Source: Radio New Zealand
123rf
A strong quake has struck the Tonga region.
The 5.8-magnitude tremor hit northeast of ‘Eua just before 10am at a depth of 12km according to the US Geological Survey.
More to come.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
(File photo) RNZ / REECE BAKER
A person has died after an early morning crash on a remote road north of Gisborne.
The single vehicle crash on Anauru Road was reported to emergency services about 2:10am on Sunday, police said.
“The Serious Crash Unit attended and enquiries into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing,” they said.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Northern Districts celebrate winning the Super Smash final. photosport
Northern Districts have consigned Canterbury to a sixth successive runners-up finish in the T20 Super Smash after winning the men’s final by five wickets at Hagley Oval.
Two decades after lifting the trophy in the inaugural season the Cantabrians’ drought continued after being outplayed by the visitors, who were top qualifiers for the decider after dropping only one game all season.
They ended up coasting to victory with more than two overs to spare, reaching 173-5 in response to the home side’s 171-5.
Northern took control after winning the toss, reducing Canterbury to 57/5 in the ninth over, including the removal of Black Caps pair Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls.
The hosts fought back through an unbeaten stand of 114 from 69 balls between Mitchell Hay (56 not out) and Leo Carter (54 not out).
Brett Hampton took 3-37 and sealed man-of-the-match honours by top-scoring in Northern’s response, smashing 55 off just 26 balls at the top of the order, plundering five sixes.
Joe Carter posted 47, helping keep his side well ahead of the required run rate.
Seamer Michael Rae took 3-37 for Canterbury.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Back in 2015, with a bandaged hand, Joel Shadbolt made his TV debut on Good Morning, singing with the Auckland-based funk band Batucuda Sound Machine. Future bandmate Brad Kora happened to be tuning in.
The drummer (a founding member of Kora) sent Shadbolt a Facebook message saying he was in the wrong band, and that he should come and jam in Whakatāne. When Brad and his brother Stu later invited Shadbolt to join L.A.B., he tells Music 101 the response was, “Is the pope Catholic? Let’s go!”
Eleven years on, L.A.B. (an acronym for the names of the band’s three original members) are one of the most successful New Zealand bands of the last decade. Shadbolt talks about their dynamic and shares some favourite songs, including a Toto “staple” and the doo-wop classic he teaches guitar students.
L.A.B. backstage at Christchurch’s Electric Avenue festival in February 2025. Left to right – Joel Shadbolt, Brad Kora, Stu Kora, Miharo Gregory and Ara Adams-Tamatea.
Lucy Hammond / @hammondvisuals
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Source: Radio New Zealand
A close-up of the Fire and Emergency NZ logo. Marika Khabazi / RNZ
A large building fire in Southland is expected to take a while to extinguish.
Crews were called to a building on Te Anau Milford Highway around 11.15pm on Saturday, where a roof was alight.
Fire and Emergency had feared people were still in the building, Fiordland Lodge, but said everyone had been accounted for.
Assistant Commander Nic McQuillan said the fire was contained to one wing, but work was continuing to suppress a flare-up and monitor hotspots.
He said it was a “complicated” operation due to the design of the building and the roof construction.
At its height, eight trucks, five tankers, four vehicles and an aerial appliance were involved in fighting the blaze.
Firefighters were called in from Te Anau, Manapouri, Mossburn, Blackmount, Lumsden and Invercargill. FENZ said additional crew were being called in to relieve the volunteers who had been tirelessly working throughout the night.
They had been able to save the majority of the building, but an unknown percentage of it had been damaged.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
123RF
Twelve-month prescriptions for long-term medications take effect from Sunday.
Patients can now get a script for up to 12 months of medication – up from three – with their doctor’s permission.
People with 12-month prescriptions will still need to collect their medication every three months, so the changes will not reduce their overall number of visits.
Pharmacists remain concerned. Some have previously told RNZ that explaining the changes, and getting used to a new system, will only add to their already heavy workload when staff are in short supply.
Gemma Perry-Waterhouse, who owns Sanders Pharmacy in Te Awamutu, said a shortage of pharmacists would make explaining the new system while keeping up with other responsibilities challenging.
“There has been a decline in the number of pharmacies in New Zealand, and there’s a serious workforce issue. We don’t have enough pharmacists.
“We are concerned about this rollout and how much time it will take to explain to all patients what to expect with 12-month scripts; the fact that it isn’t for everyone, that their doctor needs to decide that.
“Be kind to your pharmacy if you’re popping in to talk about a 12-month script and what to expect, because we’re all under a lot of pressure at the moment.”
In announcing the plan, Health Minister Simeon Brown said the previous system “creates unnecessary barriers for patients on stable, long-term medications like asthma inhalers, insulin for diabetes, and blood pressure tablets.
“It means added costs for patients and more paperwork for health professionals, taking time away from patients with more urgent or complex needs…
“It’s a win-win for patients and the health system – fewer avoidable hospitalisations, better health outcomes and reduced long-term costs.”
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Auckland FC’s Nando Pijnaker. photosport
Injuries have marred Auckland FC’s 2-1 loss to Perth Glory – result that sees the visitors drop from first to third in the A-League standings.
Jesse Randall put Auckland in front just before halftime, rounding out a week in which it was announced the young forward will join Scottish club Dundee United at the end of the season.
However, Steve Corica’s team failed to hold on, conceding goals to Jaiden Kucharski in the 75th and 90th minutes to leave them with just one win from their last six matches.
Of concern to Corica will be injuries that forced goalkeeper Oli Sail and defender Nando Pijnaker from the field.
Sail, who replaced Michael Woud in the starting lineout, was stretchered from the field with an apparent knee problem midway through the second half, having slipped while taking a goal kick.
Pijnaker was forced off in the first spell with an unspecified leg injury.
Newcastle Jets have claimed top spot on the table, followed by Sydney FC.
Auckland FC’s next two matches are against Sydney – the first at home on Saturday next week.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Akaroa supplied
A dedicated investigation team from the Transport Accident Investigation Commission will be on the ground in Akaroa, following the grounding of a Black Cat ferry on Saturday afternoon.
Louise Cook, chief investigator of accidents, said there were reportedly 38 passengers and three crew on-board the 17-metre catamaran, on a wildlife cruise.
They were evacuated to nearby boats and no injuries were reported.
Cook said getting the facts straight was vital, and she was keen to hear from people who were on-board or witnessed the accident, and to receive any photos or video footage.
The investigation team would be travelling to Akaroa “as soon as practicable”, TAIC said in a statement.
Over the next several days, they would be seeking and recovering any wreckage, securing electronic records – including photos, videos, and location data on people’s cellphones – and interviewing witnesses.
Following the accident, passenger Chris Friedman – visiting from San Francisco – told RNZ it was a stressful experience on his last day in New Zealand.
He said there was a loud sound, as if the boat had run over something, and he thought it might be a rock. It was followed by a whizzing sound that could have been from the engine.
“We were never really fearful that we were going to go down with the ship, but there was a teenager on-board who was quite scared and was crying, and there was also an older woman who was rather traumatised,” he said.
The passengers were taken to the main wharf at Akaroa and no one was injured, he said.
Environment Canterbury said it was monitoring and assessing the catamaran to minimise the impact of any fuel leaks or debris on the environment.
“We are working alongside the owner, emergency services, the Department of Conservation, Maritime New Zealand, iwi and the local community.”
Black Cat Cruises said it was the first time in more than 40 years that anything like this had happened.
It was launching its own investigation, and said it would also be working with authorities.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The Wellington City Mission is launching a free dental service.
It will open on 10 February and run three days a week.
The Mission’s Murray Edridge said the need for the service was substantial, with one in three adults suffering from untreated tooth decay.
He said people on low incomes and in hardship suffered the most.
“And that’s been a consequence of lifestyle or circumstance or just the things that they’ve faced throughout their lives, and their inability to access services because of cost and other things has prevented them attending to that.”
The service would be delivered by Ora Toa dentists, with appointments available by referral only from social agencies across the Greater Wellington region.
Wellington City Missioner Murray Edridge. Wellington City Mission
“We all know how miserable life is if you have sore teeth,” Edridge said.
“It’s just one of those things that significantly affects anybody’s wellbeing, and therefore the opportunity to provide a service to support people who have problems with their teeth is an amazing privilege that the City Mission is taking hold of.”
The service will operate on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from Whakamaru on Oxford Terrace.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
In this high-stakes mystery mini-series, Kaley Cuoco’s dream holiday becomes a nightmare when her boyfriend disappears mid-journey on a train to the South of France. As she rushes to find him she finds herself brushing up against dangerous people and the hard truth that her partner isn’t who she thought he was. Filmed entirely on location, the series has slick euro-thriller feel and should satisfy those looking for an intriguingly high tension, binge session.
Watch: Prime Video
When: Friday, 27 Feb
Sam Claflin as Tom Parker, Kaley Cuoco as Alice Monroe in Vanished.
