this praise was because of his promotion of tariffs.

But it was also because McKinley is regarded as the first imperialist American president. He went to war with Spain and China to claim colonial spoils. Annexations included Puerto Rico and the Philippines (where more than 200,000 Filipinos were killed).

Far and hard right politics, fascism and narcissism
For context, the current US government under Trump’s leadership is a mix of far and hard right politics.

I have discussed this in a previous article (November 3) describing how the far right is successfully cannibalising the mainstream rightwing internationally (including its implications for Aotearoa New Zealand).

Residing within the far right is fascism. Considering Trump and some of his cabinet members and key staff to be fascists is a very reasonable conclusion to draw.

One of the characteristics of many fascists is narcissism; a personality disorder recognised as a mental health condition; an excessive preoccupation with oneself and one’s own needs, often at the expense of others.

Blend narcissism and fascism (or even wider far right beliefs) together and you have an absence of empathy and indifference to harmful consequences of their actions on others.

Even intelligent people within this subset find their narrow paradigms shut out to consideration of the tactical and strategic errors (“own goals”) that might arise out of their decision-making.

Recommended reading and watching
There has been much public commentary on the violent assault on Venezuela and the kidnapping/abduction of its president and First Lady. Three have stood out for me.

British journalist Owen Jones . . . lively empirically based passion on Trump’s chaos. Image: Battlelines

One is British leftwing journalist, commentator, author and activist Owen Jones. He speaks with lively empirically based passion. In his Battlelines publication (Substack, January 4) he didn’t pull his punches about global anarchy.

The second commentary digs deep. It is a 31-minute interview by Venezuelanalysis (January 4) with Caracas based analysts Steve Ellner and Ricardo Vaz: Venezuela: Trump’s war for oil and domination is a war crime.

I strongly recommend watching it. In addition to the military violence and abduction, they address Trump’s declaration that Washington will take control of Venezuela’s oil and effectively run the country, warning that the operation constitutes an unlawful use of force.

[embedded content]
Venezuela: Trump’s war for oil.

They also refer to the extrajudicial killings on Venezuelan fishing boats at sea as violations of international law and Venezuelan sovereignty.

The third is a recommended read of an online article (January 6) by Helen Yaffe, professor of Latin American political economy (Glasgow University): What is the US doing in Venezuela.

As well as describing the dramatic events, Dr Yaffe puts them in both their historical and current political contexts.

The absurd: Maduro’s machine gun
Trump’s justifications range from the absurd to the manufactured to the overstated. But one justification is absolutely on the mark. His narcissism is ironically beneficial at least from the perspective of analysis.

In openly exposing that that this is all about naked power Trump and his coterie don’t care that he can be easily caught out over fabrication and inconsistencies. If one believes that they are all-powerful, why should they care.

The absurd justification for the legal case against Nicolás Maduro is that he had a machine gun in his possession.

Putting aside the fact that the risk of what might happen (foreign military abduction) did actually occur, arguing this in a country where machine guns are easily and lawfully accessible — really.

The manufactured: narcotrafficking
The biggest fabrication, arguably exceeded the US government’s false “weapons of mass destruction” claim used to justify the disastrous invasion of Iraq over two decades ago, was to blame Venezuela, Maduro in particular, for the US fentanyl epidemic.

It even called it a “weapon of mass destruction”.

Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores . . . victims of fabricated accusations. Image: Wikimedia Commons

Consider the following facts that completely discredit Trump’s fabrication:

In its March 2025 report the US State Department identified Mexico as the sole source of fentanyl entering the United States. United Nations investigations into fentanyl distribution also don’t identify Venezuela as a producer, let alone a supplier.
Trump claims that Maduro leads a so-called Venezuelan “Cartel of the Suns” that traffics narcotics, including fentanyl, into the US. In fact, this is a politically manufactured fantasy. There is no such organisation as has just been acknowledged in the last few days by the US Department of Justice.
In 2024, Honduran ex-president Juan Orlando Hernández was convicted in a US court and sentenced to 45 years for conspiring to smuggle over 400 tons of cocaine into the US. Last November, Trump pardoned this narcotrafficker.

The overstated: oil
Many believe that the US invasion is all or primarily about oil. Certainly Trump’s own words and actions encourage this belief. After all, Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves.

However, since Trump’s sanctions targeting its oil sector back in 2017, Venezuela’s exports to the US have plummeted. Instead, China has become its biggest importer.

Last November, Trump released a US National Security Strategy for Latin America. It declared that “Restoring American energy dominance (in oil, gas, coal, and nuclear) and reshoring the necessary key energy components is a top strategic priority”.

However, while important, oil profiteering is not the prime driver of the US assault on Venezuelan sovereignty. Although Venezuela has huge oil reserves, it is heavy oil which is more difficult to fully process.

Instead, its oil reserves are a consequence of a wider geopolitical agenda sometimes called “spheres of influence”. While intricately linked, US oil sanctions are more a weapon than a driver of the imperialist assault on Venezuela.

(Original Caption) 1912-Painting by Clyde De Land of the birth of the Monroe Doctrine, (1823). (L TO R): John Irving Adams; William Harris Crawford; William Wirt; President James Monroe; John Caldwell Calhoun; Daniel D. Tompkins; and John McLean.

” data-medium-file=”https://politicalbytes.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/james-munroe-and-munroe-doctrince-getty-images.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://politicalbytes.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/james-munroe-and-munroe-doctrince-getty-images.jpg?w=612″/>

President James Munroe and Munroe Doctrine . . . Trump is reinventing the Doctrine to extend US colonial power throughout the Americas. Image: politicalbytes.blog

The on the mark justification
Where the United States’ justification was on the mark comes from Donald Trump’s above-mentioned praise for the first “American imperialist president” William McKinley.

Consistent with this praise, through misrepresentation, Trump has drawn upon what is known as the “Munroe Doctrine”.

This Doctrine was named after President James Monroe who was the fifth US president (1817-1825). Munroe was both an original Founding Father of US independence and the last Founding Father to serve as president.

The Munroe Doctrine was issued in 1823, less than 50 years after US independence was declared and 34 years before its constitution was approved. It was a young developing country; not that long ago itself comprising 13 different British colonies.

The Doctrine was a policy of limiting European colonialism in the Americas but not to replace it with American colonialisation because it lacked both the inclination and means to achieve this. It was more aligned in principle with non-colonial states in the region.

However, Trump is reinventing the Doctrine to extend US colonial power throughout the Americas. This is what the National Security Strategy is all about.

The attack on Venezuela is an endeavour — among other things — to:

impose US hegemony in Latin America;
exploit Venezuela’s natural resources (oil, gas, critical minerals, and rare earth elements) as part of an attempt to build a new supply chain in the Western Hemisphere;
cut off Latin America’s ties with other countries, particularly its biggest competitor China;
threaten other leftwing or progressive governments in the continent;
destroy the project of regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean; and
sabotage “Global South” unity over supporting Palestine and other liberation struggles.

Where to next?
I have deliberately not discussed related issues such as the nature of the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela along with the longstanding United States hostility towards it beginning in the latter part of Bill Clinton’s presidency, and the entrenched and violent far right opposition to it.

I have also not discussed the impact of the sudden drop in oil prices in 2014, the impact of accelerating US economic warfare (sanctions) since 2015, and the controversy over last year’s presidential elections.

