Two Crusaders forwards reportedly clashed at training days after the team’s loss to the Blues. Photo / PhotosportTwo Crusaders forwards reportedly clashed at training days after the team’s loss to the Blues. Photo / PhotosportBy RNZDays after a significant loss to the Blues, tensions rose at a Crusaders training on Tuesday with reports of punches thrown. Stuff is reporting forwards Kershawl Sykes-Martin and lock Will Tucker were involved in a dust-up at Rugby Park in Christchurch during a contact session. After training, coach Rob Penney did his best to downplay the tension, telling reporters he was not fazed by the clash between his players, and even welcomed it.

Photo / Jason OxenhamAs the Herald wrote last week, if Luxon was going to take advice from anyone amid speculation over his leadership, it would be Key. The former National leader, who was Prime Minister between 2008 and 2016, has previously spoken of his relationship with the current premier. Among them was Education Minister Erica Stanford, who is often discussed as a potential replacement for Luxon, though she had dismissed that. She said it had been a “bad week for the National Party and our caucus”. Asked if she was resigned to losing her seat, she said: “No, I am fighting hard for it.”Tama Potaka, another National minister, said he supported Luxon.

One issue is that the fares we have sold do not come close to covering this sort of price rise. “What we need is immediate relief from some Government costs, such as Airways [NZ] charges and also CAA [Civil Aviation Authority] levies,” he said. According to Bacon, it’s “seldom the case” that airlines earn a significant profit as a result of high airfare prices. Jet fuel prices were about US$85 ($144) to US$90 per barrel before the conflict but have surged to US$150-US$200 in recent days. However, pricing on unsold seats can move more quickly, as airlines respond to fuel costs as well as supply and demand,” Staples explained.

Photo: RNZMonths' worth of social housing and benefit data haven't been published because of a broken system, and there's no fix in sight. The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) usually provides monthly updates, including information like the number of people in emergency and social housing, and how big the waitlist is, tracking changes over time. Those have not been published since November, and the quarterly update due in December was also missing. MSD has reported "high level" benefit data - the number of people on various benefits - as at December, but its usual monthly benefit reporting was affected too. "The delay is related to our Information Analysis Platform, which is the tool we use to collate benefit and some housing data," MSD insights general manager Fleur McLaren said.

Photo: SuppliedNelson's mayor says smaller centres are rattled by a warning from Air New Zealand it may have make changes to where it flies and how often. Nelson Mayor Nick Smith said there was a "huge amount of nervousness in regional New Zealand" over the possibility of Air New Zealand reviewing services. Smith said he was due to meet with Air New Zealand in the next couple of weeks. Photo: RNZNew Plymouth Mayor Max Brough warned of a revolt if changes are made to flights. "The airport has been working with Air New Zealand to remind them that it is a popular destination," he said.

A Dunedin teenager allegedly spat in the face of a police officer after being caught red-handed breaking into a car. On arrival, they witnessed three teenagers rummaging through a Toyota Aqua after they had smashed a window. All three teens were arrested and charged with unlawful interference with a motor vehicle. The spitting teen was also charged with assault. They will appear in Dunedin Youth Court this week.

Or will the Hammers deliver one of the all-time shocks in Ranfurly Shield history? Two Heartland Championship teams will get a crack at the coveted Log o’ Wood this season. The Otago Rugby Football Union has offered both a challenge at the shield and has locked in dates. Assuming Otago defend the shield against their neighbours, they will face another challenge from Mid Canterbury in Alexandra on Friday, July 24. Otago claimed the Ranfurly Shield with a stirring 38-36 win over Canterbury in Christchurch in September.

Kapa-Kingi was elected to the Te Tai Tokerau Northland seat for Te Pāti Māori in 2023 after an unsuccessful attempt in 2017. Her electorate win was one of six for the Te Pāti Māori amid “an incoming wave of support” for the party in the 2023 election. Tākuta Ferris and Mariameno Kapa-Kingi in their seats in the debating chamber further back from Te Pāti Māori after being expelled from the party. “They excluded her from the process that led to her expulsion from the party,” Justice Radich said. The party said it acknowledged the court decision which reinstated Kapa-Kingi into the party.

