Three meetings are held for church members each week. So when you step out of that, you’re going to hell. “Reading between the lines, people were saying … if you don’t come back to meetings, you’re going to a lost eternity,” they said. She lived in fear for years, even attempting suicide twice to try to get out of going to “horrible” church meetings. Help for church leaversFormer members encourage those leaving the church to visit the website Wings for Truth for information and help.

Kelly Eckhold, chief economist at Westpac, said he was expecting the economy to be much stronger in 2026, with growth in GDP of about 3% over the year compared to a flat 2025. Additionally, if inflation proves sticky, the Reserve Bank may pause or reverse rate cuts, curbing the anticipated lift to consumption and investment." But for the median and for the people in the top end I think things will look a lot better." "But by the second half of the year, all the weight of the rate cuts, the cumulative benefits of all the rate cuts would have come through. "For the last couple of years, they've been reducing spending, reducing spending, reducing spending.

China will be releasing CPI and PPI data this week, and the private services PMI will drop sometime too. In India, they still had good factory growth in December, but a notable slowing of new orders has them on edge to end the year. The Australian 10 year bond yield starts today at 4.81%, down -1 bp from Saturday. That all means our TWI-5 starts today just over 61.7, and little-changed from Saturday. The bitcoin price starts today at US$91,343 and up +1.3% from this time Saturday.

Demonstrators celebrate after US President Trump said the US has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Washington. "Here, the unity of the revolutionary force is more than guaranteed, and here there is only one president, whose name is Nicolas Maduro Moros. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez — who also serves as oil minister — has taken over as interim leader with the blessing of Venezuela's top court, though she has said Maduro remains president. Trump said Rodriguez may pay a bigger price than Maduro "if she doesn't do what's right," according to an interview with The Atlantic magazine on Sunday. It is unclear how Trump plans to oversee Venezuela and he runs the risk of alienating some supporters who oppose foreign interventions.

Marjorie wrote about the black influenza that swept through New Zealand after the first World War ended. Photo: SuppliedIn 1922 the rich aunt offered to take Marjorie on the trip of a lifetime to England and continental Europe. The aunt's husband had found a nugget on the goldfields but died young while electioneering to be the Premier of Queensland, leaving her rich. Marjorie was granted a year's leave from her teaching job and the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association nominated her for Wimbledon. Wrote Biddy - "At times we were rich, with a nanny and maids all in uniform, other times when the bubble burst there was no money at all.

NZ Herald Morning News Update | Trump says US will 'run' Venezuela, search for missing tramper | Monday, January 05. Sign in hereAccess to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. One dead after single-vehicle crash on Jones Rd near ChristchurchOne person has died after a serious single-vehicle crash south of Christchurch. Emergency services were called to the crash on Jones Rd and Curraghs Rd shortly after 7.45am. Jones Rd remained closed for much of the morning while a scene examination was carried out.

Damien Martyn has woken up from an induced coma and recovering well following a bout of meningitis. Photo / Neal Simpson, PA Images via Getty ImagesDamien Martyn has woken up from an induced coma and recovering well following a bout of meningitis. Photo / Neal Simpson, PA Images via Getty ImagesAustralian cricketer Damien Martyn has made a miraculous turnaround following his shock diagnosis with meningitis, with hopes he may soon be discharged from hospital now he has woken from an induced coma. The 54-year-old was admitted to Gold Coast University Hospital after falling sick on Boxing Day, Nine reported, being put into a coma to treat the illness. Former teammate and team captain Adam Gilchrist told Code Sports the sportsman is making an unexpectedly speedy recovery since waking up over the weekend.

PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSONDunedin city councillor and former mayor Jules Radich has died. Mayor 'shocked and deeply saddened'In a statement this afternoon, Mayor Sophie Barker said she was "shocked and deeply saddened" at the sudden death. "Jules served his first term as Dunedin City Council Councillor between 2019 and 2022 before being elected the 59th Mayor of Dunedin. Taieri MP Ingrid Leary"I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jules Radich earlier today. Business South chief executive Mike Collins"The business community is shocked and deeply saddened by the sudden passing of former Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich.