As an aside these elections in my view were imperfect but legitimate. Further, Trump has been explicit — he isn’t interested in “restoring democracy” or “democratic transition”; nor does he rate the alternative Venezuelan far right led by Maria Corina Machado stating that she didn’t have the support to run the country.

These exclusions are because I don’t want to distract from the greater priority being regional and global seriousness of the US’s military aggression (including abductions) towards the sovereignty of Venezuela and its people.

The US aggression is part of a wider plan to extend US domination across the Americas and beyond, consistent with its above-mentioned National Security Strategy which, in turn, is based on a misrepresentation of the anti-colonial 1823 Munroe Doctrine.

Even Greenland is on Trump’s takeover list. Image: politicalbytes.blog/The Guardian

Trump has explicitly signalled Cuba, Mexico, and Columbia as the next likely targets. Brazil and Uruguay can’t be ignored either. Even Greenland is expressly on his list.

Quite simply, the sovereignty of most Latin American and other more vulnerable countries that don’t comply with the US’s narcissistic far right — including fascist — leadership’s agenda are at risk.

What about New Zealand?
New Zealand is in a difficult position. The government’s public response has been underwhelming although not as bad as the sycophantic United Kingdom government.

Prime Minister Luxon’s response to US Venezuelan invasion and illegal abductions. Image: politicalbytes.blog/Hubbard,/The Post)

Luxon’s government, with Winston Peters as foreign minister, has been slowly weaning New Zealand away from its international neutrality position to one increasingly closer to that of the United States.

The extensive exposure of this blatant and violent US display of power-grabbing makes public justifying this policy shift much more difficult.

Robert Patman, professor of international relations at Otago University discusses this in The Conversation (January 5): NZ faces a foreign policy reckoning.

Much more direct is Bryce Edwards’ piece published by the Democracy Project and Asia Pacific Report (January 7): NZ’s craven stance on the US invasion of Venezuela.

As the narcissism of fascism and the far right continues to push the parameters of their power, an already unsafe world is becoming increasingly more dangerous and our government’s response suggests increasing sycophantic timidity.

Ian Powell is a progressive health, labour market and political “no-frills” forensic commentator in New Zealand. A former senior doctors union leader for more than 30 years, he blogs at Second Opinion and Political Bytes, where this article was first published. Republished with the author’s permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

As the Arctic warms up, the race to control the region is growing ever hotter

By The Conversation -

January 10, 2026

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Klaus Dodds, Interim Dean, Faculty of Science & Technology, Middlesex University

Donald Trump and his senior officials insist that Greenland must become part of the US. This is for national security purposes, they say, maintaining that Denmark, of which Greenland is a constituent part, is not investing enough in defending the strategically vital region beyond – as the US president put it – adding “one more dog sled”.

The 1951 defence agreement between Denmark and the US is likely to be the first casualty of any hostile American takeover, since article 2 of that agreement recognises explicit Danish sovereignty over Greenland.

Framing this dispute as an issue of security ignores the fact that for the past 70 years, the US military has largely had a free hand in how it uses its military facilities in the northwest of Greenland to conduct strategic space and hemispheric defence – without interference from Copenhagen.

But America’s 2025 national security strategy, released last November, speaks of establishing US dominance in the western hemisphere, including Greenland. It shifts attention away from great power competition to a world shaped decisively by the interests and wishes of “larger, richer and stronger nations”.

If spheres of influence and domination are back in vogue, then smaller economies including Denmark and even Canada come under direct threat. Whether faced with dismemberment or incorporation into the US, the prospects are deeply concerning.

But the current dramas affecting the Arctic region cannot be blamed entirely on Trump. Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has played his part too. Approaching the fourth anniversary of his country’s invasion of Ukraine, it is not hard to discern how a costly conflict in one part of Europe has had direct implications for other northern European territories.

Soon after Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the intergovernmental Arctic Council was suspended because seven out out of the eight Arctic states (Canada, Denmark-Greenland, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the US) decided they could no longer work with the largest Arctic state, Russia.

The Arctic Council was widely regarded as the centrepiece of what a circumpolar Arctic could achieve, working hard to construct key issues such as environmental protection, sustainable development and scientific collaboration. While the Arctic states could freely diverge from one another on non-Arctic matters, there was a superstructure of working groups and taskforces that generated notable scientific and technical reports, alongside the Arctic Economic Council.

Ukraine shattered all of that. Finland and Sweden joined Nato in 2023. Russia pivoted towards China and India, a shift that started after the first round of sanctions following its illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.

The Arctic has fragmented into Russo-Asian and Euro-American segments. Western scientists are no longer able to access and work with Russian scientists, and circumpolar collaboration is suspended.

Some bilateral cooperation remains between countries such as Norway and Russia over areas of mutual interest, including managed fisheries in the Barents Sea and search and rescue. But high-level political engagement is now impossible.

Vector map of the Arctic — Contested: the Arctic is increasingly seen as a potential area of conflict as the competition for great power status between Russia, China and the US develops.
Dimitrios Karamitros/Shutterstock

Russia is instead likely to keep exploring ways of engaging with its Brics-plus group of partners including China, India, UAE and Saudi Arabia – both through direct economic trade, and in scientific projects in Svalbard and the vast Russian north.

Even if there is a peace settlement involving Ukraine, a return to normality seems impossible given the gravity of Russian operations in areas such as critical infrastructure sabotage, shadow fleet operations, and disinformation. Russia is engaged in risky and provocative behaviour, designed to be both disorientating and costly to its recipients.

It is no exaggeration to say that Europe’s Arctic states – and their close allies including the UK, Estonia and Poland – are now part of an arc of crisis that stretches from Svalbard and the High North of Europe to the Baltic Sea region and Ukraine. The long-held idea of the Arctic being a zone of peace and cooperation is an illusion.

Trump, Putin and the new great game

The US president wants Greenland – and expects to get it. There might be a strong element of ego-politics rather than geopolitics to this quest. Making America great again appears (in Trump’s eyes) to involve making it larger – and grabbing resources is part and parcel of that ambition.

Greenland’s resource potential has been repeatedly cited – as has the enhanced shipping activity of China and Russia, which has elevated concerns that US national security might be jeopardised.

2026 could see a slew of annexation and territorial swaps. For example, Trump takes Greenland while Putin takes the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. After all, neither leader is terribly invested in international treaties and organisations.

A cynical deal could also be done to allow Putin to have his way with Ukraine. The ground would thus be prepared for a new world order in which Putin, China’s president Xi Jinping and Trump all have their spheres of domination, not just influence.

A smaller group of regional superpowers might also be granted their own spheres, with Middle East-based countries looming large in that accommodation alongside the other global superpower, India. The idea might be that a new group of ten-or-so countries would create their new standard operating procedures. Venezuela was just the start, in other words.

What all of this would mean for the Arctic region, if it came to pass, is multifaceted. But above all, European Arctic states would no longer have any security guarantees from the US.

Difficult choices

Whatever happens, the 1951 defence agreement is a cold war relic that did not protect Denmark from great power overreach. The US stationed nuclear-armed bombers in Greenland in the late 1950s without bothering to consult Copenhagen.

Nato unity has now been jeopardised, and Norway and the UK face some difficult choices. Norway needs the US (and Russia) to respect its sovereignty over Svalbard, and it needs the US not to abandon the Nato article 5 commitment to collective defence. Meanwhile, as the UK and Norway work closely on North Atlantic anti-submarine defence, they need to focus on deterring Russia, rather than having to deter a hostile US as well.