Supplied
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Nearly $150,000 was reportedly spent on the project. Photo / 123RF
Labour says a review of the government’s axed road cone hotline – designed to report excessive and unnecessary traffic cone use – was an “absurd” waste of public money.
A WorkSafe review found excessive use of cones at just 6 percent of the 250 sites inspected.
Labour transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere said nearly $150,000 was spent on a project that was “clearly not going to be required in the first place”.
“I mean, we’re talking about huge amounts of public money that could be prioritised to address real concerns that the public is feeling right now.”
The digital hotline was launched last year as part of the government’s wider health and safety reforms.
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden directed WorkSafe to place more emphasis on guidance and education, rather than enforcement.
The hotline allowed members of the public to report what they believed was excessive or unnecessary use of traffic cones and other temporary traffic management devices.
The government shut down its hotline on 19 December, six months ahead of schedule. By then, WorkSafe had received more than 1300 notifications.
Reports peaked at 641 in June, before dropping to 217 in July.
“This pilot has done exactly what we needed it to do,” Van Velden said at the time. “It gave the public a voice, identified the root causes of concern and clarified WorkSafe’s role in temporary traffic management.”
WorkSafe chief executive Sharon Thompson said the review showed the main issue was not widespread non-compliance, but inconsistent use of NZTA’s newer, risk-based guidance by councils.
“As a result, cone use was often consistent with council-approved plans, even if it appeared excessive to the public.”
Labour had previously described the initiative as a “performative battle”.
Utikere noted that by September, the government had spent $148,545 on the hotline – $136.15 for “every one of the 1091 complaints logged to that point”.
As of November 2025, there was an average of fewer than 20 valid complaints per week nationwide, he said.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
If you have ever lifted a weight, you know the routine: challenge the muscle, give it rest, feed it and repeat. Over time, it grows stronger.
Of course, muscles only grow when the challenge increases over time. Continually lifting the same weight the same way stops working.
It might come as a surprise to learn that the brain responds to training in much the same way as our muscles, even though most of us never think about it that way. Clear thinking, focus, creativity and good judgment are built through challenge, when the brain is asked to stretch beyond routine rather than run on autopilot. That slight mental discomfort is often the sign that the brain is actually being trained, a lot like that good workout burn in your muscles.
Tasks that stretch your brain just beyond its comfort zone, such as knitting and crocheting, can improve cognitive abilities over your lifespan.
Unsplash
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Asia Pacific Report
New Zealand protesters in Tamaki Makaurau today heralded a global demand for the freedom of thousands of Palestinians who have been unlawfully imprisoned by Israel in its illegal occupation of Palestine.
Today is the Red Ribbon Campaign’s global day of solidarity for Palestinian hostages or political prisoners.
It is the culmination of the Red Ribbon campaign that has been running globally for several weeks.
At the time of the so-called Gaza “ceasefire” declared on October 10, Israel was reported to be holding a record 11,100 Palestinians hostage, mostly innocent and without charge or due process.
In exchange for the final 20 Israeli hostages still alive held by Hamas and other resistance groups at the time of the ceasefire, almost 2000 Palestinian prisoners were freed by Israel.
This leaves more than 9100 prisoners — 400 of them children and 3544 of them held under “administrative detention” — yet to be freed.
Speaking at the solidarity rally in Ta Komititanga Square today, Palestinian academic and theatre practitioner Associate Professor Rand Hazou highlighted how Israel was the only country in the world to detain children under military law and military courts.
Denied access to parents, lawyers
“According to UNICEF, Palestinian child detainees are denied access to their parents and lawyers. They are often arrested in the middle of the night, blindfolded and beaten, threatened with torture and denied food and sleep,” he said.
“Palestinian detainees, including children, are forcibly transferred outside the occupied the Palestinian territory in contravention of Article 4 of the Geneva Convention relative to the protection of children and civilian persons at the time of war.”
His comments were greeted with cries of “shame” by the crowd.
Dr Hazou also criticised the practice of mainstream media in referring to the Israeli prisoners being held by the Gaza resistance fighters as “hostages” while the Palestinians were described as “prisoners”.
This was a “quite deliberate” policy by the media to imply innocence of the Israeli hostages, while suggesting guilt by the Palestinian detainees — “who are also actually hostages”.
Former trade union advocate Mike Treen condemned the inhumane practice of administrative detention and blamed it on the British colonial administration for introducing it during the Palestine mandate prior to 1948.
Administrative detention means that those detainees have not been charged with an offence. Some of them have been detained for between one and two years, with the period of time extended repeatedly — and indefinitely — so that prisoners and their families never know when they will be freed.
Persecution of Palestinians
Amnesty International has found that Israel systematically uses administrative detention as a tool to persecute Palestinians.
Treen also condemned the global “billionaire classes” for their exploitation.
“Billionaires monopolise everything they can so that they can extort rents out of us at any price.
“The rich north countries are also the old imperialist countries and we are reverting back from the neocolonial pretence that it doesn’t exist to more open forms of it today.”
Speaking in her personal capacity, Red Ribbon campaigner Audrey van Ryn cited the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“When people are found guilty of a crime, what usually happens is that they go to court for a trial and a judge will decide how they should be punished,” she said.
Prisoner rights
However, people who were who sent to prison for a crime had rights under the Universal Declaration, including:
Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 9: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10: Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal.
Article 11 (1): Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
“Some states abuse these rights of prisoners,” van Ryn said.
“Some states detain people who have not even been charged with an offence. One of these states is Israel.”
Illegal colonisation
According to a Spheres of Influence article about under reported crimes against humanity, “For 77 years, indigenous Palestinians have lived under Israel’s illegal colonisation of their own land, a regime that controls every aspect of their lives.
“One of the occupation’s most brutal tools of control is the mass abduction of Palestinians, where men, women, and children are taken hostage and imprisoned to shatter communities and crush their struggle for freedom.
“Human rights organisations describe these prisons as a ‘grave for the living’.
The first thing some of the recently released Palestinians said was a desperate plea:
“Save what remains of the hostages. If you die once a day, we die a thousand times.”
The article also alleged that since 1948, Israeli occupation forces (IDF) had arrested more than 1 million Palestinians.
“Almost every Palestinian family has lived through the trauma of a loved one kidnapped, interrogated, and disappeared into prison.”
Among high profile cases of injustice against Palestinians are:
Red Cross plea to visit jails
Calls have been made by the UN and human rights experts for the release of women, children, and elected representatives, detained for activities resisting the occupation.
Resolutions have also called for allowing the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit prisons.
Earlier today, about 3000 people took part in a rally and march in central Auckland with the theme Toitū te Aroha, a celebration of cultural diversity and immigration.
This was a counter protest to one staged by the Destiny Church with 700 people in Victoria Park condemning immigration, but a police cordon prevented the protesters led by self-styled pastor Brian Tamaki marching on to Auckland Harbour Bridge.
Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz
Source: Radio New Zealand
A marine locator marker was blown up at a beach on Auckland’s Whangaparāoa Peninsula. Auckland Council
A controlled explosion has rocked residents on the Whangaparāoa Peninsula north of Auckland after a marine locator marker was found floating at Okoromai Bay.
The markers are pyrotechnic devices designed to ignite on contact with water, and are used to indicate a location at sea.
A Defence Force spokesperson said it was found in the water by a member of the public, and handed in to the Coast Guard, which called in the NZDF and police.
A cordon was put up around the beach, and it was blown up by a Defence Force ordnance disposal team.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
About 25,000 dance music fans flocked to Mount Maunganui to see Australian DJ Fisher.
A minute silence was held to acknowledge the six lives lost in a landslide tragedy nine days ago at the nearby Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park.
All of the six victims have now been formally identified after the landslide on 22 January.
A rāhui is in place at the site where the six people – including two teenagers – were caught in the slip.
The Fisher event was on the calendar for the last weekend of January, and plans to go ahead were made thoughtfully, Trademark Live co-director Toby Burrows told RNZ.
“Everything was sort of on pause for a bit there,” he said, in the week that followed the tragedy.
“We’ve just been working with council and local kaumātua to get their blessing, which we got. It’s been pretty tender times down here, for everyone.”
Tauranga-based Burrows had heard from DJ Fisher, and other acts daily, who wanted to make sure everyone involved was fit to go ahead.
“They’ve been in close touch with us about it … They’re all deeply moved by it all, obviously and concerned.
“….It’s very close to home for us, and we’re down at the mountain like every day, you know, and a lot of our staff are as well, so it’s rocked us real hard.”
Burrows said the festival had used their platform to help raise funds for the families and community affected.
“Objectively I think it’s like people need to actually come together and talk about this as well. It’s not necessarily like celebrating, but just being with your friends. And it’s not a necessarily a time to just, you know, be at home by yourself … but I understand if people don’t feel it’s appropriate.”