Four people have been transported to hospital, three with serious injuries, after a four-vehicle crash west of Tekapo this evening. A police spokesman said the crash between Tekapo Powerhouse Rd and Braemar Rd happened about 7pm. "Three people are reported to have serious injuries, while another has moderate injuries," the spokesman said. Three rescue helicopters responded to the crash and the highway was expected to be closed for some time. A Hato Hone St John spokesman said those with serious injuries had been airlifted to Christchurch Hospital.

By Ellen O'Dwyer of RNZHealth New Zealand has apologised to a woman who spent 11-and-a-half hours at Wellington Hospital's emergency department, but was never seen by a doctor. She arrived at the emergency department about 12.30 pm on December 1, talked to reception and saw a triage nurse, she said. After about 11 hours, she said she asked to talk to the charge nurse about the delay in seeing a doctor. She said while she understood some of the pressures Wellington Hospital was under, she felt the communication at Christchurch Hospital was clearer, more understanding and more efficient. The government announced last June Wellington Hospital would receive a major upgrade, with a new emergency department and 126 additional beds and treatment spaces.

By Ruth Hill of RNZThousands of patients caught up in the ManageMyHealth ransomware attack could be at risk of identity theft or extortion, cyber security experts are warning. Many MMH users have been asking the company for an explanation, but they've either ignored them or responded with vague statements." "But it seems the company doesn't care about their users' data." "We know exactly how valuable health data is and how sensitive it can be. It's seen as convenient, but patients don't have a lot of choice."

Kazu said it had opted for a low-ball ransom demand of $60,000 “to protect the data and quickly close the deal”. “Even if the company doesn’t pay the ransom, we can still find buyers for this data. IT consultant and Hornby community board member Cody Cooper was signed up to ManageMyHealth through his GP. By that they mean ‘If you pay us, we’ll delete the data and you’ll never hear from us again. If you don’t pay us, bad things will happen to you’.

This morning, police confirmed that the search is continuing today, with Alpine Cliff Rescue and search and rescue teams on the ground. “We ask anyone who has climbed Mt Huxley or has been tramping or hunting in the Huxley River South Branch between December 28 and January 2 to make contact with police if they haven’t already,” Sheat said. A large-scale search over a large area is underway for a missing tramper in the Mt Huxley region of the Southern Alps. A large search is under way for Connor Purvis, a tramper missing near Lake Ōhau. Image / NZ PoliceThe search is being carried out by police search and rescue teams, joined by Land Search and Rescue teams, the Department of Conservation’s alpine rescue team from Aoraki/Mt Cook, and air support from Heliventures in Ōamaru and The Helicopter Line at Mt Cook.

The solutionThe Northwest Busway, to be known as Te Ara Hauāuru, will be delivered in three stages. The advocatesAutomobile Association policy director Martin Glynn strongly supported the Northwest Busway as the next priority for Auckland’s rapid-transit network. The Northwest Busway is modelled on the hugely successful Northern Busway. Chris Bishop and Chlöe Swarbrick don't see eye to eye on many issues, but they both support the Northwest Busway. Like the Northern Busway, a Northwest Busway would cut travel times for suburbs north of the rail line, complementing the CRL’s benefits for areas near the Western Line.

Video / NZ HeraldChristmas holiday road toll halves again to seven deaths but police say ‘still too many’The number of road deaths during the Christmas holiday period has decreased for the second year in a row. There were a total of seven deaths recorded for the holiday period which ended at 6am, a sizeable drop from the 15 deaths reported last year, and even further from the 22 deaths during 2023/2024. While the decrease was described as encouraging, director of road policing Superintendent Steven Greally said it was still seven deaths too many. “Seven families have lost loved ones, for no good reason, and instead of being able to celebrate during this holiday season, their lives have been changed forever. “There are many contributing factors to lowering road trauma.