American dominance and Russian belligerence are clearly taking their toll – at a time when the warming of the Arctic is having increasingly adverse effects on local and regional ecologies, and Indigenous and other communities in the far north. The Arctic is melting, thawing and becoming more flammable – and geopolitical fuel is being added to the fire.

Klaus Dodds does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. He is the coauthor of Unfrozen: The Fight for the Future of the Arctic.

– ref. As the Arctic warms up, the race to control the region is growing ever hotter – https://theconversation.com/as-the-arctic-warms-up-the-race-to-control-the-region-is-growing-ever-hotter-273118

Four ways to understand what’s going on with the US, Denmark and Greenland

By The Conversation -

January 10, 2026

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Manners, Professor, Department of Political Science, Lund University

European countries, and Denmark in particular, are scrambling to respond to threats from US officials over the future of Greenland.

Having successfully taken out the leadership of Venezuela in a raid on January 3, an emboldened US government is talking about simply taking Greenland for itself.

Various European leaders have expressed their concern but haven’t been able to formulate a coherent response to the betrayal by a supposed ally.

Since the September 11 attacks in 2001, Danish governments have willingly participated in US-led invasions of Afghanistan (2001-2021) and Iraq (2003-2007). The rightward movement across the Danish political spectrum had led to Denmark rejecting some Nordic and EU cooperation in favour of pro-US transatlanticism.

However, the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine led to a rethink of Danish foreign policy. The country joined the EU’s common security and defence policy and tightened cooperation with recent Nato members Finland and Sweden.

And when Trump came to power for the second time, the chaotic rightward swing of US foreign policy left Denmark reaching out for support from its EU colleagues over the challenge to Greenland.

While a member of the European Union, Denmark has placed itself at the bloc’s periphery since copying the UK in opting out of the euro and from cooperation in justice and home affairs. But any US invasion of Greenland is likely to break Denmark’s fixed exchange rate policy with the euro (and before that the deutschmark) that has been in place since 1982. So there are economic implications as well as territorial.

The fallout from the US’s threats, and certainly any US intervention in Greenland, go much further than Denmark. While the EU tried to stay in step with the US in its support of Ukraine during Joe Biden’s presidency, since the re-election of Trump, EU member states have very much fallen out with the US. During 2025, the US and EU clashed over trade and tariffs, social media regulation, environment and agriculture policies.

But the latest developments demonstrate that Trump’s US can no longer be trusted as a long-term ally – to Greenland and Denmark, the EU and Europe.

This is a crisis engulfing many countries and triggered by many drivers. In order to understand this complex situation, we can use four different analytical approaches from academic thinking. These can help us contextualise not just the Greenland case, but also the emerging multipolar world of “might makes right”.

1. Realism

Currently the most popular approach comes from within the conservative tradition of “realism”. This predicts every state will act in their own national interest.

In this framing, Trump’s actions are part of the emergence of a multipolar world, in which the great powers are the US, China, India and Russia. In this world, it makes sense for Russia to invade Ukraine to counter the US, for the US to seize assets in Venezuela and Greenland to counter China, and for China to invade Taiwan to counter the US.

2. The new elites

Many think that to understand the events of the past few years, including Trump’s return and Vladimir Putin’s foreign policies, you need to look beyond conservative or liberal explanations to seek out who holds power and influence in the global superpowers. That means the wealthy families, corporations and oligarchs who exert control over the politics of the ruling elite through media and campaign power and finance.

In the cases of Venezuela and Greenland there are two factors at work – the US rejection of the rule of law and the desire for personal wealth via energy resources. But the timing is also important. The operation in Venezuela has been the only story to eclipse the Epstein files in the news in many months.

3. The decline of the liberal order

Many academic explanations see these recent events in the context of the decline of a “liberal order” dominated by the US, Europe, the “developed world” and the UN. In this view, the actions of Putin and Trump are seen as the last days of international law, the importance of the UN, and what western nations see as a system based on multilateralism.

However, this approach tends to overlook the continued dominance of the global north in these systems. The lack of support for the US and EU’s defence of Ukraine has been repeatedly demonstrated in the unwillingness of many global south countries, including China and India, to condemn the Russian invasion in the UN general assembly. It would be interesting to see how such voting would play out if it related to a US invasion of Greenland.

4. The planetary approach

The final – and most important – view is found in the planetary politics approach. This approach is based on the simple observation that so many planetary crises, such as global heating, mass extinctions of wildlife, climate refugees, rising autocracy and the return of international conflict are deeply interrelated and so can only be understood when considered together.

From this perspective it is Greenland’s sustainability and Greenlanders’ lives that must shape the understanding of Denmark’s and other European responses to Trump’s claims. It is through acknowledging the deep relationship that indigenous people have to their ecology that solutions can be found.

And Greenlanders have already expressed their vision for the future. Living on the frontline of the climate crisis, they want an economy built on resilience – not on ego-driven political drama.

While it’s quick and easy to to judge the events in Venezuela or Greenland in terms of the daily news cycle, the four perspectives set out here force people to think for themselves how best to understand complex international crises.

There is, however, a final observation to emphasise. Only one of these perspectives is likely to bring any way of thinking ourselves out of our planetary political crisis.

Ian Manners has received funding from EU Horizon Europe, Independent Research Fund Denmark, and Riksbankens Jubileumsfond.

– ref. Four ways to understand what’s going on with the US, Denmark and Greenland – https://theconversation.com/four-ways-to-understand-whats-going-on-with-the-us-denmark-and-greenland-272873

As authors abandon Adelaide Writers’ Week after cancelling of Randa Abdel-Fattah, is free speech in tatters?

By The Conversation -

January 10, 2026

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne

The decision by the Adelaide Festival Board to exclude Palestinian Australian author and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah from Adelaide Writers’ Week on the grounds of “cultural sensitivity” is based on a dangerously broad and vague criterion for suppressing free speech.

The board appears to have overruled Writer’s Week director Louise Adler to remove Abdel-Fattah from the program, arguing it would not be culturally sensitive to include her so soon after the Bondi terror attacks, due to her “past statements”.

In response, more than 30 leading authors have withdrawn from Writer’s Week, which begins on February 28.

They include international headliners such as novelist and essayist Zadie Smith and Greece’s Yanis Varoufakis, Miles Franklin award-winning authors Michelle de Kretser and Melissa Lucashenko, and Australian Society of Authors chair Jennifer Mills, who called the decision “completely unacceptable”.

The board yesterday issued a statement setting the decision against the background of the Bondi terrorist atrocity of 14 December 2025, invoking what it calls “the current national community context” and what it sees at the festival’s role in “promoting social cohesion”:

Whilst we do not suggest in any way that Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah’s [sic] or her writings have any connection with the tragedy at Bondi, given her past statements we have formed the view that it would not be culturally sensitive to continue to program her at this unprecedented time so soon after Bondi.

So the board’s position is that neither Abdel-Fattah’s writing nor Abdel-Fattah herself have anything to do with the Bondi atrocity. But because of some unspecified “past statements”, she is to be excluded in the interests of social cohesion and some vague notion called the “national community context”.

This decision goes far beyond the established standards embodied in the Racial Discrimination Act, which makes it an offence to “offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate” people because of their race.

It also goes far beyond the ordinary liberal standard articulated in John Stuart Mill’s harm principle: that the right to free speech ends at the point where it does harm to others.

