Thieves prised the metal letters off this monument at Wellington's Pukeahu National War Memorial Park. National War Memorial targeted by thieves, letters from metal sign prised off concreteThieves prised the metal letters off this monument at Wellington's Pukeahu National War Memorial Park. Photo / Facebook / Ministry for Culture and HeritageVandals have stripped letters from signs and wrecked a donated international monument at the national park commemorating New Zealand’s war dead. The Ministry for Culture and Heritage is seeking the public’s help after thieves targeted monuments at the “sacred” space in Wellington. Photos released by the ministry show the extensive damage at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Mt Cook, including metal lettering prised from park signage and from the French Memorial.

Fire and Emergency criticised striking firefighters in a post on social media. One person is in hospital after a large fire broke out at an industrial building in Pakūranga, Auckland, today. “As soon as the strike finished, they jumped in their trucks and raced straight over to the fire,” he said. “Of these, 12 incidents were in areas impacted by the strike,” the organisation said in a statement. “We again urge the NZPFU to call off planned one-hour strikes at noon on January 16 and 23.”

Officers have determined the two people were injured in the shooting involving federal agents.”The shooting happened near a medical centre, according to local media. “When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponised his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents. People visit a memorial set up where Renee Good was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said the shooting in his city was the result of the flood of heavily armed federal agents as part of what Trump says is a crackdown on illegal immigration. “Just one day after the horrific violence in Minnesota at the hands of federal agents, our community here in Portland is now grappling with another deeply troubling incident.

Photo: Getty ImagesIn a policy u-turn, people will only need to pay a single $5 co-payment fee for new 12-month prescriptions coming into effect from February. The backtrack is revealed in a series of Health Ministry documents proactively released three days before Christmas, titled "Cabinet material: Rescinding a prescription co-payment decision". The committee noted this would mean extra yearly costs to Health NZ of between $6 million and $23m. Other details under subheadings about how the decision would also reduce complexity for Health NZ and curb financial implications for Health NZ and Pharmac were largely redacted. The Cabinet paper shows Brown instructed the Health Ministry to get the policy ready to take effect by February 1.

School cancelled, travel disruptionFrance was also bracing for Goretti, which will bring gusts of up to 160km/h in the northern Manche department. Schools will remain closed on Friday, and weather alerts have been issued in 30 other northwestern regions. In Germany, heavy snow and winds in the north were set to affect schools, hospitals and transport links. Leading car manufacturer Volkswagen will shut its northwestern Emden factory on Friday due to the snow, spokesman Christian Schiebold told AFP. ‘Consequence of climate change’The DWD says that the storm is expected to last until Saturday, with snowfall stopping on Monday.

The briefing states “this has increased the requirements for time on console [as opposed to simply being on call]” and “Rocket Lab has been testing an automated system to reduce reliance on manual intervention”. The MethaneSAT mission has been plagued by delays, first to its launch date and then to the arrival of its promised data about global methane emissions. He believes there is a case for the Auditor-General to investigate the incident as he thinks MBIE’s report into MethaneSAT isn’t enough. Photo / Chris GormanNew Zealand Space Agency deputy head Andrew Johnson said it was satisfied MethaneSAT LLC has been truthful and transparent. Ultimately, the mission owner must decide the overall position.”Johnson said the MBIE report into New Zealand’s investment in the MethaneSAT mission highlighted key lessons for future space investments, including governance, contractual arrangements, and communication with the public.

The top name choices for Kiwi babies changed little last year. Noah held strong for the third year in a row as the top name for boys, shared by 244 other children in New Zealand. Isla was the most popular girls’ name with 179 name registrations. Luca was the second most popular for boys, chosen by 236 parents this year, and Charlotte was second for girls, given to 178 babies. Olivia remained a consistent favourite among parents of baby girls, entering the top 10 again last year, as it has done since 1994.

“Can you take the dog for a W-A-L-K?” Many dog owners know their pets excel at learning words such as “walk,” “sit,” “stay” and even their own names. Dogs tend to be better at learning words for actions — think “fetch” or “roll over” — than at retaining the names of objects. So Dror sought out what she called “gifted” dogs that had previously demonstrated an ability to learn the names of their toys. The researchers instructed the dog owners to discuss two toys that their dogs had never seen before. “This is something that came before language,” Dror said.

A worker was washed by fire hoses in Dunedin's industrial area this morning following a reported explosion at a company which handles waste for healthcare facilities and "biosecurity risks". A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said they received a report of a boiler exploding and a gas leak at the Dunedin branch of Interwaste in Ward St. He confirmed one person had been decontaminated after getting ‘‘debris’’ on them, believed to be medical waste. Ward St has been closed. Interwaste handles waste for healthcare facilities and "biosecurity risks".

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DoC’s acting wild animals manager, Mark Ryan, said the department was aware of the ongoing deer issue. “Under the Wild Animal Control Act 1977, [DoC] is responsible for managing populations of wild animals at priority conservation sites on public conservation land,” he said. Whanganui District Council regulatory and compliance operations manager Jason Shailer said the animal management team only responded to reports of wild deer if the animals were creating a traffic hazard. “However, managing wild deer on private property is outside the council’s jurisdiction,” Shailer said. Delhi Village resident Richard Thompson said he had requested that Horizons schedule deer as a pest in Whanganui so it could undertake pest control.

Former Invercargill mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt has been remembered as the last "celebrity-type" mayor, and former colleagues have said they were fortunate to have been "part of that era". He served eight terms as Invercargill mayor and two terms as Waitematā mayor, making him one of the longest-serving mayors in New Zealand. Former Invercargill mayor, and Sir Tim’s former deputy mayor, Nobby Clarke said Sir Tim was "well known" for his sense of humour and ability to entertain. Sir Tim’s former deputy mayor, Nobby Clarke, said Sir Tim was ‘‘well known’’ for his sense of humour. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERYHis partner Asha Dutt described Sir Tim as "a kind-hearted man who cared deeply about the people around him".

In Queenstown, a hotel with rooms priced up to $50,000 a night is attracting visitors willing to book not just a suite, but sometimes the whole hotel. No expense has been spared for this luxury accommodation in Queenstown. ROKI Collection has been attracting visitors from New Zealand and overseas - most generally staying at least four to five nights, McAteer said. Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka Tourism chief executive Mat Woods said it was exciting to see the private sector's confidence in Queenstown as a luxury destination. Mat Woods said despite the flurry of new, upscale services in the district, Queenstown was still popular with backpackers.

Photo: RNZPassengers were stuck on a Bluebridge ferry for 15 hours due to a problem with a ramp. The Connemara 8.30pm sailing from Wellington to Picton had to return to the capital shortly after departure yesterday, following the discovery of the fault. "We're doing everything we can to make the 200 passengers onboard as comfortable as possible accommodating them in cabins as available and serving refreshments - but we acknowledge that it is a huge inconvenience for everyone," he said this morning. "We are also adding an additional sailing of the Livia this evening to accommodate these passengers." Photo: supplied'Boring' night on vesselPetra Clarke told RNZ it had been a "long and boring" night onboard the ferry.

Despite an average of 1350 new dwellings consented each year over the past five years, rents in Queenstown Lakes are the highest in the country. PHOTO: ODT FILESAt nearly $900 a week, rents in Otago’s Central Lakes area are the most expensive in New Zealand. Data from property website realestate.co.nz shows the average weekly rent in Queenstown Lakes-Central Otago last month was $891, up 11.8% on December 2024. That compares to the national average rent, which fell 2.4% year on year to $626 a week. In contrast, the website’s national rental report for December showed 13 of the country’s 19 regions experienced declines in average rents over the past 12 months.