Wild Dunedin Festival of Nature director Carla Munro at the 3-D map of Otago Peninsula. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSONA wild ride, a big old sing-song and a programme of hundreds of events — Dunedin’s nature festival is boasting something for everyone. The programme for next month’s Wild Dunedin Festival of Nature has been released, inviting locals and visitors to celebrate nature, conservation and the outdoors. ‘‘There is a real sense of community around Wild Dunedin,’’ she said. About 30,000 people attended last year’s Wild Dunedin Festival.

Reti’s upcoming retirement may prompt Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to remove him from Cabinet at the upcoming reshuffle. Reti, a medical doctor, currently holds a number of ministerial portfolios, including Universities, Science, Innovation and Technology, Statistics, and Pacific Peoples. He previously served as deputy leader of the National Party under Collins and briefly as interim leader after Collins’ was removed until Luxon took the top job in late 2021. Speaking on Tuesday, Reti said Luxon expected him to continue in his roles for now. He said, even if he remained Health Minister, it would be time to call it quits.

Photo: Screengrab / FacebookANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner told RNZ the increase in oil prices had been "quite exponential." Westpac chief economist Kelly Eckhold said petrol prices were on track to return to levels not seen since the invasion of Ukraine. "Consumer confidence in particular, I think, is often related to changes in fuel prices because that's a really frequently purchased item in the budget. He said the longer the conflict continued, the worse it would be for the New Zealand economy. But he was less convinced that it wouldn't mean higher interest rates.

He said that Israel wants Iran, whose cleric-run government has championed Hamas, to be “permanently weakened” - a strategy Israel has pursued across the region, notably in repeatedly bombing historic adversary Syria despite a change in government. Both Netanyahu and Trump have spoken favourably of Iranians overthrowing the Islamic republic, which faces widespread opposition and ruthlessly suppressed protests in January, but neither has made it an explicit goal. Trump - who for years denounced US interventionism in the Middle East as wasteful and misguided - has offered different explanations for attacking the country of 90 million people, mostly focusing on degrading its military. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Growing partisan gapIsrael retains strong support within Trump’s Republican Party but the rival Democratic Party - and a few prominent voices on the right - have accused Trump of blindly following Israel into a regional war.

Photo: RNZThe second phase of the Covid-19 response inquiry has found the government's response was effective but late and not communicated well enough to people. Public divisions and anger over the pandemic response in part prompted the second phase begun in December 2022, amid questions if phase one had gone far enough. Phase two looked at four areas of pandemic response from February 2021 to October 2022:- vaccine approval and safety. "These topics, and the time period covered ... capture some of the most difficult and divisive elements of New Zealand's pandemic response," the report said. - Produce regulatory impact statements in future pandemics, and update the Cabinet rules so pandemic decisions get reviewed.

Former councillor Conrad Stedman and former mayor Aaron Hawkins received the most support. Crs Steve Walker, Christine Garey and Mickey Treadwell endorsed Mr Hawkins. Crs Andrew Simms, Lee Vandervis and Russell Lund endorsed Mr Stedman. Cr Lund said Jo Galer was his first pick for council, followed by Mr Stedman, while Crs Walker and Garey also endorsed Richard Knights. Crs Lund and Vandervis also indicated they would not welcome a return to the council table by Mr Hawkins.

Brent crude oil eclipsed US$110 ($185) a barrel for the first time in three and a half years before dropping back under US$90. Parham said Waitomo’s prices had gone up around 10-15 cents on petrol and 20-plus cents on diesel. “We are really seeing diesel being impacted more than petrol at this stage because of the crude that comes out of the Middle East. This morning, Air New Zealand said it was suspending its earning guidance because of volatile jet fuel prices. Jet fuel prices were about US$85 to US$90 per barrel before the conflict but had surged to US$150-US$200 in recent days.