Whose voice is entitled to be heard?

In a statement, Abdel-Fattah accused the festival board of “blatant and shameless” anti-Palestinian racism and censorship. She said the board’s attempt to associate her with the Bondi massacre was “despicable”.

The Board’s reasoning suggests that my mere presence is ‘culturally insensitive’; that I, a Palestinian who had nothing to do with the Bondi atrocity, am somehow a trigger for those in mourning and that I should therefore be persona non grata in cultural circles because my very presence as a Palestinian is threatening and ‘unsafe’.

Abdel-Fattah was to speak about her novel Discipline. It deals in part with a burning issue in media ethics: who is entitled to tell the story? Whose voice is entitled to be heard?

This issue, of particular salience in the coverage of the Gaza genocide, was the subject of the 2024 A.N. Smith lecture in journalism at the University of Melbourne given by the former ABC journalist and now, Guardian podcast host, Nour Haydar.

So Abdel-Fattah’s silencing robs not just the general community but other writers and journalists of an opportunity to reflect on a profoundly complex question.

Nor do the free-speech implications of the festival board’s actions stop there. The board says it has established a sub-committee to “guide” the writers’ festival’s decision-making and that this will include engagement with “government agencies” and “external experts”.

The risks to free speech are obvious.

The decision is also a clear repudiation of the approach taken by Louise Adler, who has previously stood up for the right of Palestinian authors to be heard at the festival. In 2023, three Ukrainian writers and a major sponsor withdrew over the inclusion of two Palestinian authors, who had in different ways likened the state of Israel to Nazism. Adler vowed then not to be dissuaded from creating space for “courageous” discussions of literature and opposing views.

Against that history, it is difficult to believe that Adler would have concurred with the board’s decision to exclude Abdel-Fattah. Approached for her perspective on the events, Adler declined to comment.

Swift and devastating

The reaction from the artistic community has been swift and, for the festival, devastating. The Australia Institute and independent publisher Pink Shorts Press have withdrawn all of their participants. Among more than 30 local authors to have pulled out are poet Evelyn Araluen, novelist Jane Caro, and historians Clare Wright and Peter FitzSimons.

Also among the authors to withdraw is Peter Greste who, as a former prisoner of the Egyptian government for the crime of being a journalist, knows exactly where this kind of oppression leads. “We do not help social cohesion by silencing voices,” he posted on X.

“To be clear, I do not agree with everything Randa says. […] But I also believe that now is the time we should be having difficult conversations,” Greste told The Conversation via email.

At the time of writing, this message had been posted on the Writers’ Week website:

In respect of the wishes of the writers who have recently indicated their withdrawal from the Writers’ Week 2026 program we have temporarily unpublished the list of participants and events while we work through changes to the website.

An extraordinary aspect of this case is that the festival board seems not to have learnt from the experience of other arts bodies on the question of Gaza. Nor has it absorbed the lessons of principle they taught.

Last August, the Bendigo Writers’ Festival was gutted when around 50 writers withdrew over the last-minute issuing of a code of conduct. Among other things, the code required participants to “avoid language or topics that could be considered inflammatory, divisive or disrespectful”.

And in July 2025, Australia’s premier arts funding body, Creative Australia, backflipped on a decision to remove the artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino as Australia’s representatives at this year’s Venice Biennale.

Once again, there was outrage in the artistic community about what was seen as an attack on free speech. This led to a review. It found that, rather than Sabsabi’s work being contentious, the issue was the fact that he was of Middle Eastern background “at a time when conflict in that region was so emotive and polarising”.

Ironically, given the present case, it was Louise Adler who drew attention then to the need for arts bodies to be aware of the political environment in which they operated and to provide risk assessments to their “increasingly risk-averse boards”.

The Adelaide Festival Board is chaired by marketing executive Tracy Whiting AM. It includes journalist and communications strategist Daniela Ritorto and the managing director of Adelaide Airport, Brenton Cox, but no artists.

A South Australian government spokesperson told the ABC SA Premier Peter Malinauskas supported the board’s decision.

There are many lessons here. Free speech should be protected up to the point where it does unjustifiable harm. The arts, along with the media, are the prime means by which the right of free speech is made real. And these institutions have an obligation to stand firm in the face of objections from sectional interests.

Finally, on the issue of social cohesion it might be observed that in the black horror of the terrorists’ assault at Bondi, one gleam of light shone through. His name is Ahmed al-Ahmed.

Denis Muller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. As authors abandon Adelaide Writers’ Week after cancelling of Randa Abdel-Fattah, is free speech in tatters? – https://theconversation.com/as-authors-abandon-adelaide-writers-week-after-cancelling-of-randa-abdel-fattah-is-free-speech-in-tatters-273020

Black Cap debutant overcome by cricket-mad India

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

Central Districts spin bowler Jayden Lennox. PHOTOSPORT

Central Districts bowler Jayden Lennox admits to a sensory overload after arriving in India with hopes of playing his first full international for New Zealand.

The left arm spinner is a part of the Black Caps ODI squad that opens their three match series against India in Vadodara on Sunday night.

Thirty-one-old Lennox, who debuted for Central in 2021, said arriving in cricket-mad India was something special.

“Getting in at 2am and there being people outside the hotel waiting for your arrival is pretty intimidating when you come from Hawke’s Bay where there are not many people around ever,” Lennox said.

“So I suppose it has been a frenetic entry to the international scene and seeing how frantic the whole thing is is quite an overload for the senses.”

Lennox has been on New Zealand Cricket’s radar for a couple of years and played for New Zealand A last year.

He is hoping to get some game time in a country that is known for its slow bowling conditions.

“For someone like me that is passionate about spin bowling to come to India and potentially debut is exciting.

“This sits at the top of the ledger for venues to come to and being fully immersed in a place like this is special.

“The general buzz of cricket in India is something special to be a part of.” he said.

Lennox said the main focus for him so far had been to back what he does and what has made him successful.

He said his game plan is simple.

“My success has come from consistently putting performances on the park, not necessarily continuous match-winning performances but contributing throughout seasons and working towards winning trophies. That’s what I pride myself on.”

If selected to play Lennox will take the field at the new Baroda Cricket Stadium in front of a sell-out 40,000 fans.

“Knowing that everything single seat is going to have someone sitting in it yelling at you is pretty daunting.

“But that is the part of the experience of being here living the atmosphere and getting the chance to have a crack in front of 40,000 people.”

Following the ODI series the Black Caps and India will play five T20 internationals before the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka and India in February.

Blacks Caps ODI schedule in India

1st ODI 9pm Sunday 11 Jan, Vadodara

2nd ODI 9pm Wednesday 14 Jan, Rajkot

3rd ODI 9pm Sunday 18 Jan, Indore

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Mandy Boyd becomes only third woman to win 10 national titles

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

Christchurch bowler Mandy Boyd. PHOTOSPORT

Christchurch bowler Mandy Boyd has joined an exclusive club, winning the women’s singles at the National Lawn Bowls Championship to claim her 10th national title.

Competing on her home turf of Elmwood Park, Boyd proved too strong for Leanne Poulson of Takapuna, winning 21-16 in a final that went down to the wire.

The victory marks Boyd’s first national singles title and caps off a stellar week in which she also won the women’s pairs alongside Kirsten Edwards.

