Police are stationed at Christchurch mosques after a phone threat. Photo: NZ HeraldArmed police have responded to two Christchurch mosques this afternoon after a phone threat was made. Police said they have visited the two mosques and, "at this time, not found anything of concern". The New Zealand Herald understands the properties are the Al Noor Mosque and the old Linwood mosque, the sites of the Christchurch terror attack which saw 51 murdered in March 2019. A man at the mosque told the Herald he was concerned about threats being made so close to the five-year anniversary of the terror attacks and was thankful police had come and searched the Deans Ave mosque.

Four members of the King Cobras gang have pleaded guilty to a vicious assault outside a Christchurch gay bar of four men that left one in a coma with a fractured skull. King Cobras gang member Marcus Moagutuuli pleaded guilty to several charges in the High Court at Christchurch. One of the defendants, who has pleaded not guilty, allegedly told the doorman to let the three victims into the bar. The gang members chased the three victims out of the bar and across the road, chasing them all down. He was knocked to the ground by the defendants who kicked, punched, and stomped on his head until he was unconscious.

Warner Bros. Discovery has launched a new investment-themed vodcast series in partnership with fund manager Millford, hosted by comedian Eli Matthewson. The series was filmed in Warner Bros. Discovery’s brand new, Newshub Augmented Reality studio. This project with Warner Bros. From the creative concepting, through to the exceptional new AR studio facility, to the Producer and Warner Bros.

Country music fans paid tribute this week to singer and guitarist Toby Keith after he died Monday at the age of 62 . Keith was receiving treatment for stomach cancer, and his death raised awareness for the condition. The country music star was diagnosed with stomach cancer in the fall of 2021. Although it is less common than cancers of the breast, lung, prostate and colon, about 10,880 people die of stomach cancer annually in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society.

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,

A loaded sawn-off shotgun, an axe, drugs and cash were discovered after police stopped an alleged methamphetamine dealer in a Dunedin suburb on Tuesday night, police say. Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond, of Dunedin, said police stopped a vehicle on Musselburgh Rise about 10.50pm and spoke to the 30-year-old driver. While speaking to him, officers spied an ‘‘axe’’ on the floor by the rear seats and invoked a search without warrant. A loaded sawn-off shotgun was soon discovered in a backpack in the front seat, Snr Sgt Bond said. The driver was arrested and appeared in Dunedin District Court yesterday to face charges of breaching firearms prohibition orders, unlawfully possessing a firearm, possession of an offensive weapon (the axe), possession for supply of methamphetamine and possession of utensils for methamphetamine, Snr Sgt Bond said.

In a startling turn of events, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has committed a glaring error by mistakenly linking three legendary figures of New Zealand cricket – Martin Crowe, Sir Richard Hadlee and Debbie Hockley, with Australia in its esteemed hall of fame listings. Sir Richard Hadlee: New Zealand’s cricket maestro linked with Australia in ICC Hall of FameSir Hadlee, a former allrounder and considered New Zealand‘s finest cricketer, found himself erroneously linked with Australia in the ICC Hall of Fame listings. The ICC’s error wrongly identified him as Australian in the Hall of Fame listings. “We come from New Zealand, I just hope somebody can correct it, so that’s all I’d say on the matter. People know that Martin, and Debbie and myself are all from New Zealand so it’s not an issue for me,” Hadlee was quoted as saying by Stuff.co.nz.

A large fire at a waste recycling centre in Auckland’s Onehunga has sent plumes of smoke across the city skyline. Emergency services have been attempting to put out a large industrial rubbish fire in Auckland on Wednesday afternoon. A Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) spokesperson said that 22 crews are on the ground working to contain the large fire that is 60 metres by 50 metres in size. One structure is on fire and a second structure is being threatened by fire. A FENZ spokesperson told Stuff.co.nz that firefighters were called to the “well-involved” fire around 1pm.

Rent-to-build schemes are seen as a key way to get more Pacific families onto the housing ladder. An Auckland university housing expert says there are a number of new schemes being developed that can get more Pacific families into a home. In the 1980s the Pacific home ownership rate was well over 50 per cent but currently it’s under 30 per cent. However an Auckland university researcher says there is cause for optimism that this trend could be turned around. She says because Pacific families tend to live with multiple generations, it can be harder to find the types of housing that suit their situation.

Photo: NZ HeraldThe Government plans to introduce a bill in the next parliamentary session to axe funding for cultural background reports - which would achieve an item on its 100-day action plan. Parts of Luxon’s Waitangi speech were copied word for word from his previous speech in 2023, sparking online criticism of his originality. "So people can trust us when we say there will be no change to the Treaty," Luxon said. He reiterated he only used "extracts" from the previous speech and expects "he will have the exact same message in 2025″. "We will not be supporting that bill," Luxon added, specifying that he was speaking as National Party leader rather than Prime Minister.

The boys have worked incredibly hard in Abu Dhabi keeping in mind they all came here with a lot of cricket under their belt as well. Later in the tour, there is another long break, during which England will stay in India. McCullum promised England would return ready to “drop the shoulder” – a rugby expression in his native New Zealand which means to aggressively charge at the opposition. “I was talking to Rahul Dravid [the India coach] and he mentioned all his boys are shooting home as well,” he said. We’ve played some really good cricket over the last two Test matches.

The simple truth is that our social narrative – almost all of it – was based on an incorrect set of assumptions. Base-line truths, vs beliefThe truth is that our social construct consumes energy and resources; putting out low-grade heat and degraded resources. The truth is that we have used the best half of a one-off global bonanza of fossil energy. We used it to indulge ourselves as if there were no tomorrow (ironically, the closest we’ve come to telling ourselves the truth). Both assume bitumen and travel; how long will a global system operating on ever-reducing fossil energy supplies, supply those?

New Zealand’s unemployment rate rose from 3.9% to 4% in the last three months of 2023, according to data released by Statistics New Zealand on Wednesday morning. It appears the labour market has held stronger than expected by economists, many of whom were expecting an unemployment rate closer to 4.3%. The total employment rate was 69%. “The employment rate decreased over the past six months as the working-age population grew faster than employment, meaning the proportion of people who were employed declined,” Collett said. Public sector wages rose faster than in the private sector.

Stats NZ will release the December quarter figures for unemployment, as well as employment and wage growth. The consensus of economists is that unemployment rose from 3.9 per cent to 4.3 per cent. “If the sheer quantum of labour market data released doesn’t bewilder a few, some of the outcomes might at first glance,” says BNZ economist Doug Steel. That was still a low level compared with history, said Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon. “On an annual basis, wage inflation has just passed its peak, and we expect it to slow further from 4.2 per cent to 3.9 per cent,” Gordon said.

Creative and strategic content agency, Daring Digital has strengthened its team with creative marketing specialist Rosie Meikle joining as Head of Agency. Meikle, who joined in December, is a proven leader who shows dedication to client relationships and creative growth. She comes with a wealth of experience within the agency sphere, working for the global advertising network, BBDO in New Zealand and Australia. The newly created Head of Agency role bolsters a solid team of digital experts. “I’m thrilled to be joining an already successful and inspiring team whom I can support and help grow the business.