Burrows, along with Mitch Lowe, were behind one of the country’s biggest music festivals, Bay Dreams.
UB40, featuring Ali Campbell, will perform at Bay Oval at Waitangi Weekend, as part of the Kingston Calling 2026 tour.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Brett Hampton hits out in his Super Smash man-of-the-match performance. Photosport
Northern Districts have lived up to their top seeding with a five-wicket win over the Canterbury Magicians to claim the Super Smash men’s domestic T20 crown at Hagley Oval.
Chasing 172 runs for victory, the regular-season leaders showed their class, reaching their target with more than two overs to spare – their third title in the past five years.
Canterbury were in early trouble, losing the toss and put into bat. Opener Chad Bowes fell to the third ball of the innings from Zak Gibson and the Magicians were staggering at 57/5 in the ninth over.
Black Caps test captain Tom Latham was the only member of the top order to gather any momentum, accumulating 34 off 23 balls, but when he and captain Cole McConchie fell within six balls, Northern seemed well in control.
Wicketkeeper Mitch Hay and Leo Carter both scored half-centuries to rescue their team somewhat, putting on a century stand that dragged them to 171/5 after their allotted overs.
Hay was unbeaten on 56 off 34 balls, including three sixes, while Carter had 54 off 36, with seven fours, but the total seemed a few runs short of par.
Brett Hampton was the best of the bowlers with 3/37 off his four overs, while spinner Tim Pringle was the most economic with 1/20 off his four.
Northern began the chase strongly, with openers Katene Clarke and Hampton compiling 89 off 49 balls for the first wicket.
Both were dismissed by Michael Rae in the ninth over and the Magicians took 4/23 to halt the charge. Hampton hammered 55 off 23 balls, including five sixes, and was ultimately named Player of the Match.
They were still well ahead of the required run rate, which became less than a run a ball, when Joe Carter sent Rae towards the perimeter fence in the 17th over.
Rae had the last laugh though, as Carter (47 off 28) ballooned the next ball to Bowes, leaving his lower order to find 15 runs for victory.
He need not have worried, as Scott Kuggeleijn audaciously lapped Fraser Sheat over the keeper for four in the next over to complete the win with 13 balls to spare.
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben McCann, Associate Professor of French Studies, Adelaide University
Catherine O’Hara, the beloved actor and comedian who has died aged 71, occupied that rare position in contemporary screen culture: a comic actor, a cult figure and a mainstream star.
Her work spanned more than 50 years, from improv sketch comedy to Hollywood features and off-beat TV classics.
She was celebrated for her unmatched comic timing and chameleon-like character work. Her roles were often absurdist and quirky, but they hid a razor-sharp humour.
Born and raised in Toronto in a close-knit Irish Catholic family, O’Hara was one of seven siblings. She once remarked humour was part of her everyday life; storytelling, impressions and lively conversation helped hone her comedic instincts.
After high school, she worked at Toronto’s Second City Theatre, a famed breeding ground for comedy talent, and sharpened her deadpan improvisational skills.
O’Hara’s break came with Second City Television (SCTV), a sketch comedy series that rivalled Saturday Night Live in creativity and influence. Alongside contemporaries Eugene Levy, John Candy, Rick Moranis and Martin Short, she defined her distinctly smart, absurdist comedic voice.
O’Hara was not merely a performer on SCTV; she was also a writer, winning an Emmy Award for her contributions. This dual role shaped her career-long sensitivity to rhythm, language and character construction.
Unlike sketch performers who rely on repetition or catchphrases, O’Hara’s humour emerged with a different comedic logic. Audiences laughed not because the character was “funny”, but because the character took herself so seriously.
Though briefly cast on Saturday Night Live in the early 1980s, O’Hara chose to stay with SCTV when it was renewed, a decision she later described as key in letting her creative career flourish where it belonged.
By the mid-1980s, O’Hara was establishing herself as a screen presence. She appeared in Martin Scorsese’s offbeat black comedy After Hours (1985), and showcased her comic range in Heartburn (1986).
In 1988, she landed what would become one of her most beloved film roles: Delia Deetz in Tim Burton’s left-field Beetlejuice (1988).
Delia – a pretentious, New York art-scene social climber – allowed O’Hara to combine physical comedy and imbecilic dialogue (“A little gasoline … blowtorch … no problem”).
Burton once noted
Catherine’s so good, maybe too good. She works on levels that people don’t even know. I think she scares people because she operates at such high levels.
She went on to play Kate McCallister, the beleaguered mother in the holiday blockbusters Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992). Audiences loved the fact that this rather thinly written role became the films’ beating heart.
Another distinctive phase of O’Hara’s career was her work with writer-director Christopher Guest on a series of largely improvised mockumentaries that have become cult classics.
Three standouts were Waiting for Guffman (1996), where she plays a desperate local performer in a small-town theatre troupe, and A Mighty Wind (2003), where she teamed up with old pal Levy as an ageing folk duo.
Her best turn came in Best in Show (2000), in which she and Levy played a couple competing in a national dog show. Her character Cookie Fleck remains one of the finest examples of improvised comedy on film.
Her relentless monologues about former lovers are objectively inappropriate, yet O’Hara delivers them with such earnest enthusiasm that they become strangely compelling.
Her gift for improvisation glittered in these films: these eccentric characters were often laugh-out-loud funny – but O’Hara never mocked them.
She returned to TV in Six Feet Under (2001–05) and guest appearances on The Larry Sanders Show (1992–98) and Curb Your Enthusiasm (1999–2024). More recently, she appeared in prestige shows such as The Last of Us (2023–) and The Studio (2025–).
But it was the role of Moira Rose, the eccentric, ex-soap opera star in the Canadian sitcom Schitt’s Creek (2015–20), created by Eugene Levy and his son Dan, that would become O’Hara’s most significant late career move. And what a role it was!
Written for O’Hara’s unique talents, Moira was a larger-than-life character with a bizarre, unforgettable vocabulary, dramatic mood swings and a wardrobe that became nearly as famous as the character herself.
Feminist media scholars have noted the rarity of such complex roles for older women, particularly in comedy, making O’Hara’s performance culturally significant.
The show became a global streaming blockbuster during COVID lockdowns and O’Hara’s multi-award-winning performance became a social media phenomenon, spawning memes and viral clips.
There are so many standout moments – her drunken meltdown after losing her wigs, her audition for The Crows Have Eyes 3 and the show’s moving finale where she performs Danny Boy at Alexis’s graduation.
O’Hara had a remarkable ability to play flamboyant, self-absorbed characters who were often uproariously funny.
Many comedians and actors have cited O’Hara as an influence for her fearlessness, her ability to blend absurdity with emotional truth, and her steadfast commitment to character integrity. She influenced performers like Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, Kate McKinnon and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
O’Hara also refused to chase conventional stardom. Rather than choosing projects designed to flatten her eccentricities, O’Hara favoured collaborative environments that valued creativity over control.
For her, comedy was always an art of intelligence, empathy and generosity.
Ben McCann 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. Funny, tender, goofy – Catherine O’Hara lit up the screen every time she showed up – https://theconversation.com/funny-tender-goofy-catherine-ohara-lit-up-the-screen-every-time-she-showed-up-274816
Source: Radio New Zealand
Motorists have been advised to expect delays after a serious crash involving a motorcycle on State Highway 3 at Ratana on Saturday afternoon. Screenshot
Motorists have been advised to expect delays, after a serious crash involving a motorcycle on State Highway 3 at Ratana on Saturday afternoon.
The crash happened about 4.20pm, between Whanganui and Bulls.
The rider of the motorbike was being treated for critical injuries.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Georgie Plimmer and Jess Kerr celebrate Wellington’s Super Smash women’s title. © Photosport Ltd 2026 www.photosport.nz
Wellington Blaze have beaten Auckland Hearts to claim the Super Smash women’s crown in a nailbiting final in Christchurch.
The Blaze won their seventh title in the past nine years and closed off their second threepeat in that time.
Chasing 147 to win, they reached their target with a ball to spare, thanks to captain Jess Kerr, who hit 17 runs, including two sixes and a boundary, in the final over at Hagley Oval.
Kerr was unbeaten on 46, the hero of the five-wicket victory, as she orchestrated the late surge, after the innings faltered in the middle stages.
Opener Rebecca Burns hit an imperious 55 from 41 balls and put on 66 for the first wicket with Georgia Plimmer (28 from 27), before things went awry for a while.
The Hearts batted first and scored 146/5, with their top order all getting starts. Izzy Gaze and Brook Halliday both scored 31, and captain Maddy Green 29, while Xara Jetly took 2/27 for the Blaze.
Rebecca Burns bats for Wellington against Auckland Hearts. © Photosport Ltd 2026 www.photosport.nz
Burns and Plimmer got the Blaze off to a great start in their chase, but things slowed after their departures, with Jetly and Hannah Francis dismissed cheaply, and Kerr, batting at No 3, having trouble finding strike.