The 34-year-old now boasts 10 national titles, made up of one singles, three pairs, and six fours titles.

“I’ve lost two national singles finals in the past so it’s nice to finally win one,” Boyd said.

“To find some form in the singles has been awesome, it’s been a great week and it’s an amazing way to get to title number ten.”

The win means Boyd joins Millie Khan and Cis Winstanley as one of only three Kiwi women to win 10 or more national titles.

The final of the men’s pairs brothers Ethan and Hamish Kelleher (Halswell) beat Gary Lawson (Elmwood Park) and Tony Grantham (Mt Albert) 15-14.

Darron Wolland (Balcutha) beat Jono Radka (Papanui) 21-2 in the Open Disability Singles.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Homicide inquiry begins after man fatally shot in south Auckland

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

AFP / Andri Tambunan

Police have launched a homicide investigation following the death of a man in the south Auckland suburb of Manurewa.

Emergency services were called to Balfour Road around 11.10pm on Friday after reports that a man had been shot.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Cordons remain in place, while police conduct a scene examination at the address.

A postmortem examination will take place tomorrow.

Residents of the area can expect to see an increased police presence as they make enquiries.

Police believe there is no ongoing risk to the public.

Anyone with information on the incident can contact police on the number 105, and can quote reference 260109/6338.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Pod of whales restrands at Farewell Spit

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

Volunteers working at Farewell Spit to try and keep the whales cool before they refloated on the high tide. Supplied / Project Jonah

The pod of 15 beached whales which were refloated at Farewell Spit, has restranded overnight.

More than 50 stranded in two locations in Golden Bay on Thursday and at least six have died.

Conservation group Project Jonah says the whales have now beached for a third time and are starting to show signs of fatigue.

It says people with wetsuits wanting to help are welcome, but it will limit the number of volunteers so as not to stress the whales.

Last night a Project Jonah spokesperson said 15 of the stranded whales were swimming freely in the bay.

The spokesperson said the remaining whales are still in the tidal zone, but are showing signs of encouraging behaviour.

The Department of Conservation which is also assisting at the site of the latest stranding said Farewell Spit, where whales frequently strand at the top of the South Island, “is a naturally occurring “whale trap” that occurs along a migratory route for long-finned pilot whales in New Zealand”.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Body found in Christchurch red zone

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

123RF

Police are investigating after a body was found in Christchurch’s red zone.

Emergency services were called to Dunair Drive in the suburb of Burwood just after 6pm on Friday.

Google Maps

The death is being treated as unexplained.

Cordons are in place between Brooker Ave and New Brighton Road.

Members of the public can expect to see a police presence as the scene is investigated, a spokesperson said.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Transporting NZ warns of ‘double-dipping’ motorists with tolls on existing roads

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

The bill also sought to restrict heavy vehicles from driving alternative routes that could avoid tolled sections. Supplied via LDR

The road freight industry says a proposal to add tolls to existing roads is “double-dipping” motorists for work already paid for through taxes and road-user charges.

Submissions closed this week on the government’s Land Transport (Revenue) Amendment Bill, which would allow tolls to be charged on existing roads, where there may be a benefit from newer projects in the same corridor.

Transporting New Zealand chief executive Dom Kalasih said the public was unlikely to support the move during the cost-of-living crisis.

“A tolled road should be tolled because it provides a benefit,” Kalasih said. “If you are tolling the whole network, then everyone’s paying, rather than just those that are benefiting from the new road.”

The bill also sought to restrict heavy vehicles from driving alternative routes that could avoid tolled sections.

“Operators and drivers are in the best position to decide what route to take,” Kalasih said. “There are legitimate reasons why an alternative route may be the better fit for a particular job, including fuel use, gradient, rest and refreshment facilities, and route efficiency.”

He said Transmission Gully – north of Wellington – was a route that drivers chose to use, despite the steepness of the route incurring greater fuel costs.

“They are still using it, because it has other benefits over [alternative route] State Highway 59. It’s easier, it’s safer, it’s marginally faster.

“The government shouldn’t have to say ‘all trucks must use only this route’. If that is the best solution the market should determine that.”

He said exceptions to the rule – for deliveries or access to premises along the restricted routes – would also be difficult to enforce and would likely adversely impact “bona fide” users.

“Chances are how it would work is the police would give an infringement notice, and then that truck or their operator would have to defend it, if they had been there for bona fide reasons. We think that’s an unnecessary compliance cost and it could be avoided.”

However Kalasih said the group was in favour of the bill’s road-user charges modernisation elements, which included changes enabling greater use of technology, more flexible payment options and the removal of the requirement to display a RUC label.

“These RUC changes will reduce unnecessary administration and compliance costs for transport operators and motorists, and support the transition toward a universal RUC system over time,” he said.

“Moving from petrol excise duty being collected at the pump to universal RUC is a good idea, because the way income from petrol excise duty is being collected and the way the fleet is changing means that side of revenue is falling. Demand for petrol use is reducing.

“There’s actually not a great correlation between petrol use and the road cost, whereas the road user charges system – in that cost allocation model – that’s got a much stronger correlation.

“It’s better to capture it through the road-user charges system than through petrol tax.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

From CVs to interviews: How to job hunt in a tough employment market

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellingtonian Annalese Booker sometimes spends up to 12 hours on a single job application, in the hopes of standing out in a tough market.

She took voluntary redundancy in 2024 after nearly a decade at the same organisation. She planned to sample different industries through contract work before settling into a permanent role. In hindsight, she feels she chose the worst possible time.

New Zealand’s unemployment rate has risen to 5.3 percent, according to Stats NZ, with nearly 15 percent of unemployed people out of work for more than a year.

Annalese Booker is a senior marketing leader.

Supplied / Annalese Booker

. Jared Luff, general manager of The Recruitment Network, says summer event roles that once absorbed young job seekers have largely dried up over the past two years.

His agency, which covers roles from “paddock to plate”, now receives about 500 applications a day. Career Development Association of New Zealand executive director Jennie Miller likens it to the influx seen during the Covid-19 pandemic, when dozens of applicants quickly became hundreds.

Is now a good time to apply?

It depends on the role. Luff says summer can still offer opportunities in aged care, health and hospitality as permanent staff take leave, while education-related work often slows or shuts down.

The Recruitment Network general manager Jared Luff.

Supplied

For short-term or entry-level roles, applying late in the year can pay off. For senior or long-term positions, Luff advises applying early, as recruiters often shortlist candidates as soon as they return from leave.

What makes a strong CV and cover letter?

Miller says the process starts well before writing a CV. Job seekers need to be clear on their needs and goals (what level of preparedness are you at, what have you already tried, what do you like doing and who might pay you for it, what is your financial position) — and target roles accordingly.

CV consultant Sarah Wrightson, who has helped Booker in her job search, recommends keeping it simple, relevant and results-focused. Two pages is ideal for most roles; one page is fine for those starting out. Recent achievements should be written clearly in bullet points. Volunteering and courses can add value.

Sarah Wrightson runs a Waikato-based service helping job-seekers tailor their profiles and prepare them for job interviews.

Ryan’s Daughter Photography by Kate Ryan

If a recruiter can’t find the information they need within 30 seconds, they’ll probably move on, Wrightson says. So structure is important: Start with a short profile, move into your skills, work history, qualifications and end with referees (these should be chosen for their insight into you – not just seniority).

