A teenager died while travelling to Melbourne for a Taylor Swift concert when the car she was a passenger in collided with a truck in regional New South Wales. Mieka Pokarier, 16, was travelling from the Gold Coast with her mother and 10-year-old sister when their vehicle collided with a semi-trailer about 30 kilometres north-east of Dubbo on Thursday. Mieka Pokarier (left), pictured here with her friend Cheyenne Craig, died while driving to Melbourne for a Taylor Swift concert. The teenager’s younger sister was critically injured in the crash and was flown to hospital in Sydney for treatment. The girl’s mother and the truck driver both suffered minor injuries and were treated at a Dubbo hospital.

By Amy Ridout ofPhoto: Stuff / SuppliedAn insurance company that used an image of a boy with cancer without permission has been called "predatory" by his mother. "I felt so yuck ... thinking about how someone used my son's cancer story to try and make a profit," she said. Munro, whose job title is risk services director, said the image was used to "underscore vulnerabilities" within the health system. But my expectation was not that it would be used by others for their own commercial gain without our permission," Smithson said. "However, if these pictures were Are Media property and used without permission in advertising, we would get our lawyers onto it."

The UST 10yr yield starts today at 4.30% and up +6 bps from yesterday, up +11 bps from a week ago. A week ago it was at 4.91% so little net change. The Fear & Greed index is still at the "extreme greed" level where it was a week ago. A week ago it was at 61.4 USc. A week ago it was at 70.9.

Covid-19 Inquiry updateWe are happy to announce that the terms of reference on the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Covid-19 response have been expanded. This includes what we committed to in our coalition agreement, to:Ensure, as a matter of urgency in establishment and completion, a full scale,

Mike Wilson has taken another punt at reality television, this time looking for lasting love on the new season of Married at First Sight New Zealand. As the Kiwi iteration of Married at First Sight starts shaping up and making commitments, more details are being revealed – including its latest groom. Wilson, an auctioneer, health and wellness entrepreneur — and an advocate for the naked party scene — placed third in The Apprentice NZ in 2021. He was spotted around the city (including at the Pullman Hotel) filming MAFS NZ before Christmas, and his bride is said to be a tall statuesque blonde. Wilson has carried on the entrepreneurial ideas from his time on The Apprentice NZ with wellness business Bader.

In which US state was Taylor Swift born? Photo / Jordan Strauss/Invision/APIn which US state was Taylor Swift born? Photo / Jordan Strauss/Invision/APAre you smarter than a robot? Test your brains with the Herald’s morning quiz. Be sure to check back on nzherald.co.nz for today’s afternoon quiz.

In the U.K., the economy shrank for the second consecutive quarter, the shorthand definition of a recession. And he’s harpooned plans for a vast Kermadec marine sanctuary – it’s now sunk as deep as the 10,000 metre ocean trench. This what we replaced Labour for, rich pricks manipulating our fear and ignorance for their corporate donor mates and other rich prick friends. 13 000 kids pushed into poverty to pay for rich landlord tax cuts! If you can’t contribute but want to help, please always feel free to share our blogs on social media.

Hundreds ordered to flee one of Gaza’s last working hospitalsHundreds of displaced Palestinians fled one of the Gaza Strip’s last functioning hospitals on Wednesday, after the Israeli military ordered them to leave and threatened further action to stop what it said was Hamas activity there.

Video / Mark MitchellNational is extending its lead over Labour, with support for the party lifting two points to 38 per cent, a new poll shows. NZ First was on 6.2 per cent, Te Pāti Māori polled 4.9 per cent, and Top polled 1.4 per cent. National leader Christopher Luxon was ahead as preferred prime minister at 27 per cent, no change from the previous month. A commentary released with the poll noted the national mood seems to be shifting in favour of the new Government. It is the first time the poll has recorded a net positive “right track” performance since June 2022.

Covid-19 Inquiry updateWe are happy to announce that the terms of reference on the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Covid-19 response have been expanded. This includes what we committed to in our coalition agreement, to:Ensure, as a matter of urgency in establishment and completion, a full scale,

[Source: stuff.co.nz]The Blues big guns fired up in the second half of their final Super Rugby Pacific pre-season clash with the Chiefs to send their team into the real scene with a decided spring in their step. But it was the Blues, with their All Blacks prominent, who dominated the second 40 to ease to a 14-point victory. The Blues forwards had the better of the upfront battle over the second 40, and that enough to give their speedy backs the ball they needed to stamp their mark on proceedings. Most importantly, both sides survived the hitout without any major injury problems. Highlanders complete pre-season with big win over depleted Crusaders[Source: stuff.co.nz]At Methven Recreational Reserve: Highlanders 41 (Sean Withy, Sam Gilbert, Jona Nareki, Folau Fakatava, Oliver Haig, Nathan Hastie tries; Gilbert 3 con, pen, Rhys Patchell con) Crusaders 14 (Jack Gray, Antonio Shalfoon tries; Taine Robinson 2 con).

Hodgson, sent to hospital on the advice of the Palace medical staff, was able to walk unaided and was speaking to doctors and will undergo further tests. It is the second Premier League game Hodgson has missed this season through illness, and the succession plans Palace had in place have had to be accelerated. He took charge of his 200th match as Palace manager last Monday with his side losing 3-1 at home to Chelsea. Hodgson led Palace to 11th last season, having signed a short-term deal to succeed Patrick Vieira for the final 10 league games. Palace are expected to be without captain Marc Guehi, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise for the game against Everton.

News bosses from across the country have travelled to Wellington to urge politicians to get big tech companies to pay for using their news content. The legislation, if passed, would require tech titans like Google and Meta (which runs Facebook and Instagram) to negotiate with New Zealand's media to pay them for using their content. The argument is largely that if these companies are able take content written by New Zealand journalists for free, it is not a level playing field for Kiwi news businesses to compete on. Jana Rangooni of the Radio Broadcasting Association said without intervention, many of today's media outlets will be gone in a decade. "I'm pretty confident you'll still have RNZ and TVNZ in ten years...

Rising interest rates globally brought the 2020-22 house price boom to an end, "but it’s surprising they didn’t do more damage", according to independent global economics researcher Capital Economics (CE). "Falls in nominal house prices have been modest in most developed economies and almost non-existent in some others," Wishart says. House prices didn’t fall at all in Spain, and only declined marginally in Italy," he says. In fact, at the current level of mortgage rates, house prices in many countries look unsustainable." More plentiful supply in Canada of late means house prices there are set to drop a bit further.

A Woolworths-owned store in New Zealand has been forced to shut down after a pair of rats were spotted casually peering from the shelves in the deli section. The Countdown store in the South Island city of Dunnedin has been forced to deal with a rat infestation leading it to close down last week. New Zealand Food Safety has launched a review of Woolworths' pest management processes across its New Zealand stores. According to a report by Stuff.co.nz there have been 19 rats caught in the Dunnedin store since it was forced to close. We continue to work closely with New Zealand Food Safety and Renotokil, and will provide regular updates as needed.'