She and Jess McFadyen (11) combined to give them a chance in the latter stages, and were still together when they needed 16 off the final over from Halliday.
On their scoring rate up, it looked a few runs too many, but Kerr hit a six off the second ball, before McFadyen was run out trying for a second run off the third ball.
Kerr smacked another six and then hit a cover drive to the boundary to give the Blaze the win, as her teammates stormed the field.
Molly Penfold was the best of the Heart bowlers, with 2/14 off her four overs.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: Radio New Zealand
Jacqualine Wheeler was a respected member of the equestrian community. Supplied
Jacqualine Suzanne Wheeler, 71, from Rotorua has been formally identified as a victim of the Mount Maunganui landslide.
She’s the last of six people marked as missing in the days following the slip.
The others were, in the order of their formal identification, Max Furse-Kee, 15, Måns Loke Bernhardsson, 20, Lisa Anne Maclennan, 50, Sharon Maccanico, 15, and Susan Doreen Knowles, 71.
The slip tore down tents, caravans and structures, when it swept through the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park and the Mount Hot Pools on 22 January at 9.29am.
Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell had earlier confirmed on social media that Wheeler, known as Jackie, was from the area and was the founder of Colour Concepts, an interior design store in Rotorua.
Wheeler had been on her annual summer camping trip with long-time camping buddy Susan Knowles, who was formally identified earlier today.
The pair went camping there together every summer, Holtom said.
Equestrian magazine Show Circuit posted a tribute to the pair on social media.
“Sue and Jackie were well known, and deeply respected within the local equestrian community and this news has come as a profound shock to all who knew them,” it said.
Chief coroner Anna Tutton told the court, despite the procedural nature of the hearing, Jackie as a person had been at the centre of the investigation. While her family were not in attendance at the court, Tutton extended her condolences to them.
She said Wheeler was described as the “backbone and matriarch” of her family.
Evidence was presented by Detective Senior Sergeant Brent Griffiths, who told the court Wheeler had been identified by her fingerprints and by comparing her DNA with that of her daughter.
The remains would now be released from custody of the coroner to the family.
As this was the final identification hearing, Tutton thanked everyone who had been involved in the recovery and identification of the victims, including emergency services, those standing on a cordon, driving diggers and trucks, caterers and cleaners.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Harry Brook speaks after England’s loss to the Black Caps in Wellington, the day after he was hit by a nightclub bouncer. Photosport
England whiteball captain Harry Brook has admitted he lied about being on his own, when he was hit by a nightclub bouncer in Wellington on their New Zealand tour in November.
Brook, 26, told media last week he was alone, when he went to a nightclub on the night of 1 November, the eve of their one-day match against New Zealand in the capital.
He has now acknowledged other team-mates were present at the nightclub.
The Daily Telegraph had reported Brook, Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue were at the nightclub.
“I accept responsibility for my actions in Wellington and acknowledge others were present that evening,” Brook said.
“I regret my previous comments and my intention was to protect my teammates from being drawn into a situation that arose as a result of my own decisions.
“I have apologised and will continue to reflect on the matter. This has been a challenging period in my career, but one from which I am learning.
“I recognise I have more to learn regarding the off-field responsibilities that come with leadership and captaincy. I remain committed to developing in this area, and to improving both personally and professionally.”
The New Zealand tour was Brook’s first as captain of England’s whiteball side. They lost the match in Wellington.
Brook was fined £30,000 (NZ$70,000) and given a final warning, after he reported the incident to team management, but that only came to light publicly about two months later, after the Ashes series, which Australia won 4-1.
In an interview with BBC Sport last week, Brook said some players had gone with him to get some food in Wellington.
Harry Brook in action for England against the Black Caps. PHOTOSPORT
“I took it upon myself to go out for a few more and I was on my own there. I shouldn’t have been there.
“I was trying to get into a club and the bouncer just clocked me, unfortunately. I wouldn’t say I was absolutely leathered – I’d had one too many drinks.”
The Daily Telegraph reported the cricket regulator was preparing a report, after receiving paperwork on Brook, Bethell and Tongue from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) last week. It said Bethell and Tongue had also already been fined by the ECB.
The regulator was able to fine or suspend players for disciplinary offences.
When he apologised to the England team and fans last week, Brook rejected suggestions the side had a drinking culture.
There had been criticism on the Ashes tour, when a video surfaced of opener Ben Duckett apparently drunk during the team’s mid-tour break in Noosa.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Surfers participated in a paddleout during the 2026 Grom Series. Supplied
Surfers participated in a paddleout on Saturday during the first event of the 2026 Billabong Grom Series to pay their respects to the victims of the Mount Maunganui landslide.
The paddleout was organised by Surfing New Zealand and Bay Boardriders, who are hosting the event at Tay Street Beach, Mount Maunganui.
Surfing New Zealand chief executive Ben Kennings said it was organised as a way to “go out and pay our respects”.
Kennings said people were coming to the event from all around the country to have fun and it was a good opportunity to acknowledge the lives lost in the landslip.
“Whenever we lose someone, the surf community does it,” Kennings said, referring to a paddleout, and he said it was a good way to acknowledge that things were “not normal” in Mount Maunganui.
Surfers included those participating in the event, as well as local surfers.
The second day of competition takes place on Sunday, one of three stops in the series, with the next event at Whangamatā, before finishing at Piha in late February.
The State of Emergency declared for Tauranga following recent severe weather has been extended until Wednesday.
The Tauranga City Council said the focus remains firmly on supporting the recovery operation and the whanau of the six people who died in the landslide.
The memorial along the fenced-off area will remain, but all messages and momentos will be relocated to the He Maimai Aroha Community Care Centre, when the cordon is moved.
Business owners or residents inside the cordoned-off area will need a permit to get through the road closures with a vehicle, the Tauranga City Council said.
Earlier on Saturday, Fire and Emergency stood down its specialist Urban Search and Rescue team at Mount Maunganui.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Akaroa (file photo) supplied
A boat full of tourists have been rescued, after their vessel started taking on water at Akaroa, near Christchurch.
More than 40 passengers and crew were safely evacuated, when a tourist boat grounded in Akaroa Harbour on Banks Peninsula.
Thirty-eight passengers and three crew were aboard the vessel, run by Black Cat Cruises, when struck trouble just outside the Akaroa Heads.
They’ve been taken back to the main wharf and the company said, while some were shaken, no-one was injured.
Efforts were underway to recover the vessel and a spokesperson said there was no environmental damage at this stage.
Black Cat Cruises said it’s grateful to local boaties who helped with the evacuation.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Akaroa (file photo) supplied
A boat full of tourists have been rescued, after their vessel started taking on water at Akaroa, near Christchurch.
More than 40 passengers and crew were safely evacuated, when a tourist boat grounded in Akaroa Harbour on Banks Peninsula.
Thirty-eight passengers and three crew were aboard the vessel, run by Black Cat Cruises, when struck trouble just outside the Akaroa Heads.
They’ve been taken back to the main wharf and the company said, while some were shaken, no-one was injured.
Efforts were underway to recover the vessel and a spokesperson said there was no environmental damage at this stage.
Black Cat Cruises said it’s grateful to local boaties who helped with the evacuation.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Hundreds of people gathered at two separate protests on Saturday afternoon, prompting police cordons and some road closures.
Destiny Church-affiliated Freedom and Rights Coalition protesters gathered at Victoria Park in the late morning, and marched towards Fanshawe Street, where a police cordon had been set up.
A second protest took place in early afternoon, led by Toitū te Aroha, who calling for solidarity among diverse communities.
The first was led by Destiny Church’s Brian Tamaki, who delivered a speech and then asked the large crowd to follow him in a march.
Hundreds gathered at Victoria Park for the Destiny Church-affiliated rally. RNZ
In anticipation of the march, police had set up a cordon at the Fanshawe Street motorway on-ramp and off-ramp.
Superintendent Naila Hassan said more than a thousand marched towards the cordon.
“In Victoria Park, at its peak, police estimate 1200 people gathered and marched to our Fanshawe Street cordon, before dispersing.”
Police cordon during Destiny Church-affiliated protest. Blessen Tom/RNZ
Hassan said the police cordons were a “precautionary measure” for the safety of pedestrians and motorists.
“I’m immensely proud of all the police staff deployed on today’s operation for their professionalism in response to this event. Pleasingly, Aucklanders have been able to largely go about their weekend without incident.”
Protestors approach the police cordon at the Fanshawe Street motorway ramps.
The protesters marched to the entrance of the motorway, but retreated, after being met with dozens of police officers.
Tamaki addressed supporters of the Freedom and Rights Coalition at the cordon, and not long after, the group dispersed with many returning to Victoria Park.
The group was denied a permit to walk across the harbour bridge last month and police said no protest group from here on would be allowed to cross the harbour bridge for safety reasons and the pressure placed on the bridge’s infrastructure.