Many employers use automated Applicant Tracking Systems so use keywords from the job listing, include clear headings instead of creative ones like ‘my journey’, and save your file as a Word or PDF file.

Cover letters should be brief and personal, Wrightson adds, and never repeat the CV. Miller advises cutting generic openings and addressing the letter to a named recruiter where possible.

“You get about seven seconds with the eyes of a recruiter, apparently. You’ve got to really be personal and relevant.”

Should you pay for professional help?

Miller says paid career support can be worthwhile for people feeling stuck. A 2014 US meta-analysis found job search interventions helped people find work more than twice as fast.

Luff says professional help is usually unnecessary for lower-skilled roles but can be useful for senior or executive positions.

Wrightson, who turned her Waikato-based service into a full-time job after being made redundant herself, says most clients either undersell themselves or overcomplicate their experience.

“My job is to pull out the gold, the good stuff, the gold nuggets. So like the results, the stories and put it in a language that employers can understand.”

How important is LinkedIn?

Being active on LinkedIn can show you’re serious about getting a job, Sarah Wrightson says. (file image)

Unsplash / Souvik Banerjee

Wrightson describes it as a “digital elevator pitch” that shows your voice, values and network.

A half-finished profile can signal a lack of seriousness in searching for a job, she says. Focus on your headline, ‘about you’ section and try to comment or make posts every now and then to show you’re active.

Luff says LinkedIn can be used to cross-check experience, particularly for senior roles.

Is it okay to use AI?

Booker uses AI to research industries and refine her writing.

Wrightson says you can use AI to help, but “write for humans”. “Once it gets past the system, a real person is still going to want to like what they see and you want to make it easy for them to quickly see that you are a strong match for the job.”

Miller notes employers can usually spot AI use and extensive use can throw doubt on your CV.

Is applying online enough?

Not always. Networking, while it may be uncomfortable, can make a difference. That might mean attending events, reaching out on LinkedIn, or requesting informational interviews to learn about organisations without immediately pitching for a role. Miller says these conversations can and do lead to jobs – as she’s tried it herself.

If you’re looking local, drive around your neighbourhood to give you an idea.

Booker has even tried “left-field” approaches such as sending small gifts with links to her online profile. While these sometimes sparked conversations, she believes referrals were most effective — though increasingly competitive.

On the other hand, Luff believes the jobs his agency caters for would be mostly filled through the standard process but occasionally referrals may work.

I’ve got an interview – what now?

Attitude and preparation are key for job interviews. (file image)

Unsplash / Getty Images

Luff says personality can matter more than experience in junior hospitality roles.

Wrightson advises revisiting the job ad, preparing examples, practising answers out loud, and dressing one step up from usual workwear

“Interviews are a two-way conversation. They’re not an interrogation. So you’re also trying to figure out if they are the right fit for you.”

Candidates should avoid oversharing about toxic workplaces, Luff warns, but can be open about redundancies. Salary negotiation depends on experience, though going more than 10 percent above an offer may be unrealistic.

If you don’t hear back, Luff recommends waiting at least a week before following up.

Coping with rejection

Repeated rejection can be demoralising, particularly after redundancy. Wrightson stresses the importance of being kind to yourself.

Miller agrees it’s hard but says the process can ultimately lead to a better-fit role.

For Booker, short-term contracts have helped her see how transferable her skills are – even if the process has been exhausting.

“It’s an emotional rollercoaster looking for work and sometimes you sort of have regrets that you left what you had,” she says. “It’s just finding those opportunities more often when, again, you’re up against a really competitive market, and will next year be any different?”

*Get personalised career advice via 0800 222 733 or email direct_careers@msd.govt.nz. University students and graduates can also access career development services through their institutions, sometimes for up to three years after graduating.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

2026 sporting bucket list – the year’s biggest events

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

Argentina celebrate their 2022 FIFA World Cup success. KEITA IIJIMA / AFP

As another year draws to a close, it’s time to look forward to the major sporting events of the coming year.

For many, the highlight will be the FIFA Football World Cup, held every four years, after a seemingly never-ending qualification process

More than 200 teams began that long road to the expanded tournament, which will run over more than a month and consist of 104 games, up from 64 four years ago.

We’ve gathered some of the year’s other marquee international events, along with the most anticipated local events.

Mark them on your calendars now.

January

PDC World Darts Championship 11 December-3 January Alexandra Palace, London

Even if you struggle with darts as a legitimate sport, you can’t help but be impressed by the passion shown by the 3000 mostly drunken and costumed fans cramming into the famed ‘Ally Pally’ every year.

The pub pastime has taken on cult popularity, with the winner of this event taking home one million pounds (NZ$2.3m), doubling last year’s purse.

Luke Littler celebrates victory on his way to the world darts crown. Photosport

A field of 128 began the event, with Kiwi Huapai Puha among the first-round casualties and countryman Jonny Tata progressing to the second.

Defending champion is still-teenager Luke Littler, who made the 2024 final as a 16-year-old, before claiming the crown this year. He has since risen to top ranking in the world, capturing the imagination of even non-darts fans, and may dominate this championship for a very long time indeed.

ASB Classic (tennis) 5-18 January Auckland

Australia Open (tennis) 18 January-1 February Melbourne

February

Winter Olympics 6-22 February Milano Cortina, Italy

Gone are the days when the showpiece on snow and ice meant little to New Zealand.

With just a silver medal to show for almost 70 years of participation, snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and freeskier Nico Porteous have put Kiwi winter sports on the map in recent years, both grabbing gold at Beijing in 2022.

At the grand old age of 24, Porteous is now retired, but Sadowski-Synnott will defend her slopestyle crown as reigning world and X-Games champion, overcoming injury to return to competition this year.

Skier Alice Robinson has emerged as a medal contender at giant slalom, where she has two World Cup victories and No.1 ranking at the end of the year.

Alice Robinson in World Cup Super G action at St Mortiz. FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Even with Porteous gone, New Zealand will field a strong freestyle skiing contingent, led by world big air and X-Games halfpipe champion Luca Harrington, and world halfpipe champion Fin Melville Ives.

Men’s T20 World Cup 7 February-8 March India & Sri Lanka

NFL Super Bowl LX 8 February Santa Clara, California

American football has been tipped on its head this season, with the unexpectedly sudden demise of Kansas City Chiefs, who have contested five of the last six Super Bowls, winning three.

Defending champions Philadelphia Eagles have clinched their division and passage to the playoffs, but their record is just the 10th-best across the competition, with previously unfancied teams like Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars now ahead in the standings.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts during Super Bowl LIX. AFP

Just as intriguing, the much-vaunted halftime show will be Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny, whose selection was described as “absolutely ridiculous” by President Donald Trump, with immigration officials threatening to raid the event for illegal immigrants.

Sail Grand Prix Auckland 14/15 February

NASCAR Daytona 500 15 February Florida, US

NZ Open (golf) 26 February-1 March Millbrook Resort, Queenstown

March

Winter Paralympics 6-15 March Milano Cortina, Italy

Australian F1 Grand Prix 8 March Melbourne

Whether you’re a die-hard petrolhead or a recent bandwagon jumper from the Netflix Drive to Survive series, this represents Kiwis’ most convenient chance to see the world’s premier motorsport series up close.

Our own Liam Lawson has clinched his place on the grid for another year – or at least until Red Bull reshuffles their drivers again – and Melbourne marks the first race on the calendar.

