Trump touts latest cognitive test, boasting he could identify a giraffe
President Donald Trump claimed he was the first president to take a cognitive test. Photo / Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump claimed he was the first president to take a cognitive test. Photo / Getty ImagesUnited States President Donald Trump has revealed he underwent three mental fitness tests, one of which required him to identify a giraffe out of an animal line-up. The 79-year-old bragged about acing the tests to a crowd at a rally in North Carolina last Friday, according to Express. Trump claimed he was the first president to take a cognitive test, which he noted was “not easy”.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 21, 2025 04:21 UTC
Obituary: Bouquet residence, the lady of the house is no longer in
Katherine Patricia Routledge was born on February 17, 1929. Patricia Routledge quickly established herself as a major character actress and she became known as "the female Stan Laurel". In her next BBC hit, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, Routledge, as in her acclaimed sitcom, was the dominant figure in her household. Patricia Routledge was awarded an OBE in 1993, a CBE in 2004, and was made a dame in Britain’s 2017 New Year Honours. Paying tribute, Jon Petrie, BBC Director of Comedy, said: "We are so sad to hear of the passing of Dame Patricia Routledge.
Source:Otago Daily Times
December 21, 2025 04:11 UTC
Obituary: Latta talked to us about ourselves
Nigel Latta at his writing desk in Consultancy House in Dunedin in 2008. But he also put his face on screen to sunnier endeavours with a series of television shows about parenting and raising children. Nigel Latta watches hydrogen bubbles ignite from his hands during a science presentation at Tūhura Otago Museum in 2016. His 2014 series, simply called Nigel Latta, covered topics as varied as the school system, the country’s dependence on alcohol and the gap between the rich and the poor. The always optimistic Nigel Latta.
Source:Otago Daily Times
December 21, 2025 03:59 UTC
Auckland rally condemns rising anti-Semitism after Bondi Hanukkah attack
Juliet Moses, president of the New Zealand Jewish Council speaks at today's Kiwis Against Anti-Semitism demonstrationSpeakers also criticised academics, union leaders, and the media. One speaker read out the names of the Bondi massacre victims as the crowd bowed their heads. Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour was standing among protesters as they listened to speeches that have been sharply critical of the Government’s response to rising anti-Semitism. Organiser Lucy Rogers told the Herald one doesn’t have to be Jewish to have aroha and care about your Jewish neighbours. In response, New Zealand police have increased patrols and enhanced security at Jewish sites nationwide.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 21, 2025 03:27 UTC
Impersonating police backfires as drunk driver tries to pull over real officers
The copy-cat cop was twice the legal limit, and has been charged with drink driving and imitating police. Impersonating police backfires as drunk driver tries to pull over real officersThe copy-cat cop was twice the legal limit, and has been charged with drink driving and imitating police. File photo Glenn TaylorA drunk driver pretending to be a police officer has landed himself in court on Christmas Eve after trying to pull over an unmarked car of actual police officers. A station wagon following the unmarked car began flashing a red-and-blue bar mounted on the vehicle. The copy-cat South Auckland cop quickly realised who he was trying to pull over and began to flee.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 21, 2025 03:27 UTC
Ruatiti double homicide: Police still searching for Mitchell Cole one week on from investigation’s launch
“The man was described as late 20s or early 30s, around 6ft tall, clean-shaven with a lean, athletic build,” Bouterey said. Anyone who saw the man, or was in the area at the time, is urged to contact police. “A warrant for his arrest has also been issued for unlawful possession of firearms.”Mitchell’s social media highlights his passion for hunting, and his deep understanding of the local terrain. Mitchell Cole (pictured) is an accomplished hunter with a deep understanding of the local area. Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 21, 2025 02:35 UTC
Baby to undergo stronger chemo after rare brain tumour got bigger after first round
McComb said Declan would have to fully recover from the operation, which removed most of the tumour, before starting a nine-day round of stronger chemo in the new year. The tumour in Declan's brain grew after he underwent chemotherapy. Photo / SuppliedMcComb first realised something was wrong in late October when her friend noticed Declan’s fontanelle was larger than normal. An MRI at Wellington Hospital then found a 4cm tumour in Declan’s brain, which McComb later learned was a choroid plexus papilloma. McComb said he never showed any symptoms of being ill, like vomiting or acting unhappy, apart from the fontanelle, she said.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 21, 2025 02:27 UTC
US seizes second oil tanker off Venezuela coast
Photo: DHS/Handout via REUTERSThe United States has intercepted an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela in international waters, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed Saturday, a move that comes just days after US President Donald Trump announced a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. Noem confirmed the Coast Guard intercepted a tanker that was last docked in Venezuela. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the tanker contained sanctioned oil. "It also runs counter to Trump’s statement that the US would impose a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers." TRUMP CALLS FOR 'COMPLETE BLOCKADE'Trump on Tuesday said he was ordering "A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela."