Protesters soon dispersed, after being met with dozens of police officers.
Superintendent Naila Hassan said a temporary stoppage of all southbound traffic on State Highway 1 was put in place from the Onewa Road off-ramp, but was lifted after a short period of time.
“We thank the public for their understanding, particularly those motorists who were briefly stopped on the northern motorway earlier today.”
About midday, a protest led by Toitū te Aroha saw hundreds of attendees march along Queen Street, escorted by police and temporarily blocking the road.
Hundreds marched along Queen Street as part of a protest led by Toitū te Aroha. Gaurav Sharma/RNZ
Police escorted the march, which temporarily closed Queen Street. Gaurav Sharma/RNZ
Spokesperson Bianca Ranson had said the aim was to stand in solidarity with diverse communities across Aotearoa.
The march continued through to Te Komititanga Square and the group then gathered in Myers Park.
The group called for unity among what they said was rising harassment of some minority groups. Gaurav Sharma/RNZ
Community group members addressed the gathering, including New Zealand Central Sikh Association representative Marshal Walia.
Marshal Walia, representative of New Zealand Central Sikh Association. Blessen Tom/RNZ
The rally ended with a haka led by Eru Kapa-Kingi.
Eru Kapa-Kingi. Blessen Tom/RNZ
After both rallies had ended, Hassan said police operations would continue to monitor any protest activity happening across Auckland CBD.
The police cordon around the Fanshawe Street motorway ramps was stood down about 2pm and Hassan said the protest group at Victoria park had largely dispersed.
“Our operation remains , and a police presence will remain across parts of the motorway network and CBD to monitor the situation.
“There are no further issues to report at this stage.”
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Teams working at the Mauao search site on 25 January. RNZ / Nick Monro
One of the teams who have worked at the tragic Mt Maunganui campground landslide are returning home.
The Fire and Emergency specialist Urban Search and Rescue team are “in the process of demobilisation” and have left the cordoned-off site, FENZ said on Saturday.
However, Bay of Plenty police district commander Tim Anderson confirmed recovery efforts were continuing at the site.
“While some teams have started to depart, all the required safety measures and equipment remain in place to ensure the safety of all the teams who continue to work at the scene,” Anderson said.
The departing FENZ team have “worked meticulously and tirelessly throughout the operation”, FENZ assistant national commander David Guard said.
“Our thoughts remain with the families who lost loved ones in this devastating event. I would also like to thank the community for their outpouring of support.”
Guard also acknowledged the FENZ partnership with Police: “It was instrumental in our ability to achieve outcomes through our rescue phase and as we supported them in the DVI recovery phase.”
Six people were believed missing at the site, after the massive landslide struck on 22 January. On Saturday, a coroner confirmed the body of Rotorua woman Susan Doreen Knowles had been identified – she is the sixth victim formally identified.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on January 31, 2026.
Silver and gold hit record highs – then crashed. Before joining the rush, you need to know this
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angel Zhong, Professor of Finance, RMIT University Zlaťáky.cz/Pexels, CC BY The start of 2026 has seen gold and silver surge to record highs – only to crash on Friday. Gold prices peaked above US$5,500 (A$7,900) per ounce for the first time on Thursday, well above previous highs.
Micronesia: Island US military veterans struggle to get healthcare
By Giff Johnson, editor, Marshall Islands Journal / RNZ Pacific correspondent The death earlier this month of a 26-year veteran of the US Army from the Micronesian island of Kosrae, who was an ardent advocate for healthcare benefits for island veterans, highlights the ongoing lack of promised US healthcare support for those who served in
Jonathan Cook: BBC pushes the case for an illegal war on Iran with even bigger lies than Trump’s
COMMENTARY: By Jonathan Cook Here is another example of utterly irresponsible journalism from the BBC on News at Ten. Diplomatic correspondent Caroline Hawley starts the Thursday edition by credulously amplifying a fantastical death toll of “tens of thousands of dead” from recent protests in Iran — figures provided by regime opponents. Contrast that with the
Open letter: Seven warning signals to the global warmongers who are claiming to lead
COMMENTARY: By Richard David Hames Dear warmongers: You are sleepwalking towards a war in the Middle East that could set the whole world ablaze. Do not pretend you don’t know this. Your generals know it. Your intelligence agencies know it. Financial markets know it. Every citizen with a memory longer than a news cycle can
Puzzling slow radio pulses are coming from space. A new study could finally explain them
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Csanád Horváth, PhD Candidate, Radio Astronomy, Curtin University Artists impression of the white dwarf in GPM J1839-10 interacting with its companion star, producing a powerful radio beam. Danielle Futselaar Cosmic radio pulses repeating every few minutes or hours, known as long-period transients, have puzzled astronomers since their
View from The Hill: Hastie pulls out but Liberal leadership battle remains in flux
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The battle over the Liberal leadership took a dramatic turn late on Friday when Andrew Hastie announced he was pulling out. His surprise announcement came just a day after a meeting between Hastie and the other aspirant – defence spokesman
The government has promised a $25 billion boost to hospital funding – but only hints at real reform
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Breadon, Program Director, Health and Aged Care, Grattan Institute Federal and state governments have finally resolved their long-running standoff on public hospital funding. The deal struck at National Cabinet on Friday includes a A$25 billion boost to hospital funding, and state government commitments on disability services
UpScrolled – the Australian pro-Palestine platform shaking up global social media
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – By Agnese Boffano in London As Meta, TikTok, Instagram and X continue to dominate online social spaces, a new platform called UpScrolled has entered the scene. It is not built around dances or memes, but instead positions itself as a space promising fewer shadowbans and greater
Sussan Ley fills frontbench holes temporarily, giving a brief window for Nationals to rethink Coalition split
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Opposition Leader Sussan Ley on Friday allocated responsibilities formerly held by the Nationals to existing Liberal shadow ministers on a temporary basis. This will get the opposition through the next parliamentary week, starting Tuesday. It also gives the Nationals a
UpScrolled – the pro-Palestine platform shaking up social media
By Agnese Boffano in London As Meta, TikTok, Instagram and X continue to dominate online social spaces, a new platform called UpScrolled has entered the scene. It is not built around dances or memes, but instead positions itself as a space promising fewer shadowbans and greater freedom of political expression, particularly for pro-Palestinian voices. So,
Source: Radio New Zealand
Teams working at the Mauao search site on 25 January. RNZ / Nick Monro
One of the teams who have worked at the tragic Mt Maunganui campground landslide are returning home.
The Fire and Emergency specialist Urban Search and Rescue team are “in the process of demobilisation” and have left the cordoned-off site, FENZ said on Saturday.
However, Bay of Plenty police district commander Tim Anderson confirmed recovery efforts were continuing at the site.
“While some teams have started to depart, all the required safety measures and equipment remain in place to ensure the safety of all the teams who continue to work at the scene,” Anderson said.
The departing FENZ team have “worked meticulously and tirelessly throughout the operation”, FENZ assistant national commander David Guard said.
“Our thoughts remain with the families who lost loved ones in this devastating event. I would also like to thank the community for their outpouring of support.”
Guard also acknowledged the FENZ partnership with Police: “It was instrumental in our ability to achieve outcomes through our rescue phase and as we supported them in the DVI recovery phase.”
Six people were believed missing at the site, after the massive landslide struck on 22 January. On Saturday, a coroner confirmed the body of Rotorua woman Susan Doreen Knowles had been identified – she is the sixth victim formally identified.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angel Zhong, Professor of Finance, RMIT University
The start of 2026 has seen gold and silver surge to record highs – only to crash on Friday.
Gold prices peaked above US$5,500 (A$7,900) per ounce for the first time on Thursday, well above previous highs. But by the end of Friday, it had dropped to around US$5068 (A$7,282).
Silver had been making gains even faster than gold. It hit more than US$120 (A$172) per ounce last week, marking one of its strongest runs in decades, before crashing on Friday to US$98.50 (A$141.50).
So what’s behind those surges and falls? And what should everyday investors know about the risks of investing in precious metals right now?
Gold is the classic safe haven: an asset people buy to protect their savings when worried about financial risks.
With international political tensions rising, trade war threats, shifting signals about where interest rates are heading and a potential changing world order, investors are seeking assets that feel stable when everything else looks shaky.
Friday’s crash in gold and silver was sparked by financial markets reacting to early news of Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as chair of the US Federal Reserve. The US central bank plays a key role in global financial stability.
Central banks around the world have been buying gold at a rapid pace, reinforcing its reputation as a place to park value during periods of uncertainty.
But it’s not just big institutions moving the market. In Australia and overseas, retail investors – individuals buying and selling smaller amounts for themselves – have played a part too.
Those individuals have been increasingly treating gold, silver and other precious metals as a hedge against so much uncertainty, as well as a momentum play – trying to buy in to keep up with others.