Kiwi Liam Lawson crashes out of the 2025 Australian Grand Prix. PHOTOSPORT

The programme also includes the second round of Supercars racing for the year, so expect, before they cross the ditch for Taupō and Christchurch.

April

US Masters (golf) 9-12 April Augusta National, Georgia

Taupo Super 440 (Supercars) 10-12 April Taupo International Motorsport Park

Christchurch Super 440 (Supercars) 17-19 April Euromarque Motorsport Park

May

US PGA Championship (golf) 14-17 May Aronimink GC, Pennsylvania

French Open (tennis) 24 May-7 June Stade Roland Garros, Paris

State of Origin I 27 May Sydney

At a time when players are pushing for more international fixtures, the annual three-game series between New South Wales and Queensland is still promoted – by the Aussies – as the pinnacle of rugby league.

After a 12-year span, when the ‘Blues’ claimed the spoils just once, the event has become far more competitive, with the two archrivals splitting honours over the past eight years.

Queensland celebrate their come-from-behind 2025 State of Origin win. AAP / Photosport

Queensland are defending champions, but the last two series have ultimately come down to the third encounter, with losers of the opening game bouncing back to win overall.

While Kiwis have traditionally backed the ‘Maroons’, most would just hope no Warriors players get injured in the brutal exchanges.

June

Monaco F1 Grand Prix 5 June

FIFA World Cup 11 June-19 July Canada, USA & Mexico

This edition of the planet’s most important football tournament will feature an expanded field of 48 teams, including – for just the third time – New Zealand’s All Whites.

The preliminary rounds will be contested across 12 pools of four teams, with the winners and four best second-placed teams progressing to the Round of 16.

The Kiwis have drawn a group that includes Belgium, Egypt and Iran, still chasing their first win at the tournament, after managing three draws in 2010.

Defending champions Argentina will face Algeria, Australia and Jordan early, while England must get past Croatia, Ghana and Panama, if they hope to bring football home, 60 years after its last visit.

Women’s T20 World Cup 12 June-5 July England

The White Ferns will defend their crown, unexpectedly won in 2024, in what shapes as Sophie Devine’s final outing with the national team.

Possibly New Zealand’s finest sporting captain, with the ability to coach the team in the near future, Devine has already retired from the one-day format and it would make sense for her to bow out at the conclusion of this tournament.

New Zealand celebrate their 2024 World Cup victory. AFP / GIUSEPPE CACACE

The Kiwi women were not among the title favourites last time out and probably won’t be again, despite their role as defending champions, but this will be another opportunity to develop the next wave of talent, before the Devine-Bates-Tahuhu era finally ends.

UFC White House 14 June Washington DC

None of you will be surprised that UFC boss Dana White is a Donald Trump supporter – the future US president staged UFC 30 at the Trump Taj Mahal, when no other venues would host it.

White has endorsed Trump at the last three elections, so this feels like a little reward for that backing, while also marking America’s 250th anniversary.

While no details of the card have been finalised, two of mixed martial arts’ biggest names – Conor McGregor and Jon Jones – are reportedly keen to appear.

US President Donald Trump attends UFC 316 at New Jersey. VANESSA CARVALHO/AFP

Security concerns will limit the live audience to just 5000 people, but large screens in a nearby park will cater to 85,000 more.

State of Origin II 17 June Melbourne

US Open (golf) 18-21 June Shinnecock Hills GC, New York

Super Rugby Pacific final 20 June

Wimbledon 29 June-12 July London, England

July

Tour de France 4-26 July Spain/France

State of Origin III 8 July Brisbane

British Open Championship (golf) 16-19 July Royal Birkdale, England

Glasgow Commonwealth Games 23 July-2 August

These Games almost brought the festival to a screeching halt, with Birmingham originally scheduled to host, but promoted up the order, when Durban backed out of the 2022 edition.

Kuala Lumpur, Cardiff, Calgary, Edmonton and Adelaide all withdrew bids, due to cost concerns, before Australia’s state of Victoria won the hosting rights, then cancelled, also due to costs.

Glasgow has stepped up again just 12 years after last staging the Games, ensuring they will survive for now, albeit whittled down to only 10 sports.

Kiwi high jumper Hamish Kerr celebrates Commonwealth Games gold at Birmingham 2022. PHOTOSPORT

Among the casualties are Kiwi staples like rugby sevens, hockey, triathlon, T20 cricket, mountain biking and road cycling. Regardless, there should still be enough for New Zealand to feature prominently on the medal table.

August

All Blacks tour of South Africa 7 August-12 September

The NZ rugby team have not embarked on a full-scale tour of South Africa since 1975, when they played 24 games over three months, including four tests.

The diluted modern version of that odyssey will see them contest four tests – including one at a neutral venue – while also taking on four provincial sides – the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls and Lions.

Despite the All Blacks’ apparent tribulations under coach Scott Robertson, these two rivals are still the top two teams in the world and met in the last World Cup final, so this promises to be ideal tune-up for the 2027 event.

All Blacks confront Springboks with a pre-game haka. STEVE HAAG/Photosport

Even without the traditional Rugby Championship, on hiatus until 2027, New Zealand will play 12 tests in 2026, including the inaugural Nations Championship

Little League World Series 20-30 August Williamsport, Pennsylvania, US

Bathurst 1000 (Supercars) 21-23 August Mount Panorama, NSW

Six hours of petrolhead heaven across the Tasman, with Kiwis front and centre among previous winners of ‘The Great Race’.

Just as the Greg Murphy-Scott McLaughlin-Shane van Gisbergen era drew to a close, Matt Payne popped up to grab victory in 2025, despite crossing the finish-line second.

Matt Payne (left) and Garth Tander celebrate their 2025 Bathurst 1000 victory. AAP/Photosport

Look out for Ryan Wood, who qualified third on the grid this year and led briefly late in the race, before suffering mechanical dramas that dropped him to 19th.

US Open (tennis) 31 August-13 September Queens, New York

September

Presidents Cup (golf) 22-27 September Medinah CC, Illinois, US

While it may not be the Ryder Cup – the fierce biennial contest between USA and Europe – this competition at least gives the Americans some much-needed practice at playing nicely together as a team.

The Presidents Cup pits them against golfers from around the rest of the world, not Europe, so the rivalry isn’t as intense. The United States have won 13 of the 15 previous meetings and have lost just once in 1998 at Royal Melbourne.

Ryan Fox celebrates his first PGA Tour victory at Myrtle Beach. AFP / Getty Images / Andy Lyons

New Zealand was last represented by Danny Lee in 2015, when the international team finished within a point of their rivals. Currently ranked 32nd, Ryan Fox stands as the third-best non-American, non-European player in the world and an automatic selection this time.

October

Rugby League World Cup 15 October-15 November Australia, NZ & PNG

Another event that has been passed around like a hot potato, which was originally awarded to USA and Canada, but withdrawn when promoters could not guarantee its delivery.

France inherited the tournament, but also withdrew, so it has landed across the three Pacific nations, although the only game on this side of the Tasman sees the Kiwis take on Cook Islands in the new Christchurch stadium.

The format doesn’t make a lot of sense – Australia and NZ square off in a four-team group, while England, Tonga and Samoa feature in a six-team group that sees its members play only three of their rivals.

NZ Kiwis face a pre-game challenge from Tonga during the Pacific Championship. Photosport

The Kiwis won the 2008 World Cup crown, but failed to make the last two finals, and much will depend on the health of star half Jahrome Hughes, who has missed the last two Pacific Championship campaigns with injury.

