Black Ferns loose forward Kennedy Simon MNZM has been retained as Chiefs Manawa captain ahead of the 2024 Sky Super Rugby Aupiki season. It will be Simon’s second season leading the Chiefs Manawa after the retirement of Les Elder. She’s a weapon on the field and a fabulous role model off it,” Chiefs Manawa head coach Crystal Kaua said. We’ve come in off a heavy break but I think everyone has been able to train over the Christmas period. The 27-year-old made her Black Ferns debut in 2019 after touring Japan with the Black Ferns Sevens Development team earlier that year and has since become the national co-captain.

Photo: SuppliedEli Paewai - who has played drums for Six60 since the hugely successful Kiwi band was formed in 2008 - has announced that he will be retiring from the role after two final shows this month. In a statement on social media, Paewai said being a founding member of the band had been "one of the most fulfilling things in my life". "While my personal journey with music is coming to an end, I will always be a member of Six60. I will be staying on as a member of the Six60 foundation to continue my passion of mentoring and coaching future generations." Paewai will play two final gigs with the band in Melbourne on 10 February and at Christchurch's Electric Avenue on 24 February.

Treasury’s briefing to new Finance Minister Nicola Willis suggested she stick with the Government’s fiscal rules set in 2022, although left room for her to refine them. Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson set the current fiscal rules after the pandemic, based on Treasury advice. In the November briefing, the Treasury told Willis that fiscal sustainability was a key policy issue and that fiscal rules were an effective way to communicate the Government’s commitment. To achieve the surplus, Treasury said the Coalition Government could consider decreasing expenditure, limiting new spending, increasing taxes, or use debt more efficiently. Improved productivity was the key to better living standards in the future, it said.

A historical sexual abuse case that took nearly five years to resolve left a Dunedin survivor heartbroken and drained of her drive for justice. “This time, they nearly destroyed my mental health.”The process began back in November 2018, when Sarah first lodged a historical abuse claim with the MSD. In April of 2023, to her complete surprise, she received a second offer — a higher “rapid payment offer”. She said MSD had tried to make the claim process as smooth as possible and apologised for Sarah’s experience. The claims process was designed to give them choice, and payments were only one aspect.

South Canterbury hoopers Emily Cooney, left, and Briar Craig will head to Las Vegas later this year for a basketball tournament. Emily Cooney (15) and Briar Craig (13) have been selected for the under-16 and under-13 New Zealand Storm basketball teams, respectively. The pair will travel to Las Vegas for a tournament in July. New Zealand Storm is a nationwide club that selects players from all over the country. The Las Vegas Live tournament hosts boys and girls age group sides from across the US.

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,

People march into the Octagon, protesting against the war in Gaza, on Saturday. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSHThe marches against the war in Gaza could continue even if Israel and Hamas reach a ceasefire, the co-organiser of the Dunedin rallies says. Marches have occurred in Dunedin regularly since the latest conflict between Israel and Palestinians started on October 7. Co-organiser Rinad Tamimi, who is from Hebron in the West Bank, said a permanent ceasefire in the conflict would be a great result. Asked whether the marches would continue if Hamas and Israel reached a ceasefire, Ms Tamimi said this would be "a fraction of what we’re after".

Photo: RNZThe government is being warned that tight electricity supply situations could become more frequent, especially on cold winter mornings and evenings. "These tight periods can last minutes or hours and are a particular challenge at times when our thermal generators are not already running to provide baseload electricity supply, when the wind drops, or when the weather is colder than forecast." MBIE promised Energy Minister Simeon Brown another briefing soon on the elevated risks of tight supply as it looked at trade-offs around cost, technology and sustainability in tackling it. "For example, large-scale domestic green hydrogen production as an input to sustainable aviation fuels would increase electricity demand very substantially (at a time when we are already needing to significantly increase electricity generation)." The briefing contains a forecast of a 70 percent rise in electricity demand by 2050.

An Air New Zealand flight travelling to Auckland from Taiwan, which was diverted to Guam on Friday due to an "unidentified odour", is back on New Zealand soil this morning. Flight NZ78 touched down in Auckland at 6.55am this morning. A passenger on the flight had told Stuff it was an "electrical kind of smell". An image taken from onboard the plane showed firefighters inside the cabin after it landed in Guam. Morgan said the airline had provided accommodation for "as many customers as possible" while they were in Guam.

See my comment at the end of the postweka: The Women’s Rights Party have responded, see the end of the post. The Women’s Rights Party, New Zealand and the Women’s Declaration International – New Zealand are concerned that women’s rights and safety are not being upheld under the current legislation. Submitted by:The Women’s Right’s Party, New ZealandWomen’s Declaration International, New ZealandThank you for the opportunity to make this submission. New Zealand legislationIt is twenty years since the Prostitution Reform Act 2003, which fully decriminalised prostitution in New Zealand, was passed. 3The Women’s Rights Party, New Zealand and the Women’s Declaration International – New Zealand are concerned that women’s rights and safety are not being upheld under the current legislation.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova reacted to a fan praising her controversial 'MEOW' tattoo, which caused her trouble at the 2024 Australian Open earlier this year. 42 in the world, got her first tattoo when she was 18 years old. In January, Pavlyuchenkova faced verbal harassment from drunken spectators during her second-round match against Paula Badosa at the Australian Open. On Saturday, February 3, an X (formerly Twitter) user posted a picture of Pavlyuchenkova's 'MEOW' tattoo and wrote:"best tattoo ever 😭", tagging Pavlyuchenkova. The Latvian, who had dropped only one set in her previous two matches, was too strong for Pavlyuchenkova, ultimately defeating her in straight sets.

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,

Inflation is deflating,” Lisa Owen told RNZ’s Checkpoint listeners the day the latest quarterly data showing inflation below 5 per cent for the first time in ages. But does that explain why more recent good economic news doesn’t seem to make as many headlines as the bad stuff does? “In the US they get inflation data monthly; we only get ours quarterly. “Whether it's business, economic, or political or otherwise, news coverage is determined by the relevance to an audience. “In the case of inflation, that 4.7 percent rate that we had last week, that is still inflation and prices going up.

The tension in the air at Waitangi is palpable, as people wait to see how the Government and iwi leaders will mix. Opposition MPs were welcomed yesterday and Labour did not hold back, suggesting the Government was a den of lions - and advocating for Māori rights in speeches. The Government will be welcomed to Waitangi on Tuesday, with thousands of visitors expected. Herald Political Reporter Adam Pearse is there, and says the next few days will bring some 'interesting scenes.' "And we will see and hear, I can imagine, some pretty strong speeches from iwi leaders about where the Government's taking Māori issues."

PHOTO: SUPPLIEDResidents of Queenstown’s Lake Hayes Estate and Shotover Country can do their bit to help protect the growing native bird population in their midst. Whakatipu Wildlife Trust’s (WWT) received a grant for 80 Victor rat traps (right) from Predator Free NZ. On Tuesday, Waitangi Day, WWT executive officer Joanne Conroy’s inviting residents who’d like a free rat trap in their backyard to visit her at the Lake Hayes Estate playground between 10am and noon. She says WWT applied for traps for these neighbourhoods due to their proximity to Lake Hayes and the Kawarau River, "and there’s actually quite a lot of birdlife out there now". Last year WWT gave out free traps to Quail Rise residents, "which was quite successful", Conroy says.