As prices have trended upward, more everyday investors have bought in, especially through gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which make it simple to gain exposure without storing physical gold bullion.
Read more:
The price of gold is skyrocketing. Why is this, and will it continue?
While gold was grabbing headlines for much of 2025, silver has been the real showstopper. Before Friday’s fall, the metal had surged more than 60% in just the past month, far outpacing gold’s still impressive run of around 30%.
Unlike gold, silver has a split personality. Industrial uses are driving up demand for silver. It’s critical for clean energy technologies including solar panels, electric vehicles (EVs), and semiconductors.
This dual appeal – as a safe haven, but also as an in-demand industrial commodity – is drawing investors who see multiple reasons for prices to keep climbing.
Every solar panel contains about 20 grams of silver. The solar industry consumes nearly 30% of total global demand for silver.
EVs also use 25–50 grams each, and AI data centres need silver for semiconductors.
The kicker? The silver market has run a supply deficit for five consecutive years. We’re consuming more than we’re mining, and most silver comes as a byproduct of other metals. You can’t simply open more silver mines.
One of Australia’s most popular online investment platforms for retail investors is CommSec, with around 3 million customers.
Bloomberg tracking of CommSec trades shows how much retail purchases of silver ETFs in particular have spiked higher in the past year.
Over the past year, gold ETF trades on CommSec grew 47%, with cumulative net buying reaching A$158 million. That reflects gold’s established role in portfolios.
Yet despite attracting slightly lower total investment overall at A$104 million, silver trading activity exploded by far more: it’s been 1,000% higher than the year before.
This means retail investors made far more frequent, smaller trades in silver. This is classic momentum-chasing behaviour, as everyday investors piled into an asset showing dramatic price gains.
The pattern is unmistakable: while gold remains the anchor, silver has become the speculative play.
Its lower per-ounce price, industrial demand narrative, and social media buzz make it particularly accessible to retail investors seeking exposure to the precious metals rally, at a much lower price than gold.
The data shows Australian retail investors have been buying as prices rise. But this “fear of missing out” approach comes with serious risks.
Volatility cuts both ways. From February 2025 to just before Friday’s sharp drop, the price of silver had surged 269%. But even before that fall, silver’s spectacular gain had come with 36% “annualised volatility” (which measures how much a stock price varies over one year). That was nearly double gold’s 20% volatility over the same period.
What does that mean in practice? As we’ve just seen, what goes up fast can come down quickly too.
Buying high is dangerous. When retail investors pile in after major price increases, they often end up buying near the top. Professional investors and central banks have been accumulating gold and silver for years, at much lower prices.
No income, higher risk. Unlike shares or bonds, metals don’t pay dividends or interest. Your entire return depends on prices rising further from already elevated levels. And as the past few days have shown, the potential for sharp drawdowns is substantial.
Keep it modest. Financial advisers typically recommend precious metals comprise 5–15% of a diversified portfolio. After such extraordinary price volatility, that guideline matters more than ever.
Disclaimer: This article provides general information only and is not intended as financial advice. All investments carry risk.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Silver and gold hit record highs – then crashed. Before joining the rush, you need to know this – https://theconversation.com/silver-and-gold-hit-record-highs-then-crashed-before-joining-the-rush-you-need-to-know-this-274622
Source: Radio New Zealand
Karim Lopez of the Breakers. photosport
Teenager Karim Lopez came alive in the closing minutes as the Breakers upset Melbourne United 97-95 in Auckland to keep their Australian NBL playoff hopes alive.
The rising Mexican star scored 14 of his game-high 32 points in the last five minutes as the home side pulled ahead to secure a much-needed upset win.
It was a career-high haul for Lopez, whose deeds helped the Breakers overturn an eight point deficit with five minutes to play.
Victory lifts them to seventh (11-17) and one win behind the Jackjumpers (11-18), who hold down the sixth and final playoff spot, with the two teams to meet in a crucial contest in Tasmania on Sunday.
After that, the Breakers have just four games remaining as they launch a bold bid for a post-season berth, knowing they’re without the services of injured big men Rob Baker and Sam Mennenga for the rest of the campaign.
Lopez stepped into the void, the 18-year-old showing why he is regarded as a potential NBA player.
His scoring was complemented by eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Robert Loe of the Breakers drives to the basket. photosport
Guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright finished with 23 points while centre Rob Loe’s 10 points were mixed with five rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
The Breakers shot exceptionally to open up a 17-8 lead but fourth-placed Melbourne edged the middle stages, led by 23 points from Jesse Edwards.
Former Breakers player Tom Abercrombie. David Rowland
After the match, former Breakers player Tom Abercrombie was honoured by having his jersey retired.
A four-time NBL champion, Abercrombie played from 2008 to 2024 and notched a club-record 429 games.
He addressed the crowd as his No.10 jersey was hung from the rafters at Spark Arena.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
By Giff Johnson, editor, Marshall Islands Journal / RNZ Pacific correspondent
The death earlier this month of a 26-year veteran of the US Army from the Micronesian island of Kosrae, who was an ardent advocate for healthcare benefits for island veterans, highlights the ongoing lack of promised US healthcare support for those who served in the US armed forces.
Kosraen Robson Henry, who died earlier this month at age 66 in Kosrae, spent nearly half his life in the US military and was part of the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003.
A huge issue for Marshallese, Micronesian and Palauan members of the US Armed Forces is that once they get out of the military and return home, there are no Veterans Administration health services available to them as there are in the US and other international locations for American veterans.
To access medical care, island veterans must fly at their own expense to Honolulu, Guam or the US mainland where VA hospitals are located.
Despite the US Congress in the past several years adopting increasingly explicit legislation directing the US Veterans Administration to initiate systems for providing care to the hundreds of veterans of these three US-affiliated island nations, services have yet to materialise.
The Compact of Free Association (COFA) that became part of US law in 2024 “included provisions to have this healthcare available in our islands — as this Congress emphasised in November’s Continuing Resolution and December’s National Defense Authorisation Act,” Marshall Islands Ambassador to the US Charles Paul told a US House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Subcommittee on Health hearing in January.
However, he said the Department of Veterans Affairs had not acted to make the healthcare available.
‘Actively advocating’
“Robson has been actively advocating to extend veteran benefits to COFA citizens since at least 2008-09, when I first met him,” said filmmaker Nathan Fitch, who directed the award-winning film Island Soldier that tracked the lives of Kosraeans in the US Army — from Middle East war zones to their isolated and tranquil island home in the North Pacific.
Fitch said the Kosraean veteran had been active for the longest time advocating for services for veterans.
“Any progress on benefits for COFA veterans has to be part of Robson’s legacy,” Fitch said.
Still, despite ongoing advocacy by veterans like Henry and Marshall Islands Foreign Minister Kalani Kaneko, a 20-year veteran of the US Army, services mandated by US Congressional legislation remain in limbo.
Henry was also one of the first Micronesians to join the US Army when he entered on 13 October 1987 — just a year after implementation of the first COFA that allowed citizens of the three freely associated states to join the US military.
Henry stayed in the Army until October 2013, a total of 26 years, through which he was posted to locations around the world and saw tours of duty in various Middle East battle zones.
His story is not atypical, as many islanders who join the US military remain in the US armed forces for decades.
Higher enlistment
The US military “enlists our citizens at rates that are higher than the enlistment of US citizens in most US States,” noted Paul in his testimony at the hearing in Washington.
Paul told the House Veterans Committee members that healthcare for returning military veterans “was a major issue in the renegotiation of our free association, which culminated in the enactment of the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2024. The law was intended to resolve the issue”.
But he said the Veterans Administration “has acted contrary to what we negotiated, and Congress has said is the intent of the law. The government of the Marshall Islands, therefore, strongly supports the enactment of legislation to ensure that our veterans can receive the care if they return home.”
Meanwhile, a small section at the end of the over 3000 page National Defense Authorisation Act passed by the US Congress in December sets out a timetable for action by the Veterans Administration.
The US Defence spending law requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide the US Congress with updates within 30 days of the passage of the law and monthly thereafter on the implementation of provisions relating to services for military veterans in the freely associated states.
The defence law includes provisions requiring the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop plans and costs for providing health services for veterans from the freely associated states. This includes the requirement of:
‘Served honourably’
“For many years, Marshallese and other Freely Associated States veterans have served honourably in the United States Armed Forces, often at higher per capita rates than many States, yet without full and equal access to veterans’ benefits,” Foreign Minister Kalani Kaneko was quoted by the Marshall Islands Journal in its January 9 edition.
“Addressing that inequity has always been about fairness, dignity, and recognition of service not politics.”
Kaneko said that while the language of the US legislation passed in December is “encouraging . . . the most important phase now is implementation.”
He said the Marshall Islands government is ready to “work constructively with US agencies to support that process. This moment represents progress, but it is also a reminder that our partnership works best when commitments made in law are carried through in practice”.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz
COMMENTARY: By Jonathan Cook
Here is another example of utterly irresponsible journalism from the BBC on News at Ten.
