New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi earlier in the year. Photo: RNZ / Marika KhabaziThe government has struck a Free Trade deal with India, it is understood. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon promised to do so in his first term, and negotiations were formally launched in March. He visited the country for four days in April, and Trade Minister Todd McClay has been on several trips there since. Reports have suggested negotiations were finalised in recent days, with Christopher Luxon expected to make an announcement soon.

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A person has died after a car hit a power pole on Seadown Rd on the outskirts of Timaru. Timaru fatal crash: Member of public comes across a car crashed into a power pole with body insideA person has died after a car hit a power pole on Seadown Rd on the outskirts of Timaru. File photo / George HeardA member of the public came across a car that had hit a power pole outside Timaru this morning and found a body inside. Police received a report around 9.10am from someone who had come across a crashed car on Seadown Rd, north of Timaru. The police serious crash unit has been advised, and Seadown Rd is currently closed between Arowhenua Station Rd and Opihi River.

Photo: Supplied/Christchurch City Council via RNZUniversity of Auckland researchers have discovered different microbes can be used to reduce the carbon footprint of treating wastewater. Carbon emissions from wastewater treatment were thought to make up a small, but preventable percentage of many countries' overall carbon footprints. Zhuang said his team had discovered two different kinds of microbes that existed in wastewater already and could be used to remove nitrate. "When wastewater flows through, we provide hydrogen or sulphur for these microbes to use, and then they will reduce nitrate to nitrogen gas." They could also be suitable methods for treating drinking water, he said.

Alice Robinson of Team New Zealand in action during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women's Super G in Val d'Isere, France. Robinson has followed up her historic Super G World Cup win last week by finishing second in the same discipline at the latest event in France. Robinson has seven career World Cup victories and 22 World Cup podiums. With two podiums (first and second) from a total of two Super G FIS World Cup races this season, Robinson retains the red bib and leads the 2025/26 Super G World Cup standings. Robinson has one more race for 2025 and will be back in the Giant Slalom World Cup bib in Semmering, Austria on the December 27.

NZ First leader Winston Peters Photo: RNZNew Zealand First leader Winston Peters has reversed his previous opposition to the Chorus debt sell-off, saying it is "monetisation" rather than an asset sale. In November, Peters told RNZ he did not support the proposal, calling it "creative accounting of the worst sort". "I don't support that idea. I don't support wanton neoliberalism, which is a disaster. The government's statement announcing the move last week was titled "earlier monetisation of Chorus debt".

The CEO pay package is more than double the previous highest-paid New Zealand company chief executive, former Ebos CEO John Cullity, who received $7.3m in 2024 and $8.4m in the 2023 financial year. Miles’ remuneration is closely watched by the New Zealand Shareholders’ Association, which has argued the performance hurdles are potentially not high enough. Gentrack, which makes software for running airports and utilities, does most of its business offshore. Gentrack CEO Gary Miles in the NZME offices. Photo / Cameron PitneyGentrack’s annual report notes that the CEO and executive remuneration is reviewed by the board of directors each year.

The carpark in Dive Cre where members of the public hid behind cars during the alleged incident. Photo / Rosalie Liddle CrawfordAlready a subscriber? The carpark in Dive Cre where members of the public hid behind cars during the alleged incident. Photo / Rosalie Liddle CrawfordPolice were called to an incident on Dive Cr in Tauranga on Saturday following reports of disorder. Officers were called about 3.15pm after reports of a man allegedly throwing rocks and verbally abusing a family.

A popular eastern bays beach has been flagged as unsafe for swimming due to faecal contamination. Water-quality website Safeswim has black-flagged St Heliers – meaning swimmers should not to swim there at all. The only other black-flagged beach in Auckland is Judges Bay in Parnell, which has been unfit for swimming for years. Safeswim said work was under way to fix issues at St Heliers and Judges Bay; however, it is not clear how long the areas will remain off limits for swimmers. Investigations were still under way to find out the source of wastewater pollution going into the stream around Dingle Rd that flows to the beach at St Heliers.

However, his New Zealand-based manager Garry Cossey confirmed McDonald won’t be taking other rides at the Trentham meeting. McDonald hasn’t ridden in his home country since the Karaka Millions meeting at Ellerslie in January last year. “I am feeling a lot better and it was very special to win that race,” he told the Herald. He and wife Katie will meet with doctors on Monday morning to find out the next steps in his recovery. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.

“Everybody seems to want to be at the front of the queue, no matter the risk, and that risk-taking causes carnage. “People just need to remember, just be patient – we’ve got to do better.”National Road Policing Centre director Superintendent Stephen Greally. Photo / FileHe reminded people to remember their seatbelts, drive sober and stick to the speed limit. Traffic leaving Auckland is expected to be the worst on Christmas Eve as people head for beaches and holiday hotspots across the country. “Always drive to the conditions, which can change quickly.

Trade Minister Todd McClay meets with his Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal in India. Trade Minister Todd McClay meets with his Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal in India. India and New Zealand have struck a comprehensive free trade agreement, and India’s cabinet has now, reportedly, also signed off on the deal. Trade Minister Todd McClay recently returned from India, with several sources telling BusinessDesk the final details of a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) were ironed out during the trip. On Saturday morning, NZ time, Indian business news media outlet Business Standard reported India’s cabinet approved the NZ FTA deal at the end of last week.

England cricket coach Brendon McCullum is under fire following his team's Ashes series loss in Australia. Photo: Getty ImagesEngland coach Brendon McCullum faced a barrage of criticism from former players and captains yesterday after his team slumped to another crushing Ashes defeat by Australia. "It's mainly about the intensity of Ashes cricket. Former England captain Michael Vaughan also tore into the current team in his column in The Telegraph. "The whole approach of this England side has been badly exposed on this Ashes tour, and you don’t have to look far into history to know that heads will roll after a defeat like this," he wrote.

The website bookpublishers.co.nz, however, has no staff in New Zealand. “The amount of evidence that it was genuine was massive … They have a New Zealand address and phone number,” one said. The 12 urls, along with bookpublishers.co.nz, are all managed by the same website company in Pakistan. bookpublishers.co.nz was registered in 2023 by the CEO of a website company in Pakistan, who supplied a London address. Batalha felt the quality of the work bookpublishers.co.nz delivered to her was so poor she would have been embarrassed to use it.

Judge Gibson said 22 of the charges were representative, meaning each charge relates to multiple instances of offending. Zhanming Shang, here with a translator, pleaded guilty to 50 charges related to the sexual abuse of two boys. Shang, Jones said, believed his experience as a child shaped how he offended as an adult. ‘Depraved and extremely serious’In sentencing Shang, Judge Gibson said he had “systematically groomed” the victims and ingratiated himself in their families. Judge Gibson also imposed a minimum non-parole period of half the total sentence for Shang’s “serious predatory offending”.