Wellington Police are trying to find Ella, who has not been seen since Saturday, December 27. Wellington police search for missing person last seen on SaturdayWellington Police are trying to find Ella, who has not been seen since Saturday, December 27. Ella was last seen wearing grey pants, a pink shirt and slide-on slippers, police said. She is believed to be in Johnsonville or the wider Wellington City area. If you have seen Ella, or have any information on her whereabouts, please contact police via 105 and reference the file number 251227/3635.

The Coromandel Peninsula remains under an orange heavy rain warning until 6pm today, while Gisborne/Tairāwhiti is under the warning until 3am tomorrow. Bay of Plenty, about and east of Rotorua and Hawke’s Bay, are also under an orange heavy rain warning until the early hours of tomorrow. An orange strong wind warning, which signals the threat of winds gusting up 120km/h, is also in place for several regions. Waikato, Waitomo, Taranaki, Taumarunui, Taupō, Tongariro National Park and Taihape are also under an orange strong wind warning until 9pm tonight. Bay of Plenty west of Rotorua, the Tararua District, Wairarapa and the Kaikōura Coast are under a heavy rain watch.

A Dunedin flat erupted into chaos after a man was allegedly assaulted by his flatmate due to the household dog behaving out of character. The two flatmates, aged 62 and 66, live together at a property in North Rd, North East Valley, with the younger man’s dog, Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond, of Dunedin, said. At 9.30pm on Friday, the younger man noticed his dog was acting "withdrawn and scared" all of a sudden. He went to his flatmate to ask him whether he had done anything to the dog, and the conversation quickly deteriorated. He then told his flatmate that if he called police, he would kill him, Snr Sgt Bond said.

Chairperson of the ministerial advisory group on organised crime, Steve Symon. (File photo) Photo: RNZ / Nick MonroThe chairperson of a ministerial advisory group on organised crime says he won't be satisfied until he sees the government commit resources to tackling the issue of organised crime. "It's quite a frightening picture, because organised crime is affecting all New Zealanders, whether we necessarily recognise it or not." He said Pacific criminal organised groups were starting to take hold in the region, infiltrating and corrupting law enforcement agencies. "The key thing I think we need to recognise is that organised crime is a business that will do anything it can to make a profit.

Photo: RNZThe Automobile Association believes a proposed merger between two fuel companies should drive down pump prices. NPD and Gull want to combine sites, teams and supply chains to form what they say would be the largest independent, majority New Zealand-owned fuel company. In a joint statement, NPD and Gull said each of their combined 240 sites would retain their distinctive brand. When Gull first arrived with that model in New Zealand it became known as the Gull effect because it dropped the prices and competitors had to match it," he said. "We've been tracking the price of fuel for the last couple of months and we're watching as the international landed prices dropped, the retail prices haven't dropped at the same level," he said.

GoodmanGoodman sold Auckland property for $252.7m on May 29. The PlazaKiwi Property Group sold this Palmerston North shopping centre to Mark Gunton’s New Zealand Retail Property Group which owns Westgate where Costco Wholesale trades from. SilverdaleStride Property sold Auckland’s 39-shop Silverdale Centre to an associate, Investore Property for $114m on September 8. Auckland CBDBei Group sold Auckland properties to Australia’s Quattro Group for $104.6m on July 10. Kiwi Property sold Sylvia Park Lifestyle complex for $90m to Mackersy Property.

Four people have been injured in a two-vehicle crash north of Levin, in the North Island, this morning. Police were called to State Highway 1 at the Waitarere turnoff about 11am. Two people were trapped, but have since been helped out. The road was partially blocked as both vehicles were towed from the area. Detours were in place via Koputaroa Rd or State Highway 57.

Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

The eruption produced lava fountains reaching up to 400m and a dense ash column, with a new vent opening on the eastern flank of the Voragine Crater that remains active. Photo / Getty ImagesThe eruption produced lava fountains reaching up to 400m and a dense ash column, with a new vent opening on the eastern flank of the Voragine Crater that remains active. Photo / Getty ImagesMount Etna has been gearing up for 2026 with a bang – or, actually, several of them – with days of explosive activity, bringing lava fountains, loud booms and eruption columns that launched dark clouds of ash into the sky. The latest volcanic activity began last Thursday, when monitors detected a change in Etna’s usual signals, including volcanic tremors, changes in the Earth’s surface and infrasonic activity, Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said. The latest volcanic activity intensified, causing ejections of incandescent material above the crater rim, the institute said.

Morning Headlines | Police seek witnesses after K Rd brawl and parts of North Island brace for wild weather | Monday, December 29, 2025Nicola Peltz has shared private photos from her family Christmas gathering as an apparent feud with her Beckham in-laws continues to play out on social media. The 30-year-old actress posted the festive images to Instagram on Boxing Day, writing: “We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy new year filled with so much love, peace and happiness.”The snaps showed Peltz and husband Brooklyn Beckham wearing matching red pyjamas and posing with her parents, billionaire businessman Nelson Peltz and former model Claudia Heffner. Several of Peltz’s 3.1 million followers used the comments section to urge the couple to reconcile with the Beckhams. “If your wife was truly supportive of you, she would never allow you to alienate your family,” one commenter wrote.

McCaw’s Mt Harding Farm is cross-sectioned by stockwater races he hasn’t needed for over 10 years, but pays rates for as well as having to fence them off. The farm is home to Drayton’s gate, where water from the Pudding Hill intake meets water from the Methven Auxiliary intake from the Ashburton North Branch. Mt Harding Creek, winding its way from the foothills of Mt Hutt to the Methven township, has been used to connect the stockwater network. McCaw said the decision to partially close the Pudding Hill Intake network, and allow the water to flow down Mt Harding Creek, was a “pragmatic step”. McCaw said Mt Harding Creek is a natural waterway in the “highly modified environment” of the Canterbury plains.

A helicopter was deployed and reached the area, but was unable to land due to deteriorating weather conditions. A second helicopter was sent in, but it too was unable to land as weather conditions worsened. They formed a human heat circle to help warm him before returning with him to the hut to await rescue. At first light, with the assistance of Land Search and Rescue teams, police were able to extract the man from the area. “Emergency Locator Beacons are cheap to hire and are capable of saving your life, even when there’s no cell phone reception.”

MetService described conditions for today and tomorrow as “wet and wild” with heavy rain and gale southeasterlies. A heavy rain watch is currently in place for the Coromandel Peninsula until 7pm, with 90 to 130mm of rain expected today. Heavy rain warnings are forecast to begin from this morning until early tomorrow morning for Gisborne/Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay. 🌧️Rain Band Moving South🌧️📡Heavy Rain Warnings are still in their early days, so accumulations are just starting to climb. A heavy rain watch is also in place this morning for Bay of Plenty, including Rotorua.

Photo: Supplied/DOC via RNZAn elderly hiker who got lost and collapsed wearing only shorts and a singlet was saved by a mother and her two teenagers who huddled around him to keep him warm, police say. The lost man had made the call. But the mother and her two children, who were also on the trail, were about to come to his rescue. Emergency crews managed to contact them to get to them to help find the lost man. He said the elderly man was grateful to see the rescuers when they arrived, but it was an uncomfortably "close call".

Air New Zealand passengers enjoyed listening to pop star Taylor Swift more than any other artist. Gladiator II was Air NZ passengers’ most-watched movie of 2025, with films like Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (fifth most popular) and The Amateur (seventh) adding to the genre’s prominence. Kiwi content also found a strong audience, with home-grown film Tinā ranking among the airline’s top 10 most-watched movies. Air New Zealand is now in its busiest time of the year, with more than 2.7 million travellers flying with the airline in December and January. “Further afield, Los Angeles sees 56,000 passengers connecting to and from New Zealand these holidays.”Some domestic destinations also remained popular.