Diplomatic correspondent Caroline Hawley starts the Thursday edition by credulously amplifying a fantastical death toll of “tens of thousands of dead” from recent protests in Iran — figures provided by regime opponents.
Contrast that with the BBC’s constant, two years of caution and downplaying of the numbers killed in Gaza by Israel.
The idea that in a few days Iranian security forces managed to kill as many Iranians as Israel has managed to kill Palestinians in Gaza from the prolonged carpet-bombing and levelling of the tiny enclave, as well as the starvation of its population, beggars belief. The figures sound patently ridiculous because they are patently ridiculous.
Either the Iran death toll is massively inflated, or the Gaza death toll is a massive underestimate. Or far more likely, both are intentionally being used to mislead.
The BBC pushes the case for an illegal war on Iran with even bigger lies than Trump’s.
Read my latest here: https://t.co/ge4QSBwpbp pic.twitter.com/utynu3KImq
— Jonathan Cook (@Jonathan_K_Cook) January 29, 2026
The BBC has a political agenda that says it is fine to headline a made-up, inflated figure of the dead in Iran because our leaders have defined Iran as an Official Enemy.
While the BBC has a converse political agenda that says it’s fine to employ endless caveats to minimise a death toll in Gaza that is already certain to be a huge undercount because Israel is an Official Ally.
Stenography for the West
This isn’t journalism. It’s stenography for Western governments that choose enemies and allies not on the basis of whether they adhere to any ethical or legal standards of behaviour but purely on the basis of whether they assist the West in its battle to dominate oil resources in the Middle East.
Notice something else. This news segment — focusing the attention of Western publics once again on the presumed wanton slaughter of protesters in Iran earlier this month — is being used by the BBC to advance the case for a war on Iran out of strictly humanitarian concerns that Trump himself doesn’t appear to share.
Trump has sent his armada of war ships to the Gulf not because he says he wants to protect protesters — in fact, missile strikes will undoubtedly kill many more Iranian civilians — but because he says he wishes to force Iran to the negotiating table over its nuclear programme.
There are already deep layers of deceit from Western politicians regarding Iran — not least, the years-long premise that Iran is seeking a nuclear bomb, for which there is still no evidence, and that Tehran is responsible for the breakdown of a deal to monitor its civilian nuclear power programme.
In fact, it was Trump in his first term as president who tore up that agreement.
Iran responded by enriching uranium above the levels needed for civilian use in a move that was endlessly flagged to Washington by Tehran and was clearly intended to encourage the previous Biden administration to renew the deal Trump had wrecked.
Instead, on his return to power, Trump used that enrichment not as grounds to return to diplomacy but as a pretext, first, to intensify US sanctions that have further crippled Iran’s economy, deepening poverty among ordinary Iranians, and then to launch a strike on Iran last summer that appears to have made little difference to its nuclear programme but served to weaken its air defences, to assassinate some of its leaders and to spread terror among the wider population.
Collective punishment
Notice too — though the BBC won’t point it out — that the US sanctions are a form of collective punishment on the Iranian population that is in breach of international law and that last year’s strikes on Iran were a clear war of aggression, which is defined as “the supreme international crime”.
The US President is now posturing as though he is the one who wants to bring Iran to the negotiating table, by sending an armada of war ships, when it was he who overturned that very negotiating table in May 2018 and ripped up what was known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The BBC, of course, makes no mention whatsoever of this critically important context for judging the credibility of Trump’s claims about his intentions towards Iran.
Instead its North America editor, Sarah Smith, vacuously regurgitates as fact the White House’s evidence-free claim that Iran has a “nuclear weapons programme” that Trump wants it to “get rid of”.
But on top of all that, media like the BBC are adding their own layers of deceit to sell the case for a US war on Iran.
First, they are doing so by trying to find new angles on old news about the violent repression of protests inside Iran. They are doing so by citing extraordinary, utterly unevidenced death toll figures and then tying them to the reasons for Trump going on the war path.
The BBC’s reporting is centring once again — after the catastrophes of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and elsewhere — bogus humanitarian justifications for war when Trump himself is making no such connection.
And second, the BBC’s reporting by Sarah Smith coolly lays out the US mechanics of attacking Iran — the build-up to war — without ever mentioning that such an attack would be in complete violation of international law. It would again be “the supreme international crime”.
‘Weakened leadership’
Instead she observes: “Donald Trump senses an opportunity to strike at a weakened leadership in Tehran. But how is actually going to do that?
“I mean he talked in his message about the successful military actions that have definitely emboldened him after the actions he took in Venezuela and earlier last year in Iran.”
Imagine if you can — and you can’t — the BBC dispassionately outlining Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans to move on from his invasion of Ukraine into launching military strikes on Poland.
Its correspondents note calmly the number of missiles Putin has massed closer to Poland’s borders, the demands made by the Russian leader of Poland if it wishes to avoid attack, and the practical obstacles standing in the way of the attack.
One correspondent ends by citing Putin’s earlier, self-proclaimed “successes”, such as the invasion of Ukraine, as a precedent for his new military actions.
It is unthinkable. And yet not a day passes without the BBC broadcasting this kind of blatant warmongering slop dressed up as journalism.
The British public have to pay for this endless stream of disinformation pouring into their living rooms — lies that not only leave them clueless about important international events but drive us ever closer to the brink of global conflagration.
Jonathan Cook is a writer, journalist and self-appointed media critic and author of many books about Palestine. Winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. This article was first published on the author’s Substack and reepublished with permission.
Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz
Source: Radio New Zealand
Police say a large operation is now underway in central Auckland as two planned protests take place in central Auckland today.
Protesters have begun gathering at Victoria Park as part of the Destiny Church-affiliated Freedom and Rights Coalition rally.
The group had its bid to march across the Harbour Bridge denied.
A second Palestine solidarity rally is expected at Te Komititanga Square.
Toitū te Aroha spokesperson Bianca Ranson said the aim was to stand in solidarity with diverse communities across Aotearoa.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Police say a large operation is now underway in central Auckland as two planned protests take place in central Auckland today.
Protesters have begun gathering at Victoria Park as part of the Destiny Church-affiliated Freedom and Rights Coalition rally.
A second Palestine solidarity rally is expected at Te Komititanga Square.
Follow RNZ’s liveblog at the top of this page.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: Radio New Zealand
[embedded content]
A large flash that lit up the night sky over Wellington was captured by a live feed camera and has prompted speculation it could have been a meteor.
The bright light was seen by people facing south at 11.25pm on Friday night, and travelled from east to west on an almost horizontal trajectory.
A PredictWind.com live feed camera (at timestamp 23:25:26) at the Heretaunga Boating Club, facing over Wellington Harbour from Petone, captured the ‘shooting star’.
It showed a circle of light with a long bright tail behind it entering view over the Eastern Hutt Hills from about a 10 o’clock bearing. The ‘head’ of light then flared brightly to a much bigger size – producing a wider and brighter trail behind it and at least two small bursts of light directly below it – then disappeared, leaving the brightest part of the trail to fade slowly.
“I live in Petone and it lit up my room,” one person said on a Lower Hutt Facebook group.
“I saw it in Tītahi Bay,” another person said. “From my point of view it looked like a green line shooting across the sky,” another said.
Supplied/ PredictWind.com
Several social media commenters asked if it could have been a meteor.
“Watched from my window in Ngaio. Most fantastic streak of blue/teal. Would have burnt up in the atmosphere,” a Redditor said.
Supplied/ PredictWind.com
A MetService spokesperson said sometimes their weather monitoring does pick up things like this, but in this case, while forecasters had checked their radars and other monitoring systems on Friday night, nothing had showed up.
The International Meteor Organisation posted online that data from the US Space Force indicated space debris had been observed re-entering the atmosphere 800km south of New Zealand – but later in the night, at 1.39am NZT(12.39pm UTC).
That was from a “massive (11 tons) second stage of a Chinese rocket, launched on December 3, 2025.”
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Karim Lopez of the Breakers. photosport
Teenager Karim Lopez came alive in the closing minutes as the Breakers upset Melbourne United 97-95 in Auckland to keep their NBL playoff hopes alive.
The rising Mexican star scored 14 of his game-high 32 points in the last five minutes as the home side pulled ahead to secure a much-needed upset win.
It was a career-high haul for Lopez, whose deeds helped the Breakers overturn an eight point deficit with five minutes to play.
Victory lifts them to seventh (11-17) and one win behind the Jackjumpers (11-18), who hold down the sixth and final playoff spot, with the two teams to meet in a crucial contest in Tasmania on Sunday.
After that, the Breakers have just four games remaining as they launch a bold bid for a post-season berth, knowing they’re without the services of injured big men Rob Baker and Sam Mennenga for the rest of the campaign.
Lopez stepped into the void, the 18-year-old showing why he is regarded as a potential NBA player.
His scoring was complemented by eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Robert Loe of the Breakers drives to the basket. photosport
Guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright finished with 23 points while centre Rob Loe’s 10 points were mixed with five rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
The Breakers shot exceptionally to open up a 17-8 lead but fourth-placed Melbourne edged the middle stages, led by 23 points from Jesse Edwards.
Former Breakers player Tom Abercrombie. David Rowland
After the match, former Breakers player Tom Abercrombie was honoured by having his jersey retired.
A four-time NBL champion, Abercrombie played from 2008 to 2024 and notched a club-record 429 games.
He addressed the crowd as his No.10 jersey was hung from the rafters at Spark Arena.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
ERO is unable to tell RNZ if it’s making more recommendations for support or intervention in schools than in the past. Unsplash/ Taylor Flowe
One in five schools recently scrutinised by the Education Review Office needs external support or intervention.
Twenty-one of the 100 most recently-published reviews of state or integrated schools said they needed or should continue to have statutory managers, a commissioner, or guidance for improving things like attendance and student achievement.
The recommendations were made in review reports signed off between early January and mid-November.
Last year ERO called for firmer action on schools that failed to improve despite support and some school principals warned the office was not giving schools enough credit for the challenges they faced due to social issues in their communities.
One principal spoken to by RNZ said reviewers who visited their school told them the school was doing excellent work, but “moderation” of their report resulted in only some mention of the school’s positive work and a recommendation that the school needed help.
The principal warned that ERO’s approach would discourage competent principals from taking on challenging schools in poor communities.
They also said schools with moderate results would get away with cruising or even declining results so long as their achievement and attendance figures were not in the danger zone.
ERO was unable to tell RNZ if it was making more recommendations for support or intervention than in the past.
“The Ministry of Education is the agency responsible for delivering support and is best placed to provide you with information on how many schools receive support,” it said.
However, it said it was “building a tracker” to indicate what types of support or intervention it recommended most.
Asked what common problems reviewers saw across schools, ERO said: “There are a range of common issues and can include us identifying schools that have low regular student attendance, a large proportion of students who are regularly and chronically absent, low student achievement and a lack of progress, and a significant number of students leaving school without NCEA qualifications,” it said.
Among the 21 review reports recommending support or intervention, 17 called for new action and five recommended continuing existing measures.
Eleven of the 21 schools had high equity index numbers placing them in the 14 percent of schools facing the most socio-economic barriers to achievement.
Eight were in the next most challenged group of schools, described as facing “many” barriers to achievement.
Just one of the schools was classed as facing “average” socio-economic barriers to achievement.
The office recommended dissolution of Herekino School’s board and appointment of a commissioner in order to improve leadership and student attendance and achievement at the Northland school.
It recommended appointment of a limited statutory manager at Te Kura a Iwi o Pawarenga to manage the relationship between the board and tumuaki and support strategic planning and teaching.
It also recommended a limited statutory manager for Randwick School in Lower Hutt to improve leadership, action planning and assessment and attendance.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
RNZ / REECE BAKER
One person has died after a single vehicle crash on Wickliffe Road in Port Chalmers on Friday night.
Emergency services were notified of the crash about 9.10pm.
A second person was also seriously injured and one person sustained minor injuries.
The Serious Crash Unit attended and enquiries into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Wellington Phoenix striker Ifeanyi Eze. photosport
Wellington Phoenix have squandered a two-goal advantage and missed a late penalty in a roller-coaster 2-2 home draw against Melbourne City.
Wellington’s 500th A-League match result was exactly the same as their first, having drawn 2-2 with Melbourne Victory in their inaugural competition fixture in 2007.
Coach Giancarlo Italiano was in no mood to reminisce, believing his side deserved the three points, paying a heavy price for defensive lapses late in the match.
“I don’t know what to make of that game to be honest,” Italiano told media.
“I’m disappointed. I feel as though if we play that game 20 times, that won’t be the result.”
The result doesn’t help the ninth placed home side in their bid to climb into the top six, with Brisbane and Melbourne City both still two points ahead of them in sixth and seventh respectively on a congested table.
Striker Ifeanyi Eze scored once in each half to put Wellington in control but the visitors scored twice in a five minute period, with their second coming via a dreadful mistake in possession from Bill Tuiloma.
Seasoned All Whites international Tuiloma was composed in his first match for the Phoenix but his error was highlighted by Italiano.
“The second goal was just comical. I’m not going to sit here and blame anyone for it. Bill [Tuiloma] got caught in possession, but I thought he was outstanding for the rest of the game.
“I thought with the ball he gave us a different dimension, especially in the first half under pressure.”
Manjrekar James had a chance to win the match for the Phoenix in stoppage time but his penalty was saved.
“But the penalty isn’t the reason we ended up drawing, it was that five minutes where we should have just done a little bit better,” Italiano said.
Wellington face another crucial home match on Friday, against the eighth-placed Melbourne Victory.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Susan Edmunds. RNZ
Got questions? RNZ has a podcast, Got questions? RNZ has a podcast, [https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/no-stupid-questions No Stupid Questions, with Susan Edmunds’.
We’d love to hear more of your questions about money and the economy. You can send through written questions, like these ones, but – even better – you can drop us a voice memo to our email questions@rnz.co.nz
I own one very small house on my own. If I can’t sell it (the market is terrible right now), then I will need to make the move to my new city anyway and rent there.
To pay that rent, I will have to rent out my own house, because I can’t afford both rent and mortgage payments.
It doesn’t make sense to me that I can’t claim the rent I’m paying elsewhere, as a tax-deductible expense against the rent I receive on my house.
From my perspective, the rent I pay in my new city is the cost of making my house available for an income-earning activity (ie, renting it out).
Do you know why this is the case? Is there any way to avoid ending up in a situation where I’m unable to pay rent in my new city because of the tax I’m having to pay on rental income?
To answer your question, I talked to Robyn Walker, who is a tax partner at Deloitte.
She said, while taxpayers earning income can generally claim tax deductions for the costs associated with earning that income, there are some limitations to that.
“In particular, it is not possible to claim costs which are capital in nature (ie you cannot expense the cost of buying a new fridge for your rental property, albeit you will be able to claim a depreciation deduction) and also it is not possible to claim costs which are of a private nature.
“The cost of renting and running a home that you live in to facilitate renting out the home you own is a private expense and cannot be deducted.”
She said it would still be possible to claim other costs associated with the rental property, such as interest, rates, insurance and maintenance costs.
This could reduce the income you earn to a much lower amount, reducing the tax you have to pay on the rent you receive.
“It is also worth noting that New Zealand has residential rental ring-fencing rules which essentially prevent a taxpayer from being in a tax loss position for rental properties; so even if the rent on a property you were living in was an available deduction, which it isn’t, then the deduction might also be effectively denied because of ring fencing rules.”
You might be able to improve your cash flow by making your mortgage payments interest-only. A mortgage adviser or your bank could help you look at whether that is appropriate.
I am unsure of who would pay if a parent dies and has no money (at all) to cover their funeral costs?
Both of my parents are divorced, in their early 80s and both are on pension only money, and one has multiple health issues, so it’s something I need to think about.
It’s usually the job of the person who is the executor of the estate to organise the funeral.
Citizens Advice Bureau advises that banks will release money from the person’s account to pay for one without probate or letters of administration. If the estate doesn’t have the money to cover the cost, the executor or the person who organises the funeral generally becomes liable.
You might be able to apply for a Work and Income Funeral Grant, which provides up to just over $2600 to help with the costs. From what I have seen, this is unlikely to cover it all.
You also might be able to apply for a withdrawal from your KiwiSaver fund if the cost is going to put you into significant financial hardship. I would use this as a last resort, though.
I turn 65 in May. A friend told me I will get less on the pension as I have $85,000 in KiwiSaver. I see there is a limit of $8000 you are allowed to have?
For the last few years all I read is you must save for your retirement. I made a lot sacrifices to get my KiwiSaver balance where it is. Now it appears the government penalises you?
I am now thinking of moving overseas when I retire. That is possible as long as you return every six months?
I think there’s a misunderstanding here. The $8000 threshold is only to apply for the accommodation supplement. You can get NZ Super no matter how much money you have in KiwiSaver.
If you’re moving overseas, it’s a good idea to talk to the Ministry of Social Development before you go to make sure you know how your pension will be treated. If you don’t and you stay away for more than six months, you can end up having to pay back the whole amount you were paid in that time.
My father-in-law is married but for the past 15 years his wife hasn’t been living with him she’s lives with her boyfriend, she keeps getting her mail sent to his address.
Now it’s coming to crunch time and she wants money out of the house, is she still entitled to half of his house?
Probably. If they were married and had children and so on, she’s likely to be entitled to a share of anything that can be deemed relationship property, even if it’s taken a while for them to get to the point of formally separating it. They will both need independent legal advice.
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