Source:Otago Daily Times
December 21, 2025 01:53 UTC
Woman arrested after man stabbed in stomach at Wellington’s Ace of Spades Bar
Ace of Spades Bar in Wellington was the scene of a violent fight which saw a man stabbed in the abdomen. Woman arrested after man stabbed in stomach at Wellington’s Ace of Spades BarAce of Spades Bar in Wellington was the scene of a violent fight which saw a man stabbed in the abdomen. A 34-year-old woman has been arrested and charged after a week on the run following a bar brawl that left a man with a stab wound to the stomach. The incident happened about 1.30am Saturday, December 13, at the Ace of Spades bar on Allen St. Police said it occurred during an altercation involving a small group of patrons. Bar security staff managed to separate the group and gave aid to the victim, who was seriously injured and taken to hospital.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 21, 2025 01:44 UTC
Black Caps v West Indies: New Zealand set visitors 462 for victory as Tom Latham, Devon Conway plunder records
No openers in test cricket history have scored more in a test than Latham and Conway’s combined 515. Tom Latham and Devon Conway celebrate their century stand against the West Indies at Bay Oval. Despite the situation, though, the West Indies can bank on the fight they showed on the final day in Christchurch to open the series. Jacob Duffy celebrates a wicket on day four of the third test between the Black Caps and West Indies. After they added 111 together in the first innings, the West Indies’ openers got to stumps without any great scare.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 21, 2025 01:34 UTC
Parliament’s year by the numbers, including the most talkative MPs and leaders
In a depressant mirror to the Beehive’s stimulants, the in-house bar has moved from the Beehive to Parliament House. Image / RNZ / The House - Phil SmithMPs at the ‘vow of silence’ end of the list are mostly from National. Image / RNZ / The House - Phil SmithPublic engagementBrownlee reports: “73,000 people went through Parliament in tours this year – quite a large number. Image / RNZ / The House - Phil SmithThe current Government has introduced far more bills and skipped more select committees than any of the previous five. Image / RNZ / The House - Phil SmithSee this article for a more detailed, recent look at numbers around Select Committee workloads.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 21, 2025 01:23 UTC
Supermodel Gisele Bündchen weds beau Joaquim Valente in private ceremony
A source close to the couple told Page Six, “[Valente] is thrilled they finally tied the knot after having a kid together”. The couple met in 2021 when Valente was Bündchen‘s jiu-jitsu coach. Bündchen was married to Brady for 13 years, and they had two children Benjamin, aged 15, and Vivian, 12. Gisele Bündchen and Joaquim Valente married in a private wedding earlier this month. Valente is a jiu-jitsu professor and co-founded a prominent jiu-jitsu academy in Miami with his brothers.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 21, 2025 01:04 UTC
Anthony Joshua breaks Jake Paul's jaw in 'clown show' bout
Anthony Joshua corners Jake Paul before delivering the knockout blow that left the influencer's jaw broken in two places. Photo: ReutersFormer heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua delivered a dose of reality to American Jake Paul on Friday with a savage sixth-round knockout that left the social-media-star-turned prize-fighter nursing a jaw broken in two places. "Jake Paul has done really well tonight. "It takes a real man to do that... but he came up against a real fighter tonight." 'DOUBLE BROKEN JAW' FOR PAULPaul later confirmed on social media that he had suffered a "double broken jaw", uploading an X-ray showing two breaks while he joked he was ready to fight Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez in 10 days' time.
Source:Otago Daily Times
December 20, 2025 23:54 UTC
Crash blocks SH1 northbound near Tawa, drivers urged to avoid area
One person is seriously injured following a crash near Tawa, north of Wellington. Crash blocks SH1 northbound near Tawa, drivers urged to avoid areaOne person is seriously injured following a crash near Tawa, north of Wellington. One person is seriously injured following a crash near Tawa, north of Wellington. Police said the northbound Tawa on-ramp is closed while staff work at the scene of the crash. SH1 is closed northbound until the Keneperu on-ramp, where traffic is then able to rejoin the motorway.
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 20, 2025 22:52 UTC
Brian Tamaki-linked group confronts Sikh parade in South Auckland
Members who appear to be part of the group True Patriots of NZ performed a haka and shouted "One true God" while being separated from the Sikh marchers. Video / Brian TamakiA Sikh parade in South Auckland this afternoon has been disrupted by protesters linked to Brian Tamaki and Destiny Church. In a video posted to Tamaki’s social media pages, True Patriots of NZconfront the Sikh group as they are walking down a street, with police separating both sides. True Patriots of NZ describes themselves as “Guardians of the Kiwi Way of Life. They stand against “globalism, mass immigration, and woke ideology.”In the video True Patriots of NZ approach the Sikh group, wearing primarily blue shirts with slogans such as “Kiwis first”, “Keep NZ, NZ” and “True patriot”, alongside a large banner saying “This is New Zealand not India.”
Source:New Zealand Herald
December 20, 2025 22:49 UTC