November

Melbourne Cup 3 November Flemington Racecourse

The horse race that stops two nations is scheduled for the first Tuesday of every November and holds a special place in the New Zealand sporting landscape.

Last year’s field had no NZ-trained horses, but two NZ-bred entries – Torranzino and Smokin Romans. Incredibly, Australia had only one locally bred horse, with the northern hemsiphere tending to dominate over the past decade.

NZ-born trainer Chris Waller, now based in Sydney, had six horses in the field, while Kiwi jockey James McDonald regulary has his mount near the front at the finish, winning aboard Verry Elleegant in 2021.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Sizzling temperatures, strong winds and heavy rain in South Island weather mix

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

Several watches and warnings are in place. MetService screenshot

Parts of the South Island are set to swelter on Saturday, but some regions are also bracing for heavy wind and rain throughout the weekend.

Motueka, Blenheim, Kaikōura and Christchurch are under heat alerts, with temperatures expected to hit or exceed 30 degrees.

All up, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/583631/weather-heat-alerts-issued-as-temperatures-soar-across-new-zealand 14 towns and cities around New zealand have heat alerts] today as temperatures continue to climb.

“Records could roll,” MetService said.

It’s going to be a hot weekend with muggy nights

Babies and infants, older people, and those with medical conditions are particularly vulnerable, so check in on each other.

Even if you’re somewhere without heat alerts, here are some good tips for managing the summer heat:… pic.twitter.com/CNPXzeaNFD

— MetService NZ (@MetService) January 8, 2026

MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane says two weather systems are moving across the South Island, with the first beginning early this morning.

“That will bring an increase in wind speed and summer rain for western parts of the country but as we head into Sunday we have a larger weather system that arrives and that also ramps up that rain in the western part of the South Island and strong winds for almost the whole of the South Island.”

The norwesters will drive temperatures up and last overnight in both islands, with temperatures staying in the high teens.

“It will be much warmer than average for some parts of Northland and Coromandel,” on what is shaping as “a classic summer weekend” for the North Island, she says.

RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

There are several watches and warnings in place.

Orange heavy rain warnings are in place for Westland and Fiordland, where up to 300mm could fall over a 30-hour period from late tonight.

A heavy rain watch also applies to the ranges of the Grey and Buller districts from midday tomorrow while there’s a strong wind watch for Marlborough, especially about the Sounds and Kaikōura Coast from 1am tomorrow.

An orange strong wind warning has been issued for Canterbury about the High Country and the foothills from 10pm today. Severe gales northwesterlies gusting up to 130 kilometres are predicted.

Heavy rain and strong wind watches are also in place for the headwaters of the Canterbury lakes and rivers in the Arthur’s Pass area.

Heavy rain watches and strong wind watches have also been issued for the weekend for the headwaters of the Otago lakes and rivers, Fiordland, Otago, Southland and Stewart Island.

North Island also sweltering

Paihia and Russell, Whangārei, Whitianga, Tauranga, Whakatāne, Gisborne, Napier, Hastings, Masterton are also under heat alerts today.

Hastings is likely to be the hottest place with 35 degrees forecast and that’s due to climb to 38 degrees on Sunday – 12.7 degrees above average.

Fire bans in place

Fire and Emergency warned the weekend’s conditions – heat, wind and low humidity – were a “perfect storm” for wildfires.

The risk was highest in Canterbury, Marlborough, Wairarapa, Hawke’s Bay, Tai Rāwhiti, and Northland, it said.

In several areas across the country fires are banned or restricted.

Fire and Emergency’s map of where fires are banned, or restricted, across the motu. FENZ

Red zones have a total fire ban, and in yellow zones, people may need to apply for a permit – go to checkitsalright.nz to check and apply.

All permits in Canterbury are suspended from midnight Friday until 8am on Monday.

There’s no permit needed in green zones.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Butter, margarine or nut spreads: which is best?

By Evening Report -

January 10, 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand

There are a multitude of options at the supermarket when it comes to butters and spreads.

Many of us have a passionate preference for either butter, margarine or nut spreads, but which one is best for our household or health?

We asked the experts what their advice is and how to determine what might be right for our diet.

Emma Beckett likes to keep all three options in her fridge at home.

ABC/Supplied

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Dr Emma Beckett likes to keep all three options in her fridge at home.

“I use them for different things, like baking, cooking and eating,” says the food and nutrition scientist based in Newcastle/Awabakal.

“So, you might have a preference for the taste of butter, or you might have a preference for the health benefits of margarine, or you might be looking for a nuttier flavour, the choice is ultimately yours.”

She says butter is made from milk, margarine is made from vegetable or seed oils, and nut spreads typically contain, as their name suggests, ground nuts such as peanuts, almonds, and cashews.

While margarine and nut spreads have mostly unsaturated fats, butter contains saturated fats.

Rebecca McPhee, an accredited dietitian at Diabetes Australia, says a “high intake of saturated fat has been shown to increase cholesterol which has been linked to increased risk of heart disease”.

But, she adds, butter, margarine and plant-based spreads when used sparingly all have a place as part of a balanced diet based on nutrient-dense whole foods.

Why do some spreads have a ‘bad rap’?

Beckett says margarine has not always had the best reputation when it comes to health considerations.

“It’s processed, and it’s created from seed oils, which typically get a bad name these days that is completely unfounded,” she says.

“Margarines used to have trans fats in them, and we now know that trans fats are not very good for us, but they’ve been removed in that process, now.”

McPhee agrees and says “early versions of margarine contained higher levels of trans fats that elevate low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels,” which are often known as “bad” cholesterol.

Dr Norman Swan.

Janie Barrett

“[They also had] a high omega 6 to 3 ratio that has been shown to increase inflammation,” she says.

Author and medically qualified journalist Dr Norman Swan says butter, margarine and nut spreads are all “calorie dense”.

“So, if you’re going to be [eating] a mountain of margarine, a mountain of butter, you’re likely to put on weight,” he says.

“There’s a route between a high-fat diet and type 2 diabetes, and it’s largely through the fat around your waist.

“And that also translates to an increased risk of cancer and poorer outcomes if you’ve got cancer.”

Are there health benefits to certain spreads?

Beckett says she prefers to use margarine predominantly because of her risk of developing high cholesterol.

“So, genetically everyone in my family is predisposed to having high cholesterol,” she says.

“We have lots of margarines that have plant sterols added to them and those are where the real health benefits come.”

Plant sterols (also known as phytosterols) are natural compounds found in all plant foods.

While margarine and nut spreads have mostly unsaturated fats, butter contains saturated fats.

Unsplash

They inhibit cholesterol absorption in the gut, leading to an overall reduction in blood cholesterol levels.

Beckett says it’s worth checking the product packaging as “not all margarines will be high in plant sterols”.

McPhee says nut spreads, such as 100 per cent peanut or almond butter, which are also rich in unsaturated fats, are another nutritious option, particularly those with no added salt or sugar.

“Spreads which are rich in beneficial mono and polyunsaturated fats, such as olive oil, nut butters, avocado or canola oil are typically considered by most health professionals and governing bodies as the preferred choice for heart health,” she says.

“Including in the management of metabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes.

She recommends speaking to a health professional, such as an accredited dietitian, to develop a personalised eating plan that incorporates the spread of your choice.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand