Choppers join search for missing tramper
Graham Garnett failed to return from a tramp in the Baton/Ellis River area of Kahurangi National Park. Photo: NZ PolicePolice have expanded the search for a tramper missing in a South Island national park since the end of last year. Graham Garnett, 66, went tramping in the Baton/Ellis River area of Kahurangi National Park but failed to return by the expected date of December 30. Police Search and Rescue Sergeant Johnny Evans this afternoon said five helicopters joined the search today, including an Airforce NH90. Two specialist canyon teams searched the “steep” terrain with special equipment, while a field team looked across the search area.
Source:Otago Daily Times
January 06, 2026 08:46 UTC
The eight greatest holidays to book in 2026 – according to our travel writers
Photo / UnsplashThere aren’t many places where you can find a world-class travel experience that costs mere dollars. The Ella Odyssey train journey is a dedicated tourist train whose 155km takes roughly seven hours through the central city of Kandy to the small town of Ella. “It becomes meditative looking out at what seems endless, rolling tea fields and the maze-like patterns they create,” writes Caterina Hrysomallis. Photo / UnsplashIf you want to experience Taiwan beyond the tourist trail, consider attending some of its supernatural celebrations. Island hopping in Fiji is a perfect combination of adventurous travel within the serene and relaxing landscape of the Pacific.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 06, 2026 08:19 UTC
Terminal lies: Inside ‘dying’ mum Nicola Flint’s elaborate, years-long alleged cancer con
Nicola Flint told friends she was dying, even showing them the spot where her ashes would be scattered. But former friends and some of Andrew Flint’s family were prepared to speak about the situation. There was nothing odd at all at the beginning.”Laura will never forget the moment she first heard about Flint’s “cancer”. “Some time later we sort of thought, ‘gosh, you know, for someone with stage four terminal cancer, she’s certainly looking very well’, “ she said. “When it hit the headlines, I emailed my brother … and he was just like ‘she’s really sick’ and ’she’s getting better care here’.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 06, 2026 07:42 UTC
Christmas holiday road toll rises to eight after woman dies three days after State Highway 3 crash
“This is likely to have played a part in the success over these years.”The Christmas holiday period officially began at 4pm on December 24 and ran until 6am yesterday. The last death recorded over the period occurred during a single-vehicle crash on Puhinui Rd, Papatoetoe late Monday. On December 31, a person died in a single-vehicle crash at the intersection of Orini Rd and McConnell Rd, in Orini, about 12.30am. Meanwhile, another road death was recorded on December 30 after a car plunged off SH2 into a bank in Tangoio, Hawke’s Bay. The first death over the holiday period was a man who was struck by a car on a Napier street on Boxing Day.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 06, 2026 07:27 UTC
Fake admiral told police: ‘I’ve been expecting you’
A man fined £500 for illegally posing as a Royal Navy admiral at a Remembrance Sunday event told police: “I’ve been expecting you.”Jonathan Carley, 65, caused a backlash after wearing the uniform and medals of a high-ranking officer during a wreath-laying service in Llandudno, North Wales, on Nov 9. Gwyn Jones, the district judge, fined him £500 and ordered him to pay £85 towards the prosecution costs as well as a £200 surcharge. “It’s a sad reflection upon you that you chose to do such a thing on a very difficult day for so many,” he told Llandudno magistrates’ court on Monday. James Neary, prosecuting, said Carley wore medals for service in Iraq and Syria at the “well attended” Remembrance service and approached organisers to introduce himself. A photograph of Carley at the event went viral on social media, and when he was arrested on Nov 14, he told police: “I’ve been expecting you.”
Source:Stuff
January 06, 2026 05:36 UTC
General Debate 06 January 2026
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Source:New Zealand Herald
January 06, 2026 04:48 UTC
School farm gig non-stop
Murray Isbister has been running Waitaki Boys’ High School’s Fraser Farm for the past 10 years. PHOTO: NIC DUFFSchool may be out for Waitaki Boys’ High School but the Oamaru school’s farm manager is still hard at work. He said he initially told the school he would help out for six weeks — and then just never left. The farm was about 8ha and during the school year its 125 sheep usually produced about 200 lambs, he said. He said he tried to run the farm as commercially as possible, with any profits going back into the school.
Source:Otago Daily Times
January 06, 2026 03:33 UTC
Ten guilty of cyber bullying for calling Brigitte Macron a man
Ten people have been convicted of cyber bullying over false claims that Brigitte Macron was secretly transgender and guilty of paedophilia. The remaining defendants were found guilty of “intentionally harming the plaintiff” through “malicious, degrading and insulting” messages referring to her alleged paedophilia, Thierry Donnard, the presiding judge, said. He added that the sustained online attacks constituted cyber bullying and had led to “a deterioration of her physical and mental health”. Mrs Macron, who married Emmanuel Macron in 2007, did not attend the two-day trial, which took place in October. His X account was suspended last year after being cited in several judicial investigations.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 06, 2026 02:01 UTC
Holiday road toll rises to eight
Photo: ODT FilesThe holiday road toll has risen to eight with the death of a woman in hospital yesterday. The official Christmas and New Year period ended at 6am on Monday and the road toll was seven at that time. However, a woman who was critically injured in a crash on State Highway 3 south of Turakina on January 2 died in Wellington Hospital yesterday, and the death is included in the holiday period toll. The director of road policing, Superintendent Steve Greally, said police were not celebrating the drop in deaths over the past few years, because even one death was one too many. Greally said police would continue road policing operations and patrols, especially in higher-risk crash areas.
Source:Otago Daily Times
January 06, 2026 01:50 UTC
NZ woman accused of smuggling $5.5m of meth in checked luggage at Auckland Airport
The woman appeared in Manukau District Court yesterday on one count of drug importation and has been remanded until April for a case review hearing. Customs officers allege they found 18kg of methamphetamine stuffed in the woman's checked luggage when she arrived in NZ from Singapore. Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, the woman, who is listed as having no fixed abode, could face life imprisonment if convicted. Anyone with suspicions about possible smuggling should contact Customs confidentially on 0800 WE PROTECT (0800 937 768) or Crime Stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Lane Nichols is Auckland desk editor for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 06, 2026 01:48 UTC
Drink-driver found lying in road: police
Photo: ODT filesA drink-driver found lying in the road has been taken to hospital after crashing into a power pole, police say. He admitted he was drinking prior to driving, Snr Sgt Bond said, and was taken to Dunedin Hospital in a moderate to serious condition. Police were called back to the hospital at 2.15am today because the man refused to provide a blood sample to a medical practitioner. He was summonsed to court on January 16 for refusing to provide a blood sample, and his licence has been suspended for 28 days. The investigation into the crash was ongoing, Snr Sgt Bond said.
Source:Otago Daily Times
January 06, 2026 01:10 UTC
Warning for hacked health portal users
Photo: SuppliedNetsafe is warning people to be extra cautious with emails they receive, including their private information, as hackers threaten to release more than 400,000 stolen health documents. Patient portal Manage My Health is the largest in New Zealand and used by general practices to relay information and dispatch subscriptions. Photo: RNZNetsafe warning for portal usersNetsafe is warning people to be extra cautious with emails they receive including their private information. Manage My Health has identified general practices whose patients have had their private health information breached, but it is not yet clear when the patients will be told. "From my perspective, health data is right up there with financial data, some of the most critical data that needs to be protected.
Source:Otago Daily Times
January 06, 2026 00:54 UTC
Venezuela’s deposed Maduro pleads not guilty, insists he is still president
US President Donald Trump announced that the US government will "run" Venezuela. Delcy Rodriguez new leaderWith Maduro gone, his former Vice-President, Delcy Rodriguez, will be sworn in Monday as President, the head of the Parliament said. Photo / Getty ImagesMaduro became President in 2013, taking over from his equally hardline socialist predecessor Hugo Chavez. And the newly re-elected head of Venezuela’s parliament vowed to explore “all avenues” to get the deposed leader back. ‘Need access to oil’When asked what he needs from interim leader Rodriguez, Trump said: “We need total access.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 06, 2026 00:40 UTC
Fears for safety of missing Dunedin tramper
Photo: NZ PoliceFriends are worried for the safety of a Dunedin man missing for a week after going tramping near Lake Ohau. Connor Purvis, 20, had intended to climb Mount Huxley on or about December 30, descending down the Huxley River South branch. Police said this morning yesterday’s searches were focused in the upper South Temple Valley, Mt Huxley and the Huxley River South Branch, both on foot and via helicopter. A continued effort again today will focus on Mt Huxley, the Huxley River South Branch and upper Ahuriri River. Police want to hear from anyone who has climbed Mt Huxley in the past several weeks.
Source:Otago Daily Times
January 06, 2026 00:22 UTC